Photo via Sudhamshu’s photostream at FlickrA group of global food nutrition researchers has analyzed the oxidative content of over 3000 different foods from around the world, with the discovery that culinary herbs and spices have the highest antioxidant content.

In addition to a wide range of herbs and spices, the group looked at berries, beverages, cereals, chocolates, seafood, fruit, grains, legumes, meat, fish, nuts and seeds, vegetables and oils.

The culinary herbs and spices that have the greatest antioxidant content were clove, allspice, peppermint, cinnamon, oregano, thyme, sage and rosemary.

Antioxidant Rich Spices

According to a press release by website Medical Herbs and Spices, the average antioxidant activity of spices was 300% higher than that of berries, 2300% greater than that of other fruit, 3600% higher than that of vegetables and 600% more than that of nuts.

Authors of the release say that the research findings mirror those from a study on culinary herbs and spices published in the July 2006 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Realistically, spices are used in small amounts, compared to foods like prunes, raisins, blueberries and yes acai berries. Little science argues that spices are bad for you, but their purely quantitative score — compared to chocolate, fruits or vegetables — shouldn’t drive dietary decisions.

The most important consideration of all the new research on antioxidants, oxidative stress, and the longterm effects of changes in diet are not proven science in many cases.  Many of the hypotheses in food science come from studying successful diets like the Mediterranean diet or the French paradox.

Listening to all the nutrition news about antioxidants, it seems that we should eat as many of them as possible. Not true — at least not without balancing our diets.