What the Experts Say About Getting the Most Antioxidants from Our Food. Why We Need Them - How to Best Absorb Them - Cooked or Raw? - Why Organic Matters - The ORAC Index - and the O2 Diet

"About twenty years ago, researchers found the missing link.

They discovered that colorful plant foods in their natural state were also rich in thousands of compounds with important health properties for humans—phytochemicals.

Only by eating an assortment of natural foods that are micronutrient-rich can you get enough of these compounds to protect yourself from the common diseases that afflict Americans."

-Dr. Joel Fuhrman, author of "Eat to Live-

If you've received this via email, click here to get to the web version with all the links!

On the long drive to New York City 2 weeks ago I brought along some light reading and listening material to fill my time:

• The March issue of The Oprah Magazine.  I zoned right into: Nina Planck's brilliant article: "Are Organics Worth Their Price"
•  Keri Glassman's The O2 Diet: The Cutting Edge Antioxidant-Based Program That Will Make You Healthy, Thin, and Beautiful  OK-- I agree, this is a terrible title, and I could care less about the thin & beautiful part (not going to happen)--but her user-friendly ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) rankings of common foods--and her easy-to-understand plan to kick up our daily intake of health-giving antioxidants makes this book definitely worth your while.  
• NPR's Your Health Podcast from 7/27/09 The Nutrient Detectives--How Do They Know?  I had listened to this 7 months ago--and what a serendipitous surprise that I chose to give it a "re-listen"!

A magazine, a popular book, and a podcast.  End result:  I increased my understanding of the benefits of antioxidants and organic produce, I learned the best way to eat my fruits and veggies (who knew?), and I now have Glassman's terrific cheat sheet for plotting a way to get her recommended 30,000 ORAC points a day--it's an easy method to make sure I get the most bang for my nutritional buck.

Because of my car ride "entertainment"--O, NPR, & the O2 Diet--I've added, subtracted, and rejiggered some of my daily diet routines.  I've added 3 cups of green tea, for one--and I'm following up tough work-outs with an antioxidant-rich smoothie & extra sleep.  Plus, I'm making an effort to include lots of cinnamon, curcumin, and oregano into my cooking.

Lots of info to share--so I'll just cover the "what's new to me" highlights.

What I Learned About Organics and Antioxidants from Nina Planck

NIna Planck is both a food writer, and an advocate of "real food", farmer's markets, and organic produce.  She wrote her article in O in response to a report released last year by the British Food Standards Agency that pronounced organic food to be no more nutritious than the conventional variety.  Organic advocates claimed the report was flawed, incomplete, and biased.

Here's Planck's case for organic produce:

• The French Agency for Food Safety:  organics have more antioxidants, heart-healthy polyunsaturated fatty acids, iron and magnesium than conventionals
• The British Food Standard's Agency:  organics have more magnesium, zinc, antioxidant phytochemicals, like polyphenols & flavonoids than conventionals
• A 5-year 33 university study sponsored by the European Commission--believed to be the largest study of its kind--found organic cabbage & potatoes have more vitamin C--and organic tomatoes have more nutrients overall. 

My eye-opening finding from Planck's article:  How Using No Pesticides Increases the Antioxidant Content of Fruits & Vegetables

"A lack of pesticide exposure is an important reason organic produce has higher levels of beneficial antioxidants like vitamin C--which fight the free radicals implicated in aging, cancer, and heart disease.

Antioxidants are actually part of a plant's own defenses.  In fruits and vegetables, these bitter elements help fend off attacks by bugs and fungi.

Organic crops contain more of these compounds because they have to work harder to protect themselves--with no man-made pesticides to the rescue.

In addition, organic produce is free of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, which can also weaken plants' health.  Nitrogen produces a watery, sugary cell sap that compromises the plant's ability to build its immune system.

Plants that come to rely on the chemical can no longer fend off pests naturally.  Crops that are treated with the synthetic fertilizer also have overly leafy growth and poor flavor, as farmers have long known.  That's because the plants' natural immune system of antioxidants is what makes produce aromatic and savory.

In other words, a healthy plant makes a healthy meal--and a tastier one."

Bottom Line:  Plants do a better job of building up their own immune systems with antioxidants to fight of disease, fungus, and pests when they're grow organically--without synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

I don't usually buy organic--but Planck's article is making me rethink that habit.

What I Learned From NPR's  "Your Health" Podcast, "The Nutrient Detectives--How Do They Know?"

