Plant pigments contain phytonutrients , phyto means "plant". Phytonutrients are nutrients derived from plants. Most of phytonutrients have powerful antioxidant properties, they are anti - inglamatory agents made by nature.
Colorful fruits and vegetables , nuts, seeds , beans, and other legumes are one of our best defenses against inflammation and aging.
Phytonutrients protect against degenerative diseases such as heart disease, osteoporosis, arthritis and wrinkled , sagging skin.
The Oxigen Radical Absorvance Capacity ( ORAC) scale , created by researchers at the Agricultural Reseach Services's Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston , identifies foods with most antioxidant capacity. Future research will tell us which foods exert the greatest preventive effect against inflammation and the disease conditions they promote.
It is recomended that we consume between 3000 and 5000 ORAC units a day.TOP TWENTY FOODS ON THE ORAC ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY SCALE
ORAC UNITS PER 100 GRAMS ( 3.5 OUNCES) 4
Fruits ORAC Units Vegetables ORAC Units Prunes 5,770 Kale 1,770 Raisins 2,830 Spinach 1,260 Blueberries 2,400 Brussels sprouts 980 Strawberries 1,540 brocoli flowers 890 Raspberries 1,220 Beets 840 Plums 949 Red bell pepper 710 Oranges 750 Onion 450 Red grapes 739 Corn 400 Cherries 670 Eggplant 390 Kiwi fruit 602 Pink grapefruit 483
Because researches still use diferent noncomparable measuring scales, the ORAC scores for fruits and vegetables appear to be much higuer thar the ORAC scores for culinary herbs,the truth is that culinary herbs have more antioxidant capacity and content per ounce.
Culinary herbs ORAC score Oregano: southwest, Italian and Greek 92.18, 71.64 and 64.71 Bay leaf 31.70 Dill 29.12 Orange mint 19.80 Garden Thyme 19.49 Ginkgo biloba 19.18 Lemon verbena 17.88 Saint-Tohn's-wort 16.77 English lavander 16.20 Garden sage 12.28 Pineapple sage 11.55 Parsley 11.03 Caraway 10.65 Chive 9.15 Spearmint 8.10
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