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!Home > Dr. Greger’s Medical Nutrition Blog > Add Beans, Berries, and Greens to More Meals

Add Beans, Berries, and Greens to More


Meals!
Written by: Michael Greger M.D. on December 11th, 2014

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After we eat, our bodies create free radicals in the process of breaking down
our food. That’s why we need to eat antioxidant-rich foods with every meal
to counteract this oxidation caused by metabolism. We can’t just have
berries on our oatmeal in the morning to meet our Minimum
Recommended Daily Allowance of Antioxidants and call it a day. Each
and every meal should contain high antioxidant foods, which means that
each and every meal should contain whole plant foods. Antioxidant rich
foods originate from the plant kingdom, due to the thousands of different
natural antioxidant compounds naturally created by the plants we eat.

Consuming fruits—which are high in phenolic phytonutrients—increases the


antioxidant capacity of the blood. When fruits are consumed along with high
fat and refined carbohydrate “pro-oxidant and pro-inflammatory” meals, they
may help counterbalance their negative effects. Given the content and
availability of fat and sugars in the Western diet, regular consumption of
phenolic-rich foods, particularly in conjunction with meals, appears to be a
prudent strategy to maintain oxidative balance and health.

And of all fruits, berries may be the best source of phytonutrients. In the
video, How to Reach the Antioxidant “RDA”, you can see an example of
the spike in oxidation caused by a Mediterranean meal of pasta, tomato
sauce, olive oil, and fried fish. Obviously, given the spike of oxidation, there
were not enough tomatoes. Add a glass of red wine, which contains berry
phytonutrients from grapes, and we can bring down, but not blunt
completely, the level of oxidation. So the meal needs even more plants.

In a study I profile in the video, researchers gave subjects standard breakfast


items, resulting in lots of oxidized cholesterol in their bloodstream one to six
hours after the meal. But all it took was a cup of strawberries with that same
breakfast to at least keep the meal from contributing to further oxidation. In
my Food Antioxidants and Cancer video, you can see a comparison of
breakfast with berries versus breakfast without.

If we don’t consume high-antioxidant plants with breakfast, by lunch we’ll


already be in oxidative debt. Let’s say we ate a standard American breakfast
at 6 a.m. If we didn’t eat that cup of strawberries with breakfast, by the time
lunch rolls around we’d already be starting out in the hyper-oxidized state,
and lunch could just make things worse. Since western eating patterns
include eating multiple meals a day, including snacks, one can only
speculate on the level of biological unrest.

If we have some berries for breakfast, at least we’d be starting out at


baseline for lunch. This acute protection is likely due to the antioxidant
effects of the strawberry phytonutrients. What if, by lunch, we could be even
better than baseline? How about our meals actually improving our
antioxidant status?

If, for example, we eat a big bunch of red grapes with our meal, the
antioxidant level of our bloodstream goes up and our bodies are in positive
antioxidant balance for a few hours. We get the same result after eating
enough blueberries. And imagine if in these ensuing hours before our next
meal we were sipping green tea, hibiscus tea or even whole cranberries?
(See Pink Juice with Green Foam). We’d have a nice antioxidant surplus all
day long.

One group of researchers conclude: “These data provide an interesting


perspective for advising individuals on food choice when consuming a
moderate- to high-fat meal is unavoidable.” (Unavoidable? So what, if we’re
locked in a fast food joint or something?) They suggest chasing whatever
we’re forced to eat with some berries. Reminds me of those studies I’ve
talked about suggesting that smokers should eat lots of kale and broccoli to
reduce the oxidative damage to their DNA. Of course, they could also just
not smoke.

In a single day, the systemic stress of all the fat in our blood and “redox
imbalance” (being in a mild pro-oxidant state after meals) may seem trivial.
Over time, however, these daily insults can lead to problems such as heart
disease, contributing to the hundreds of thousands of deaths a year (See
The Power of NO).

I strive to eat berries every day and so should everyone. If we are going to
drink wine, red is preferable (See Breast Cancer Risk: Red Wine vs. White
Wine)

See how quickly stress can eat our antioxidants in: Antioxidant Level
Dynamics.

I used a similar meal-components technique to illustrate the potent


antioxidant power of spices. See Antioxidants in a Pinch.

All fruits and veggies aren’t the same. I make this point in different ways in
videos like Which Fruit Fights Cancer Better? and Anti-Inflammatory
Antioxidants.

I have a series of videos on which foods have the most antioxidants. See
Antioxidant Content of 3,139 Foods and Antioxidant Power of Plant
Foods Versus Animal Foods. Note these are measured based on test tube
tests. There are more sophisticated ways to measure antioxidant activity.
See Anti Up on the Veggies.