1.  The Beta-Carotene Fat Connection:  (Yes--I already mentioned this in the olive oil post) To best absorb antioxidant carotenoids we need a little fat in the form of some nuts, seeds, or olive oil when we eat our fruits & vegetables--according to  Wendy White, a professor Human Nutrition at Iowa State University.

Carotenoids are the pigments responsible for red-, yellow- and orange-colored fruits and vegetables. And carotenoids are also found in dark green vegetables such as spinach. The compounds convert to Vitamin A in the body, and studies have found that carotenoids have antioxidant activity which may help protect our cells from damage caused by free radicals.

Human studies have linked high consumption of fruits and vegetables to reduced risk of cancer.   White's salad study at Iowa State found that volunteers who ate  full-fat dressing absorbed the most beta-carotene.  The reduced-fat dressing eaters had substantially less absorption of beta-carotene.  And the fat-free dressing salad eaters had no absorption of the beta-carotenes. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2004 Aug;80(2):396-403.

2. Chop up your fruits & vegetables into tiny pieces for better antioxidant absorption.  According to Dr. White, the finer you can chop up your vegetables the more you can increase the nutrient absorption-- because it breaks down the plant material, aka cellulose.  

"When we chew a salad, we often don't do an efficient  job of crushing every cell;  about 70-90% of the cells are not broken open.  As a result most of the valuable nutrients contained within those cells never enter our bloodstream and are lost.

An even more efficient way to ensure you receive these needed nutrients is using a blender (think VitaMix) to puree raw, leafy greens.  The blending process aids your body in the work of breaking down and assimilating nutrients.  It guarantees that a higher percentage of nutrients will be absorbed into your bloodstream."

-Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Eat For Health-

3.  Raw Isn't Always Better.  Heat isn't always destructive to antioxidants.  When it comes to absorbing fruits & vegetables with beta-carotene and lycopene--think carrots and tomatoes--cooking actually aids absorption, because it softens the plant material, and releases their nutrients.  It just so happens that lycopene & beta-carotene are very stable antioxidants that aren't harmed by heat.

4.  What's the best cooking method to retain antioxidants?  According to a recent study in the Journal of Food Science click here  microwaving is the winner when it comes to preserving nutrients--because it's mild, quick, and it preserves the water soluble nutrients like vitamin C & B.  Boiling is the worst method--water is definitely not the cook's "best friend".

5.  Measuring the antioxidant content of fruits & vegetables at the USDA Research Center in Beltsville Maryland.  James Harnly is the guy who measures the phytonutrients for the USDA ORAC Index--using a complicated freezing, drying, grinding, liquid chromatography process.   It turns out--and most of us already know this--the fruits and vegetables with the highest antioxidant content are blueberries for their flavonoids; the Brassica family vegetables, like kale, cauliflower, and broccoli; the deep purple vegetables like eggplant for their anthocyanins; and apples for the flavonols in their skin. 

According to Harnly, when it comes to most fruits--the flavonoids are mostly in their skins--think apple & orange peels.  Whatever you do--don't throw away the peels.   Although researchers know that antioxidants are beneficial, how they work to prevent and neutralize free-radical damage is still an unknown.  Harnly guesses that it will likely turn out to be part of some sophisticated cascading effect going on in the body--that needs antioxidants to get started.

Using Keri Glassman's O2 Diet and Her ORAC Lists to Fine-Tune Your Diet

I just happened upon Glassman's book while browsing the New Book shelf at my local public library.  She's a registered dietitian with a New York City nutrition practice, and she's also a nutrition contributor to the CBS Early Show.

What's the ORAC Index anyway?  The ORAC Index was developed by the U. S. Department of Agriculture with the help of the top nutrition scientists in the country.  It ranks 277 foods by antioxidant content--their ability to either destroy or neutralize disease-causing free radicals.  Since oxidative stress caused by free radicals is likely to be one of the factors which plays an important role in the development of chronic and degenerative diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, and neuronal degeneration--the ORAC Index is definitely a number to pay attention to when choosing your foods.  Click here for the USDA ORAC Index Fact Sheet

But if you took a look at the USDA's ORAC Index of foods you would scratch your head and wonder, "OK, so now what am I supposed to do with this?"  It definitely ranks the foods--but all the foods are ranked using a quantity of 100 grams--a meaningless measurement--nothing close to normal people portions.  It doesn't give us a clue about how to compare blueberries to apples to spinach in terms of portion size.  But Glassman spells it all out.

Keri Glassman made the ORAC Index usable because she took the USDA numbers and converted them into ounces and then converted them into normal people portions.  Thank you, Keri Glassman!

