You know what’s great? When you find super-pumped-up health food hiding in your kitchen cabinet … or, garden. Our friends at The Chalkboard are back educating us on some “extra” powerful spices to elevate your eating routine. And your antioxidant intake, while you’re at it.
When it comes to wellness buzzwords, “antioxidant” is top of the list. It has us stashing goji in our desks for daily snacking and tossing back blueberries like no one’s business. While filling up on high antioxidant foods like these is definitely important, it’s not necessarily the most efficient solution: According to science (spelled out in this article by former TCM Guest Editor, Dr. Axe), a sprinkle of spice here and there can provide a dose that’s 30 times more potent than the foods known for their high level of antioxidants!
Why should I care about antioxidants? The short answers is because healthy pros say so; the longer one is because the more high antioxidant foods and products we welcome into our lives, the more able our bodies are able to stop of delay the damaging of cells.
Oxidants — the opposite of antioxidants – are free radicals naturally produced by our bodies to help fight viruses and other health-inhibiting invaders. They also occur in our environment via air pollution, smoke, alcohol, etc., which can cause an unhealthy buildup in our systems. Oxidant overload can lead to accelerated aging, weakened immunity and cellular damage linked to disease, among other major health hurdles down down the line. On the logical flip-side, inviting more antioxidants into our bodies directly combats these averse effects.
The following edible items sit at the top of the list of high antioxidant foods. ORAC scores stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity:
TOP 5: HIGH ANTIOXIDANT FOODS
Goji Berries: 25,000 ORAC score
Wild Blueberries: 14,000 ORAC score
Dark Chocolate: 21,000 ORAC score
Pecans: 17,000 ORAC score
Artichoke: 9,400 ORAC score
TOP 5: HIGH ANTIOXIDANT SPICES
According to the same system of rating, these superfood spices contain a concentration of antioxidants that blow berries out of the water — pay attention to the numbers!
Clove: 314,446 ORAC score (22x higher than blueberries!)
Cinnamon: 267,537 ORAC score
Oregano: 159,277 ORAC score
Turmeric: 102,700 ORAC score
Cocoa: 80,933 ORAC score
What does it all mean? The antioxidant powerhouses aren’t the ones most people think of. It also means that making little tweaks to the foods we already eat can impact our health in a major way. A daily dose of all-the-kale-you-can-eat will help undo some damaging influence of free radicals, but a casual dash of cinnamon across your fave breakfast bowl will do so much more.
So spike your coffee with cloves, toss turmeric into every roasted veggie endeavor, add cinnamon and cocoa to your morning smoothie. Go nuts! Getting more high antioxidant foods is the easiest thing ever.
Want more easy health tips? We’re loving these signs for needing a cleanse, these natural solutions for anxiety and how to workout while pregnant.
*The Chalkboard Mag and its materials are not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. All material on The Chalkboard Mag is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider for any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise or other health related program.
Feature Image by Mark Weinberg
2 comments
I just raid my kitchen finding to these foods and spices antioxidants. I’m happy that I have most of the foods on your list. Can’t wait to try these antioxidants. Funny things, I am eating food not knowing that they are rich in antioxidants. Thanks!
Hi,
I like eating dark chocolates but I never thought that these are rich in antioxidant. I just knew that dark chocolates are good for anti-aging. I always use cloves to some of my recipes. these make my every dish tasty and smell nice. Thanks for sharing!