What’s the cheapest common source of whole food antioxidants? See


Superfood Bargains for a dollar per dollar comparison. What’s the cheapest
uncommon source? See Dragon’s Blood.

Are there diminishing returns to getting too many antioxidants? See Maxing
Out on Antioxidants.

So if we have that bowl of berries in the morning to meet our minimum daily
antioxidant needs can we just call it a day?. Hint: the title of my follow-up
video is: Antioxidant Rich Foods With Every Meal.

-Michael Greger, M.D.

PS: If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my free videos here and watch
my live year-in-review presentations Uprooting the Leading Causes of
Death, More Than an Apple a Day, and From Table to Able.

Image Credit: Vegan Feast Catering / Flickr

Tags: antioxidants, apples, bananas, beans, beef, berries, beverages,


blueberries, carrots, chicken, cucumbers, dates, dietary guidelines, fish,
fruit, Green tea, ham, herbal tea, hibiscus tea, kidney beans, lettuce,
meat, oregano, oxidative stress, peaches, peas, pork, poultry, seafood,
sleep, smoking, spices, Standard American Diet, tea, tobacco, turkey,
vegetables, watermelon

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NormanAllen • 4 days ago 

Can one have too much antioxidant? Is it possible to overdose on
antioxidants such as consuming turmeric, tea, amla, cranberries,
lemon-water, grapes, red cabbage, etc. ?

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Han NormanAllen • 4 days ago 

There is another video on this website that shows that
antioxidants in pill form work counter productive.

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Tricia • 4 days ago 

When I bring up how important antioxidants are for good health,
arguments are raised regarding the role of oxidants in oxidative-
based apoptosis. My question is, will oxidative-based apoptosis
still be able to be carried out by a cell even when it is flooded with
antioxidants? Are the hazards of smokers supplementing with
vitamin A & E which has been correlated with higher rates of
cancer, due to the vitamins (which are antioxidants) inhibiting the
cellular process of apoptosis? Is it just supplementing with
antioxidants that can be disruptive to apoptosis or can one
consume too many antioxidants from whole foods?

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Ginger C • 4 days ago 

Thanks for your videos and articles. They are inspiring and help
me stay resolved.

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Me • 4 days ago 

berries have one of the highest rates of oesticide spray. I buy
organic, incl, frozen, but it's expensive and sometimes the
certification is suspect. I buy conventional (not organic) skinned
fruits like mango & avocado. With berries eg strawberries am I
better to eat less rather than eat with pesticides? 

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Thea NF Team Me • 4 days ago 

Me: Good for you for trying to eat a lot of berries. And a very
good question you have. Dr. Greger has a great blog post
where he puts pesticide consumption into perspective. :

"A new study calculated that if half the U.S. population ate
just one more serving of conventional fruits and vegetables,
20,000 cases of cancer could be prevented. At the same
time the added pesticide consumption could cause up to 10
extra cancer cases. So by eating conventional produce we
may get a tiny bump in cancer risk, but that’s more than
compensated by the dramatic drop in risk that accompanies
whole food plant consumption. Even if all we had to eat was
the most contaminated produce the benefits would far
outweigh any risks."

from: http://nutritionfacts.org/2013...

I translate this bit of info into: Eat organic when you can, but
don't stress about it when you can't.

Happily, there is a way to take this advice a step further to
minimize your risks without completely depleting the
pocketbook. Every year, the Environmental Working Group
actually measures pesticide levels in fruits and veggies--after
those fruits and veggies have been prepared in the way
people would normally eat them. (For example, peeling a
banana or washing first.) If you scroll down on the following
page, you will see a list for the "Dirty Dozen" and the "Clean
Fifteen".

http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/su...

I bring your attention to these lists because I think they are
very helpful for people who can't afford to eat organic for
everything. You could use these lists to help you decide
when it is worth putting down money for organic and when it
might be safer to buy non-organic.

I hope this helps!

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Matthew Smith • 3 days ago 

Dr. Greger is a crusader for the true nature of medicine,
prevention. This article truly underscores how we have the power
to improve our health and improve our lives. His detailed literature
reviews show that beans, greens, and berries, are some of the
most powerful ways to improve our health. Spinach, broccoli,
onions, garlic, Brussels sprouts, kale, collards, carrots, and beets
are some of the most powerful cancer prevention foods there are
and, understanding that 40 percent of Americans get cancer, are
disproportionately valuable to health. Berries are filled with
nutrition and can help the mind age gracefully or even improve as

