Ranking foods by antioxidants per dollar spent.
Superfood Bargains
Doctor's Note
More on purple cabbage:
Testing Your Diet with Pee & Purple Cabbage
And cinnamon and cloves:
Update on Cinnamon for Blood Sugar Control
The Safer Cinnamon
Antioxidants in a Pinch
Which Spices Fight Inflammation?
And antioxidants:
Antioxidant-Rich Foods With Every Meal
Food Antioxidants and Cancer
Preventing Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress With Watercress
Herbal Tea Update: Hibiscus
Anti-Inflammatory Antioxidants
And check out my other videos on antioxidants.
For more context, see my blog posts: Amla: Indian gooseberries vs. cancer, diabetes, and cholesterol, Do Eden Beans Have Too Much Iodine?, The Best Foods: Test Your Nutrition Knowledge, The Best Detox, Are Microgreens Healthier?, The Science of Acai Berries, Cinnamon for Diabetes, and Best Nutrition Bang for Your Buck.
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Please feel free to post any ask-the-doctor type questions here in the comments section and I’d be happy to try to answer them. And check out the other videos on antioxidants. Also, there are 1,449 other subjects covered in the rest of my videos–please feel free to explore them as well!
If I juice a red cabbage and drink it, but discard a good deal of the fiber am I still getting most of the antioxidant value?
Thanks, Elyn
Hello Elyn,
Excellent question! Many have been wondering about this with all the talk of “juice fasting” that have been going on. Check out Dr. Greger’s video all about juicing here http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/fruit-juice-fail/
Essentially, you throw out 90% of the nutrients when you juice a fruit or vegetables. Regarding oranges for example, it takes 3 oranges to make a cup of orange juice and its STILL not nutritionally equivalent to 1 single plain orange.
Hope this helps!
Well, that’s strange, I thought that juicing was the opposite– as a glass of juice was equivalent to a lb of produce.
It depends on what you measure. You can get more water and more calories in Juice, but the question is, what are you leaving behind to get that? Part of the question is, does fiber increase or decrease nutritional value?
I would actually be curious as well whether the orange study was referring to antioxidants or to some other aspect of nutrician.
using my vitamix I put the whole orange in rind and all ,some fresh ginger, some unsweetend almond milk , a frosen banana , uncooked oatmeal and some greens. Makes a great smoothie in the morning oh also some chia seeds.
I use whole raw almonds (1 part to 4 parts water), it’s cheaper buying almond milk and saves a step over making it.
Toxins, Tell us: Is that also true of sauerkraut juice?
My reference was only to whole foods in terms of preserving fiber and phytonutrients. Eating foods in their whole form is usually better then their juice.
Anyone – what’s the rationale behind the sudden drop of nutrient content when juicing? The method / machine behind the process? Or the over-exposition to air/oxigenic stress on the liquid?
I think that he recommends blending over juicing, so I would guess the big loss is from throwing away the solids.
Any tips on how to add more cloves to our diet? I’m assuming that people are using ground cloves somehow?
Hello Crystal!
A great way to get cloves into your diet is to start drinking decaf chai tea.
http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/the-healthiest-beverage-2/
Ginger snap flavored Larabars also contain cloves. You can also throw some cloves into soups.
Hope this helps!
Great ideas! I didn’t know about the chai. I’m a caffeine free girl. My only concern with eating “decaf” products is that they are known to be processed with chemicals. I’ll look into it. I love chai…Thanks again!
Consider using chai made with roobios tea, which is low or no caffeiine.
lara bars are GMO BACKING BASTARDS
I’m not sure what the bruhaha was about, but that is clearly not the case now: “We hear your passion and concerns regarding the labeling of GMO
ingredients. Please know that LÄRABAR will continue to use non-GMO
ingredients in all of our products, and label our products as “Non-GMO.”
In addition, we are proudly enrolled in The Non-GMO Project.” from
http://www.larabar.com/gmo-labeling
He may be referring to the fact that Larabar is owned by General Mills, which donated $1.2 million to defeat Prop 37 and is assuredly doing the same NOW to defeat the GMO labeling referendum I-522 in Washington. This time they are being more crafty, under cover of the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association (GMA). The point is, sending revenue to Larabar is also sending part of it to General Mills. That is working against our own interests. Sorry Larabar, this is regardless of your product’s non-GMO status.
