The best apple, bean, berry, lentil, and nut are the ones you’ll eat the most of; but if you don’t have a strong preference, which has the highest antioxidant power?
The Highest Antioxidant: Apple, Bean, Berry, Lentil, or Nut?
5/5 - (77 votes)
Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
An apple a day has been associated with as much as a 35 percent lower risk of premature death. But which apple is best? Whichever apple you’ll eat the most. So, eat your favorite apple. But if you don’t care which apple you eat, or you’re just curious, which apple has the highest antioxidant content: Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, or Red Delicious? Anytime you want to check the antioxidant content of foods, nothing beats this free database of more than 3,000 foods. For apples, Granny gets the gold, with more than twice as many antioxidants as Golden Delicious apples.
Interestingly, antioxidant content roughly corresponds with the ability to lower cholesterol levels within one month for those randomized to eat an apple a day. Annurca apples beat Granny Smith, but presumably it’s because study participants got two Annurcas a day, versus just one of the others, because they were about half the size. But two apples, even when they’re half the size, have more overall surface area, and the magic may be in the peel. If you randomize people to eat apples with or without the peel, you see a significant boost in artery function within an hour of peel consumption. So, don’t peel your apples.
For other foods, the antioxidant spread can be even greater. Check out nuts. Two nuts pull way ahead, with the top nut having nearly 75 times the antioxidants than the bottom nut. Which do you think is which? Want to pause it and guess? Walnuts for the win! Followed by pecans, then pistachios, and who would have guessed almonds would be way down at the bottom?
Walnuts also have the highest omega-3 content, by a large margin, beating out other nuts in suppressing the growth of cancer cells in a petri dish. And walnuts are the only nuts shown to markedly improve human artery function.
Blackberries beat out blueberries for antioxidant capacity.
The beans surprised me. What do you think fits the bill for best bean, at least from an antioxidant perspective? Want to pause it and take bets?
The lowest on the leaderboard … chickpeas. Holy hummus! The mightiest free radical fighter is the fava bean, with kidneys and pintos neck and neck for number two.
Lentils were another big surprise. I would have guessed black or red lentils to be up there, with brown or green on the bottom. But check this out. Green lentils have about four times the antioxidant power of red ones!
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Hodgson JM, Prince RL, Woodman RJ, et al. Apple intake is inversely associated with all-cause and disease-specific mortality in elderly women. Br J Nutr. 2016;115(5):860-867.
- Carlsen MH, Halvorsen BL, Holte K, et al. The total antioxidant content of more than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide. Nutr J. 2010;9:3.
- Ros E, Mataix J. Fatty acid composition of nuts—implications for cardiovascular health. Br J Nutr. 2006;96 Suppl 2:S29-35.
- Yang J, Liu RH, Halim L. Antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of common edible nut seeds. LWT - Food Sci Technol. 2009;42(1):1-8.
- Xiao Y, Huang W, Peng C, et al. Effect of nut consumption on vascular endothelial function: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Clin Nutr. 2018;37(3):831-839.
- Tenore GC, Caruso D, Buonomo G, et al. Annurca (Malus pumila Miller cv. Annurca) apple as a functional food for the contribution to a healthy balance of plasma cholesterol levels: results of a randomized clinical trial. J Sci Food Agric. 2017;97(7):2107-2115.
- Bondonno NP, Bondonno CP, Blekkenhorst LC, et al. Flavonoid-rich apple improves endothelial function in individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease: a randomized controlled clinical trial. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2018;62(3).
Motion graphics by Avo Media
Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
An apple a day has been associated with as much as a 35 percent lower risk of premature death. But which apple is best? Whichever apple you’ll eat the most. So, eat your favorite apple. But if you don’t care which apple you eat, or you’re just curious, which apple has the highest antioxidant content: Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, or Red Delicious? Anytime you want to check the antioxidant content of foods, nothing beats this free database of more than 3,000 foods. For apples, Granny gets the gold, with more than twice as many antioxidants as Golden Delicious apples.
Interestingly, antioxidant content roughly corresponds with the ability to lower cholesterol levels within one month for those randomized to eat an apple a day. Annurca apples beat Granny Smith, but presumably it’s because study participants got two Annurcas a day, versus just one of the others, because they were about half the size. But two apples, even when they’re half the size, have more overall surface area, and the magic may be in the peel. If you randomize people to eat apples with or without the peel, you see a significant boost in artery function within an hour of peel consumption. So, don’t peel your apples.
For other foods, the antioxidant spread can be even greater. Check out nuts. Two nuts pull way ahead, with the top nut having nearly 75 times the antioxidants than the bottom nut. Which do you think is which? Want to pause it and guess? Walnuts for the win! Followed by pecans, then pistachios, and who would have guessed almonds would be way down at the bottom?
Walnuts also have the highest omega-3 content, by a large margin, beating out other nuts in suppressing the growth of cancer cells in a petri dish. And walnuts are the only nuts shown to markedly improve human artery function.
Blackberries beat out blueberries for antioxidant capacity.
The beans surprised me. What do you think fits the bill for best bean, at least from an antioxidant perspective? Want to pause it and take bets?
The lowest on the leaderboard … chickpeas. Holy hummus! The mightiest free radical fighter is the fava bean, with kidneys and pintos neck and neck for number two.
Lentils were another big surprise. I would have guessed black or red lentils to be up there, with brown or green on the bottom. But check this out. Green lentils have about four times the antioxidant power of red ones!
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Hodgson JM, Prince RL, Woodman RJ, et al. Apple intake is inversely associated with all-cause and disease-specific mortality in elderly women. Br J Nutr. 2016;115(5):860-867.
- Carlsen MH, Halvorsen BL, Holte K, et al. The total antioxidant content of more than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide. Nutr J. 2010;9:3.
- Ros E, Mataix J. Fatty acid composition of nuts—implications for cardiovascular health. Br J Nutr. 2006;96 Suppl 2:S29-35.
- Yang J, Liu RH, Halim L. Antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of common edible nut seeds. LWT - Food Sci Technol. 2009;42(1):1-8.
- Xiao Y, Huang W, Peng C, et al. Effect of nut consumption on vascular endothelial function: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Clin Nutr. 2018;37(3):831-839.
- Tenore GC, Caruso D, Buonomo G, et al. Annurca (Malus pumila Miller cv. Annurca) apple as a functional food for the contribution to a healthy balance of plasma cholesterol levels: results of a randomized clinical trial. J Sci Food Agric. 2017;97(7):2107-2115.
- Bondonno NP, Bondonno CP, Blekkenhorst LC, et al. Flavonoid-rich apple improves endothelial function in individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease: a randomized controlled clinical trial. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2018;62(3).
Motion graphics by Avo Media
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Title
The Highest Antioxidant: Apple, Bean, Berry, Lentil, or Nut?
LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Content URLDoctor's Note
For more on antioxidants, see:
- Antioxidants and Depression
- Food Antioxidants and Cancer
- Antioxidant-Rich Foods with Every Meal
- Minimum “Recommended Daily Allowance” of Antioxidants
- Antioxidants in a Pinch
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