it ages, making a cup a day necessary for living longer. Even a cup
of raisins (he recommends golden raisins) count, Beans are the
most powerful tool at managing many chronic diseases we can
get, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other age related
diseases considered to be unavoidable by some. I think Dr. Greger
is ahead of his time in trying to stop end of life diseases when so
many doctors are busy treating colds, coughs, and bruises. With a
rosehip tea and a cup of spinach with its Vitamin K, he might put
medicine out of business. I think beans, greens, and berries are
necessary for health. If he made this into a Fibonacci, he could
add two or five more things, like nuts (half your heart disease risk
and some cancers), dark chocolate, green tea, fresh fruit, and
whole grain are also really valuable. His food recommendations
could eliminate heart disease, add ten or more years to life,
guarantee living to 85, reduce risk of colon cancer, improve mood,
limit most cancers, restrict risk of stroke or cancer, reduce or
manage heart disease and diabetes, reduce your risk of heart
disease and sudden heart disease, make you seem five-14 years
younger, and limit your ability to get metabolic syndrome and lose
weight. These foods include probiotics, grape fruit, orange juice,
cherries, ten cups of green tea a day, Lemons, green pepper,
beans, black raspberries, sunflower seeds. strawberries,
bilberries, yellow squash, pistachios, tomatoes, soy, broccoli,
watermelon, beets, garlic, flax seeds, seaweed, blueberries, whole
grain, grapes or grape juice, nuts, cruciferous vegetable, dark
chocolate. lentils, herb tea, sweet potatoes, clove, turmeric,
ginger, cranberry juice, pumpkins, apples, hibiscus tea, brazil nuts,
macadamia nuts, amla, seaweed, carrots, and Tabasco sauce. Dr.
Greger's recommendation to add oregano, chai tea, hibiscus tea
with alma, goji berries, cloves, dried pomegrante seeds, and flax
seed powder to every diet would mean nobody would ever be
short of antioxidants, and he notesthat we do indeed have a daily
required amount of them at more than 10,000 a day.

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jj Matthew Smith • 3 days ago 

"ten cups of green tea a day" Wow, where is the room for
water? After drinking tea and water there wouldn't be room
for food. Or time for it either. LOL

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Tracie Clang • 3 days ago 

I am still confused about how to get the amount of recommended
antioxidants by looking at the list of 3,000 foods. Will you help me
understand how to convert from their numbers to the 12,000 units
recommended daily. For example, if it says mmol/100g is 2.8,
what does that mean in terms of units and serving size? THANK
YOU!!

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Matthew Smith Tracie Clang • 2 days ago 

Dr. Greger has recommended one Chai tea, oregano, cloves,
hibiscus tea, dried apples, golden raisins, pecans, walnuts,
cocoa, matcha, blueberries, amla, and flax seed. He has
recipes! His pink foam Hibiscus tea, super pumpkin pie
(make it with two chai tea bags opened!), and his breakfast
smoothie have huge servings of antioxidants. Sprinkle
oregano on most foods, always have a few leaves of red
lettuce, or purple cabbage, drink a chai tea a day and sip
hibiscus most days, cloves can go on anything, and for a
snack walnuts, golden raisins, and dried apples can't be
beat. Cloves, rosemary, tumeric with pepper, fresh garlic,
and ginger (or even dried ginger snacks) are very powerful
anti-cancer spices, and oregano is a real powerhouse. Dog
Roses or Rose hips and Amla are chart toppers. He has
listed foods specifically for anti-cancer benefit as well, these
are lemons, cranberries, apples, garlic, beets, tomatoes,
carrots, broccoli, spinach, collards, pecans, peanuts,
walnuts, cloves, ginger, tumeric with pepper, rosemary,
hibiscus tea, dandelions tea, chamomile tea, matcha, white
tea with lemon, are the best of the bunch for cancer
prevention. Some foods are very antioxidant dense, like
oregano and amla, others not so much. I don't think they list
ORAC units anytime soon, so knowing this, I think we're
saying to sip tea, eat nuts, and beans just to be safe.

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unf13 • 3 days ago 

Do frozen berries preserve their antioxidants? Thanks.

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Harriet Sugar Miller unf13 • 2 days ago 

Sometimes frozen berries are even a better choice,
depending on lots of factors. Here are some tips from the
director of the Plants for Human Health Institute at North
Carolina State University. http://zesterdaily.com/cooking...

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elsie blanche • 3 days ago 

As far as the antioxidants in green tea, Dr. Neal Barnard (vegan
doctor held in high regard) has stated clearly in one of his books
that the aluminum content of tea is "significant" and for this
reason tea consumption should be limited.

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Harriet Sugar Miller elsie blanche • 2 days ago 

Elsie,

Is that a problem in all green teas or just teas from certain
regions?

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elsie blanche Harriet Sugar Miller • 2 days ago 

I've read that tea trees by nature have a strong ability to
absorb aluminum from the soil, whereas many other
plants do not have this "ability".