Thank you for this information. I will drop Larabar from my shopping list. I’ll have to see what other General Mills products I might buy. Not too many, I’m sure.
For some context, please check out my associated blog post The Best Detox!
This is quackery. The antioxidant scores of these foods are measured using test-tube measures like ORAC, TEAC, and FRAP: they tell you absolutely nothing about the bioavailability or bioactivity of those antioxidants. Cyanide has a very high antioxidant score; that doesn’t make it healthy.
As it happens, I agree that cabbage (red or green) is a great health bargain — but that’s because it’s a cheap *cruciferous* vegetable, consumption of which has been linked to lower risk of some cancers. The phytochemicals thought to be responsible for this protective effect are believed to be beneficial because of their actions on sex hormone metabolism, not any “antioxidant” buzz.
Can I really just start slicing off pieces of cabbage and adding them to things? I always fear the whole thing will start to turn brown if I don’t figure out what to do with it – all at once.
Don’t worry, you can pull a leaf off at a time. My mother grew cabbages and stored them in the basement. I would snack on them from time to time in the fall and winter after school. They have a nice juiciness/crispness for snacking on. The cabbage will keep just fine as you eliminate the outer leaves.
I wouldn’t say it is quackery, although you probably do have a point about bio-availability. To me, I think it would be best to combine the vitamin, mineral, and bioavailable antioxidants in some formula to determine best value per dollar spent. I’d have to say, however, I think I know part of the answer: Eat in season. Produce in season is often local and is usually relatively low in price, but there is more to it than that.
Hi Dr. Greger,
I would like to know your thoughts on the use of Serrapeptase regarding it’s supposed ability to remove ‘dead tissue’ from the body (and specifically arterial plaque build-up). All of the proponents of the product sight Dr. Hans Napier’s results of his study 20+ years ago (Germany), but I do not see any more recent studies on this supposed ‘miracle’ enzyme. I currently am taking 40,000 units a day. Thanking you in advance.
Enzymes can be beneficial in our intestines if certain conditions such as pancreatic insufficiency where patients don’t make the digestive enzymes they need. Enzymes are proteins with many amino acids which are broken down by our intestines. So any claims that enzymes contribute to the reduction of plaque is not consistent with our current understanding of human physiology. Improvement of blood flow via the Nitrous Oxide system and reversal of plaque has been demonstrated. The best introduction to this is Dr. Esselstyn’s book on Preventing and Reversing Heart Disease. For the abstracts and articles you can view the video’s and check out sources cites on NutritionFacts.org… you might start with http://nutritionfacts.org/video/arterial-acne/ to help understand this complicated issue.
Dr. Greger, which one would have more antioxidents acai berries or amla powder?
Thanks,
Ann – Milton, ON
my records, which show sources when they’re stated but often copy ads, show amla powder with ORAC values (no FRAP) from 130000 to 538400– no tester named. Açai is lower: dehydrated 53600 [Brunswick Labs] or 61000 [dry weight, no source]; freeze-dried 161400 or freeze-dried powder 102700. All measures per 100 grams. Haven’t the foggiest idea of prices.
Sorry to be late with an answer, but I only recently discovered this delightful site.
I think you can find his opinion on amla in the “Pink smoothie” video or similar.
Dr: Greger
Do you recommend using ceramic coated nonstick cookware? Thank you
I love the question! What cookware can we use, if we are aiming for a mostly oil-free style of cooking, that isn’t harmful to our bodies directly, and isn’t harmful to the environment (production, disposal). People who have birds know that teflon can kill them, as can any plastic that starts to burn. Try making a crepe on a stainless steal pan…it just sticks and sticks and makes a big mess, but not a crepe.
If you cook with a few tablespoons of water at a time to keep the veggies from sticking to the pan it works just as well as oil would.