I love her game plan of using the ORAC Index points to shoot for 30,000 points a day to make sure you're eating a variety of "high-achieving" fruits, vegetables, legumes, carbohydrates, beverages, and spices everyday.

Why 30,000 Points a Day, You Ask?  Here's What Glassman Has to Say:

"Researchers have just begun to scratch the surface of antioxidant research; there are now literally hundreds of studies linking antioxidant-rich foods to better health, including everything from reduced heart disease to a decreased likelihood of cancer.

And while taking too many antioxidant supplements in pill form may be harmful, there's absolutely no downside to consuming more nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables.  Although the current recommendations are that we eat between 3,000 and 5,000 ORAC points a day for optimum health, why not get all you can?

Eating 30,000 ORAC points will boost the antioxidant power of your blood at least 10 to 25% percent according to some of the original ORAC research.  Click here

Don't forget that you still need to eat a balanced diet.  Sure you could get to 30,000 easily on nothing but artichokes, blueberries, and hot cocoa.  But that's not a balanced diet, and you'd be cheating yourself out of the wide variety of nutrients out there."

Easiest way to reach 30,000 points a day?

• Drink a Green Smoothie!  I calculated that my daily smoothie made with 1/2 an apple, 1/2 a grapefruit, 3 cups of kale, 1/2 cup of blueberries, 1/2 of a kiwi, 1/4 cup of pomegranate juice, and 2 carrots, comes to about 17,710 points!  Who knew?

• Add 3 cups of green tea a day for 9,000 more points.  I've never been a tea drinker until now & the scientific research on the benefits of green tea is extensive.

• Add a cup a black beans for 15,600 additional points.  Kidney beans, pinto beans, & lentils--they're all outrageously high in ORAC points.

Great tips from the O2 Diet

• Intense exercise actually weakens your immune system, putting you at risk for getting sick for a full 72 hours  after each workout--so, to counteract the effect of an intense workout-- Glassman recommends increasing your antioxidant intake to 50,000 points and getting an extra half hour of sleep.  Sounds like a plan.

• Oatmeal is brain food.  This complex carbohydrate helps to produce the feel-good chemical serotonin which has antioxidant properties, and helps ease that "stress-out" feeling.  Studies show that kids who eat oatmeal (with 600 ORAC points) for breakfast stay sharper throughout the morning.  No wonder I love my morning crockpot steel cut oats--made with dried fruit that kick up the ORAC points another notch!  Click here for the recipe

• Turmeric/Curcumin, the spice that gives curry its yellow color is a well-known antioxidant--which not only helps in the prevention of Alzheimers, it's recently been shown to reverse impaired cognition and neuronal plasticity caused by stress.  Click here  Turmeric clocks in at 3,500 ORAC points per teaspoon.  I've been taking a 500 mg capsule of curcumin daily, ever since a Columbia University neurologist specializing in Alzheimers told me he takes a teaspoon of turmeric a day.

A Sampling of the O2 Diet's ORAC Index Points

Glassman's book has a full list of the ORAC points of common foods by serving size, and she generously makes these lists available on her website.  Click here for the ORAC point guide.   Click here for the ORAC calculator

Top Foods in the ORAC Index

Fruit/ Serving/ ORAC Value

Blueberries 1 c= 9,700
Cranberries (raw) 1 c= 9,600
Red Delicious apple 1= 7,800
Blackberries 1 c= 7,700
Granny Smith apple 1= 7,100
Raspberries 1 c= 6,000
Strawberries 1 c= 5,400
Gala apple 1= 5,200
Pear 1= 5,200
Fuji apple 1= 4,700
Dried Fruit/ Serving/ ORAC Value
Cranberries, dried 2 Tbsp= 2,100
Prunes 3= 1,900
Currants 2 Tbsp= 1,100
Raisins 2 Tbsp= 600

Starch/ Cereal Serving/ ORAC Value

Oat bran flakes 3⁄4 c= 800
Popcorn, air-popped 5 c= 700
Instant oatmeal 1 packet= 600
Wheat germ 3 Tbsp= —

Bread/Crackers

Pumpernickel bread 1 slice= 500
Oat nut bread 1 slice= 400
Whole grain/seven-grain bread 1 slice= 400

Starchy Vegetable

Sweet potato with skin 1 medium= 2,400
Red potato with skin 1 small= 1,800
White potato with skin 1⁄2 medium= 1,600
Russet potato with skin 1⁄2 medium= 1,500
Corn 3⁄4 c= 700
Butternut squash 1 c= 600
Pumpkin 1 c= 600
Peas 3⁄4 c= 400

