Spice of life: Flavor your food with antioxidants

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Spice of life: Flavor your food with antioxidants

Research mounting for health benefits of herbs, spices

 

By Mark Collins

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/jun/09/spice-of-03/

 

Antioxidant capacity: Top 10 herbs, spices

 

The USDA conducted a study of selected foods, including some herbs and spices,

to quantify their antioxidant capacities. The top 10 herbs and spices ranked for

antioxidant capacity per 100g is listed below.

 

1. Cloves, ground: The highly aromatic buds of a tree found in parts of Asia are

used both in whole and ground form in sweet and savory Indian cuisine, as well

as cuisines in Asia and Mexico.

 

2. Cinnamon, ground: Harvested from a small tree grown in very hot climates, the

ancient, sweet spice is used widely throughout the world.

 

3. Oregano, dried: A perennial herb, the leaves of the oregano plant are used

fresh or dried in Italian and Greek cooking. Mexican oregano, which resembles

oregano but is actually a different plant, is a bit stronger and used in Mexican

cooking.

 

4. Turmeric, ground: The rhizome is dried and ground, and its bright

yellow-orange color dresses up Indian and Middle Eastern foods. It has a faint

bitter flavor and is used more for its color than flavor.

 

5. Cumin seed: This aromatic, slightly pungent seed from the parsley family is

used widely in cuisines of South and East Asia, Middle East and Latin countries,

and is a main ingredient in Mexican-style chili powder.

 

6. Parsley, dried: The mild-flavored leafy herb is common in American, European

and Middle Eastern cuisine.

 

7. Basil, dried: This herb comes in different varieties, sweet to pungent. It's

prominent in Italian food and the cuisine of Southeast Asia.

 

8. Sage, fresh: The leaves of this evergreen shrub have been used in Western

cooking, particularly in sausages and stuffings, for centuries.

 

9. Mustard seed, yellow: The tiny seeds are used for pickling and in some Indian

cuisine. They are also ground and made into a condiment in the West.

 

10. Ginger, ground: A tropical rhizome, ginger root -- dried or fresh -- is a

mainstay of many cuisines, including Asian, West African and Indian. It also has

a place in traditional Western cuisine as a flavorant in drinks and deserts.

 

Source: USDA Database for the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity of selected

Foods

 

Chances are, you've got a cupboard filled with medicine. And it's not in your

bathroom, it's in your kitchen.

 

Research is beginning to reveal the benefits of culinary herbs and spices go

beyond putting flavor into your meals.

 

" There isn't one culinary herb that isn't medicinal, " says Rebecca Luna,

herbalist and owner of Rebecca's Apothecary in Boulder.

 

Herbs and spices can be beneficial to our health for various reasons, says

Faughey, an author and dietician with Nutrition Connections in Boulder.

 

" Oxidative damage contributes to various diseases, such as heart disease,

diabetes and cancer, " Faughey says. " Studies are showing that herbs and spices

have antioxidant properties, they have anti-inflammatory properties, and they

may be able to help reduce the risk of some diseases. "

 

According to the USDA, some herbs and spices rank as high or higher than many

fruits and vegetables when it comes to antioxidant properties. The USDA produces

a Database for the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC), which measures

various foods' antioxidant abilities. According to the database, one teaspoon of

cinnamon has a higher ORAC score than one-half cup of raw blueberries.

 

" A lot of the herbs that are rich in color have a high flavonoid content, like

turmeric, which is going to have antioxidant benefits, " says Faith Goguen, an

herbalist at Rebecca's Apothecary. " Turmeric has the flavonoid curcumin, which

is good for the liver. It's basically an antioxidant for the liver. "

 

Ground cloves ranks highest on the USDA ORAC list of spices with antioxidant

properties. Ground cinnamon, dried oregano, ground turmeric and cumin seeds

round out the Top 5.

 

Using herbs and spices in food preparation can have other healthful benefits

besides getting antioxidants into your diet, too.

 

Rosemary is a potent anti-microbial, Luna says.

 

" They used to clean labor and delivery rooms with teas made from rosemary, " she

says.

 

Faughey says flavoring your food with herbs and spices is much healthier than

the common alternative ways to fill a meal with flavor.

 

" Just by using more spices -- if that causes you to use less excess salt, fat

and sugar, that in itself is a benefit, " she says. " Guidelines more and more are

suggesting that we decrease the amount of sodium in our diet. (Using spices) is

a way you can be increasing your health, but not sacrificing flavor. "

 

Faughey authored a cookbook, " Quickflip to Delicious Dinners, " which encourages

the use of herbs and spices of different regions as a way to get healthy flavor

into your food.

 

Some herbs and spices are marketed as dietary supplements. However, whether

taking turmeric pills is better than simply adding it during your food

preparation is still unclear, Faughey says.

 

" The amount that is needed to get the health benefits has not been quantified

yet, " Faughey says. " At this point, I recommend my clients use the spices

liberally. "

 

Local herbalist and author Brigitte Mars agrees.

 

" I love rosemary, garlic, oregano, turmeric, parsley and basil, " Mars says. " Use

generous amounts, and they are best added fresh (not boiled), though dried is

OK. "

 

While he doesn't offer advice on the health benefits of spices, Dan Hayward, who

works at Savory Spice Shop in Boulder, can talk at length about how to get

different herbs and spices into your food. The Colorado-owned shop grinds and

creates roughly 140 spice blends on site, and carries nearly 400 different

spices, herbs or blends.

 

" A lot of people are intimidated by certain spices and don't know how to use

them, " Hayward says. " We make the exotic very easy to access. "

 

Herbs and spices recently made their debut on an official food pyramid. The Old

Ways, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting healthy eating, added

herbs and spices to its Mediterranean Diet Pyramid in 2008.

 

The U.S. FDA is due to release its updated food pyramid in 2010. Faughey says

there has been chatter about whether or not to add herbs and spices to the

nutrition index in next year's version.

 

Whether or not they squeeze their way onto the pyramid, herbs and spices can be

a key ingredient in a good diet, experts say.

 

" You get flavor and health at the same time, " Faughey says.

 

Best wishes,

http://www.healthyhepper.com