That is fine for cooking veggies, but doesn’t work a darn for pancakes, crepes, or french toast. You need the right pan for the job.
Funny you say that, I tried making E2 pancakes and it was very difficult with my pan. Your very right.
Well seasoned cast-iron is heavy, but it is also the best non-stick fry-pan, and can last several lifetimes. I started with my grand-father’s in college.
Cast Iron works fine for crepes.
Now, ceramic is not the same as teflon, not by a long shot. Basically ceramic is just that, ceramic, natural material, like glass, sort of, and as such it would be totally safe, however, some ceramic cookware seems to be less ceramic than others, so you still need to be careful. Teflon is no good.
Regarding high ORAC foods (cloves!), does one need to ingest the clove (or cinnimon or other spices) or is the value available if the clove (etc.) is boiled and turned into a tea? Is there dilution to the ORAC value by creating a tea? Mabye there is a better question or way to ask this question that you could share.
Cabbage last forever? I thought I only had 3-4 days after I sliced into this yummy veg!
can i use McCormick ground cinnamon to be mix with honey? is this the right cinnamon? thanks
how i wish i could get an answer
How does purple cabbage compare to the first superfood I heard about, kale?
Kale’s ORAC per 100 grms or 3½ ounces is variously 1860 or 1770, no source given. I have nothing for purple cabbage, but red’s is2496 or 2252, FRAP 798; cooked, ORAC 3145 FRAP 2153. Apparently these were from various USDA publications; they’ve found the figures too varied and/or irksome to continue gathering them, but there are online sources of ORAC data from their attempts. I think from a reasonable guess at price and the figures above, you could get a good estimate.
Purple cabbage *is* red cabbage.
Are there any studies on the benefits of powdered green superfood drinks?
Great info Doc! I’m on a very tight budget and super stressed. I need all the antioxidants I can get right now. Thank you!
hi dr greger, i wanted to ask, when you say that in purple cabbage are 47594 antioxidants, that is equal to 100 grams? how can i know how much antioxidants i ate from the cabbage and if i ate the required amount thanks!!
Hi, I’ve watched the video about pill supplements potentially being more harmful for health than getting them from produce. Is the same true for Superfood powder? Or do plant Superfood powders count as produce therefore relatively safe?
Do you have any comments on Ashwagandha or Maca Powder?
Thanks,
What about canned purple cabbage, the ones with added salt and sugar? Is that still OK?
I don’t think so, Dr. Greger made videos about salt and sugar being bad for our health.
I found freeze-dried acai berries at Whole Foods. It was a big bag but was $50. What can I look for to determine if these are suitable to eat? If they are freeze-dried flakes do they hold the same nutritional value as the frozen pulp?
My mom used to make white cabbage in campbell’s tomato soup. I just made purple cabbage in tomatoes, tomatoe paste, red pepper and some jalapeno. Wowser! Awesome upgrade to an old childhood favorite
The unit on this graph is hard to understand and I suspect erroneous. At my supermarket, dried Goji berries are for sale for $7 per 225g which is about $0.03/gram. Using the figure from the cited paper (32.9 μmol/g), I arrive at 1096.67 μmol of antioxidants per dollar. How is this related to the +/- 10000 “μmol/g per dollar” figure displayed here? Is the unit off by a factor 10? Why does it not simply state μmol per dollar?
The problem seems to be specific to Goji berries. The figure for apples is not problematic. Apples are 10 times as cheap per gram as goji berries and have similar antioxidant content per gram according to the paper, yet in this video they are shown to be on the same level… Goji berries get high rankings in a lot of these videos but they don’t seem to be so great according to the cited paper.
Ok, it looks like Dr Greger buys his lycium/goji berries at asian food stores with questionable toxicity standards, I’m guessing for roughly 10 times as cheap, and that explains the disparity: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/are-goji-berries-good-for-you/
I’m back to being really confused as the other paper with the 3100 tested foods puts apples at only 3.1 μmol/g and Goji at 43.1 μmol/g, which again suggests that the unit of this graph is off by a factor of 10. These numbers do seem more realistic where the ratio between apples and Goji is concerned.