Legumes

Black beans 1⁄2 c= 7,800
Kidney beans 1⁄2 c= 7,800
Lentils 1⁄2 c= 7,500
Pinto beans 1⁄2 c= 7,000
Black-eyed peas 1⁄2 c= 3,600
Chickpeas 1⁄2 c= 800
Split peas 1⁄2 c= 500

Vegetable/ Serving/ORAC Value

Artichoke hearts 1⁄2 c= 7,900
Broccoli rabe 1 bunch= 6,800
Red cabbage (cooked) 1⁄2 c= 2,400
Radish (raw) 1 c= 2,000
Broccoli (cooked) 1⁄2 c= 1,900
Kale (raw) 1 c= 1,770
Onion (raw) 1 c= 1,600
Red cabbage (raw) 1 c= 1,600
Asparagus (cooked) 1⁄2 c= 1,500
Green bell peppers (raw) 1 c= 1,400
Salsa 1⁄2 c= 1,300
Spinach (cooked) 1⁄2 c= 1,300
Broccoli (raw) 1 c= 1,200
Red bell peppers (raw) 1 c= 1,200
Brussels sprouts (cooked) 1⁄2 c= 980
Carrots (raw) 1 c= 900
Tomato sauce 1/2 c= 900

Vegetarian Options

Black beans (or black bean soup) 1 c= 15,600
Kidney beans 1 c= 15,600
Pinto beans 1 c= 15,000
Lentils 1 c= 14,000
Black-eyed peas 1 c= 7,300
Edamame (soybeans) 3⁄4 c= 5,400
Chickpeas 1 c= 1,700
Split peas 1 c= 1,000
Hummus 4 Tbsp= 400

Fat/Serving/ORAC Value

Pecans 8 halves= 2,500
Walnuts 7 halves= 1,900
Hazelnuts 8= 1,000
Pistachios 18= 1,000
Avocado 1⁄4= 700
Guacamole 2 Tbsp= 700
Almonds 10= 500
Almond butter 2 tsp= 500
Peanuts 15= 500
Peanut butter 2 tsp= 500
Cashews 8= 200

Beverage/Serving/ORAC Value

Wine (Incorporate alcohol as a conscious indulgence.)
Sangria (See recipe on page 98 of the O2 Diet) 4 oz= 11,900
Cabernet 5 oz= 7,400
Red 5 oz= 5,700
Rosé 5 oz= 1,500
White 5 oz= 600
Tea (Drink up—no calories here!)
Green tea 1 c= 3,000
Black tea 1 c= 2,700
Other herbal teas 1 c= —
Juice (to be consumed in lieu of whole fruit)
Blueberry juice 1⁄2 c= 3,600
Pomegranate juice 1⁄2 c= 2,900
Concord grape juice 1⁄2 c= 2,900
Prune juice 1⁄2 c= 2,600
Red grape juice 1⁄2 c= 2,300
Cranberry–Concord grape juice 1⁄2 c= 1,800
White grapefruit juice 1⁄2 c= 1,500
Cranberry juice 1⁄2 c= 1,100
White grape juice 1⁄2 c= 1,000
Orange juice 1⁄2 c= 900

Herb/Spice/Serving/ORAC Value

Cinnamon, ground 1 tsp= 7,000
Cloves, ground 1 tsp= 6,600
Oregano, dried 1 tsp= 3,600
Turmeric, ground 1 tsp= 3,500
Cumin seed 1 tsp= 1,600
Curry powder 1 tsp= 1,000
Mustard seed, yellow 1 tsp= 1,000
Chili powder 1 tsp= 600
Pepper, black 1 tsp= 600
Basil, dried 1 tsp= 500
Ginger, ground 1 tsp= 500

Comments

[Carla]

Another amazing post! The ORAC index is new to me--and I'm running with it. I always learn so much from you. Thanks for taking the time to share what you are finding out!

Carla

[Chris (apple lover)]

Firstly, I heartily second Carla's comments.

And secondly, all hail the humble apple! I see from your handy list of ORAC values that apples are near the top of the list.

Is there a more wonderful fruit? Not for me. I love them! You put one in your mouth and experience an explosion of flavour and texture. You have different taste experiences with each variety. They keep well and (we learn) are really haelthful.

And we can grow them in our temperate western climates without the need to pollute the planet by shipping them across the world.

Brilliant!

