Anti-oxidants have many health benefits, from slowing the aging process to fighting certain cancers. That's why many health experts recommend you eat plenty of foods with antioxidants like fruits and vegetables. But there's one food group you probably haven't thought of when it comes to antioxidants. 7Healthcast Reporter Dr. Deanna Lites has more.
It turns out that adding a little spice to your life may be an easy way to stay healthy. Herbs and spices pop up everywhere from garden centers to the candy aisle. But they can do more than add zip to your dish.
Marcia Herrin, R.D. from Dartmouth Medical School says, "Practically every herb and spice that's been studied has some health benefit."
Dartmouth nutritionist Marcia Herrin says herbs and spices are loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants are chemicals that keep diseases in check.
"We Americans don't use many herbs and spices compared to the rest of the world," says Herrin.
In India, curry is part of the staple diet. There, rates of Alzheimer's disease are the lowest in the world.
Shekar Ganti owns an Indian restaurant. Ganti says, "The people that we might know none of them have Alzheimer's."
UCLA researcher Sally Frautschy is studying curcumin, which is found in curry.
Dr. Sally Frautschy says, "We accidentally found out that it blocks every single step in Alzheimer's pathogenesis."
It also kills nearly every cancer cell in the lab. But if curry isn't your spice of choice, don't worry.
Herrin says, "There's 20 different herbs and spices, at least, that have research behind them as having health benefits."
Oregano leads the pack it has 42-times more antioxidant activity than apples; 12 times more than oranges and four-times more than blueberries. Dill, sage, rosemary and ginger also rank high.
Herrin says, "I'm guessing we're going to end up with some really powerful medicines out of this."
Researchers say many of these herbs and spices are only absorbed by the body when they're eaten with fat, so cooking with a little oil will help release the anti-oxidants.
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