[Kyle Neal]

A good way to get the green tea benefits is matcha, if you have never tried it. It is the actual young green tea leaves, dried and ground into a fine powder. A very small serving is the equivalent of about 6 cups green tea. You can drink as a latte, or add to your green smoothie. To read more about it, I recommend www.matchasource.com. I have no affiliation with them, other than as a customer - they just have a nice explanation of the antioxidant benefits of matcha if you are unfamiliar with it. Thank you for all the great info on your blog. I am constantly referring to it and sending it to friends.

[Kathleen Woods]

A good source of Early Harvest EVOO is DHC.com. They carry Nunez de Prado Extra Virgin Olive Oil Early Harvest. It is the finest Spanish organic olive oil. Pricey, but worth it. And they put it on sale once a year. Usually in January.

Thanks for your posts. I enjoy them.

[Conner]

Another great digest - thank you for taking the time to read all this and getting the salient points across in such a user-friendly way! A few thoughts:

- I've started drinking white tea (I alternate it with green) after discovering recent studies showing that it contains slightly higher levels of catechins (anti-oxidant flavonols) than green tea and *twice* as many anti-skin-ageing factors (anti-collegenase & anti-elastase). (Thring TSA, Hili P, Naughton D. Anti-collegenase, anti-elastase and anti-oxidant activities of extracts from 21 plants. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine - available free on Pubmed.) In another study I read yesterday, white tea combined with an NSAID more than halved the number of pre-cancerous intestinal polyps in rats genetically predisposed to colon cancer. (I can send you this study if you're interested.) White tea also tastes better than green - it has none of the biterness, but instead, a nice sweet, grassy flavor.

- I have small reservations (hypothetical ones, as I have no evidence fgor this view) about smoothies that include raw brassicas: as I understand, these can have thyroid-suppressing effects that lightly steamed breassicas don't. I know people swear by them - but I do worry that over the long term this could have detrimental effects. Probably not a problem for people who are 100% fit and healthy, but for borderline hyp[othyroid people (very widespread), I do wonder... Also, although broccoli etc are now available year-round, I prefer to eat my brassicas during the winter months, lightly steamed or braised in their own juice, and to eat 'watery' summer vegetables in the spring & summer. (Alas, not quite there yet... though my local vegetable farmer tells me a few bold asparagi have been peeking out of the soil! :-) )

- I found a fascinating paper re. ORAC values last week that shows how cooking increases antioxidant values *substantially* (in some cases - cabbage and green peppers for instance - by more than 400%!); peeling on the other hand (apples & cucumbers) was shown to reduce antioxidant content by 30-60%. Halvorsen BL, Carlsen MH, Phillips KM, Bohn SK, Holte K, Jacobs DR Jr, Blomhoff R. Content of redox-active compounds (ie, antioxidants) in foods consumed in the United States. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Jul;84(1):95-135. 2006. PMID:16825686.

- Given the ORAC/peel/organic connection, I have to conclude that since peel is packed with anti-oxidants and the peel of non-organically formed produce may contain pesticide residues, it's best to eat organic produce whenever you plan to eat the peel (e.g. apples, peaches, starwberries etc). I don't mind eating non-organic produce where I don't eat the peel anyway (bananas, avocadoes, etc).

- Love your beta-carotene/oil story! Living in France, I can't resist slathering garlicky olive-&-walnut-oil vinaigrette on my salads and melting a small pat of butter in my vegetables... Now I feel vindicated!

[Ruth]

A whole teaspoon of turmeric? Wow! I thought I was doing well with 1/8t turmeric on my oatmeal. I'm going to have to crank it up!

I remember reading about some of turmeric's beneficial health properties in David Servan-Schreiber's "Anticancer." As I recall, he said that turmeric should be taken with black pepper for better utilization in the body, though I don't know the ratio. I've been assuming a generous grating of black pepper is adequate. If I have to measure a complementary serving of black pepper with a spoon ... well, I prefer my morning oatmeal to taste more like morning than like 3-alarm chili!

Thank you for another great summary of useful information.

[MG]

Do you make your smoothie in a Vitamix machine? Mr. MG just got one for us and was so happy to learn I've wanted one for years. Thanks for sharing your smoothie recipe -- we made our first one based on your creation!

Do you ever eat some nuts or other fat with your smoothie? Since chewing is an important activator of digestion, I also wonder if it is best to eat (chew) some food when we drink smoothies to improve overall digestion and absorption. I never cease to be amazed by the extensive communication between different parts of the GI tract (and the brain, too!) during the digestive process!

[MG]

I just read your Smoothie Adventure post that answers my questions & more! Thanks!