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Bucky101 • a day ago 

What about black tea? I use it three times a day - loose black tea
leafs. Does it have any antioxidant?

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Anni Maver • 10 hours ago 

Can you please address any dietary component to shingles
prevention? Thank you!

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Transcript: Minimum “Recommended Daily
Allowance” of Antioxidants!
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Glucose is the primary fuel of the human body, that's what starches are broken
down into. Our body takes glucose in our diet and the oxygen we breathe in and
makes energy to power our bodies, water, and carbon dioxide that we breathe out.
Plants then take the water and CO2 and make oxygen and organic compounds
like glucose and the cycle continues in this circle of life. That’s what carbohydrate
means, basically hydrated carbon--carbon and water, which is what plants use to
make carbs with, and all that’s left after we burn them for energy in our muscles
and brain, but this process of oxidizing glucose to make energy is messy, and
generates free radicals, such that if we chug down straight sugar water the level of
oxidation in our bloodstream goes up over the next few hours. Why would our
bodies evolve to have a negative reaction to our primary fuel? Because over the
millions of years we evolved, there was no such thing as sugar water—all sugars
and starches came pre-packaged with what? Anti-oxidants. In nature sugar always
comes with phytonutrients.

If you drink the same amount of sugar in the form of orange juice you don't
get that spike in oxidation. Why? Because the sugar in fruit comes
prepackaged with antioxidants. Can't we just drink vitamin C enriched sugar
water? No, it wasn't the vitamin C in the OJ, but the citrus phytonutrients like
hesperetin and naringenin that beat back the oxidation.

If we don't eat phytonutrient-rich plant foods with each meallike fruit, then for
hours after we eat our bodies are tipped out of balance into a pro-oxidative state,
which can set us up for oxidant stress diseases. The free radicals in our body can
oxidize the fats in our blood and help set us up for heart disease.

Here're the levels of oxidized fat in our blood 1,2,3 hours after sugar water
ingestion, and the corresponding drop in vitamin E levels in our blood as our
body's antioxidant stores are being used up, within hours. If we don't eat
phytonutrient-rich foods with our meals, our body has to dip into its backup supply
of antioxidants and you can't get away with that for long. So while ideally we
should stuff our faces with as many phytonutrient-rich foods as we can, in the very
least we should eat enough antioxidants to counter the oxidation of digestion. In
the very least we don’t want to slide backwards every day and end up with less
antioxidants in our bodies than we woke up with.

Just to break even here's about how many antioxidants we need every day,
depending on how much we eat, just to counter the oxidation of digestion. (This is
measured in millimoles of trolox equivalents). Men in the U.S. average about 2500
calories a day, and so should be getting at least 11,000 micromoles a day. Women
eat about 1800 calories so should get at least 8,000 just to stay solvent. The
average American, doesn't even get half the minimum! No wonder oxidant stress
related diseases abound. We're getting so few antioxidants in our diet we can't
even keep up with the free radicals created just digesting our meals. We are a
nation in chronic oxidative debt.

In developed societies we eat a lot of food, but not enough plants, which could
result in exaggerated and prolonged metabolic, oxidative, and immune imbalance,
presenting opportunity for biological insult that over time could supersede
biological defense and repair systems manifesting in cellular dysfunction, disease,
and ultimately death.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger
may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the
audio contributed by Ariel Levitsky.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org.

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Doctor's Note!
If those citrus phytonutrients sounded familiar to you, it’s because I mentioned
them before in videos like Keeping Your Hands Warm With Citrus and Reducing
Muscle Fatigue With Citrus. It’s still better to eat the whole fruit though (See Best
Fruit Juice and Apple Juice May Be Worse Than Sugar Water).

Digestion isn’t the only physiological source of free radicals—exercise is too. See
Preventing Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress With Watercress.

Background on the role free radicals play in aging and disease can be found in my
video Mitochondrial Theory of Aging. Antioxidant-rich diets can even change gene
expression: Plant-Based Diets and Cellular Stress Defenses.

Is there a refined sweetener that doesn’t cause free radical formation? Yes:
Erythritol May Be a Sweet Antioxidant.

What’s the best way of reaching our daily minimum of 8-11,000 antioxidant units a
day? So glad you asked! Covered in my next video, How to Reach the Antioxidant
RDA.

If you haven't yet, you can subscribe to my videos for free by clicking here.

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Annie L • a year ago 

Can anyone please help moi understand why one might be having
IBS issues while eating foods high in sucrose: sweet potatoes,
bananas, apples, corn chips, brown rice and much more. Some of
these foods don't have a lot of "sugar" in them but when you look
up the "sucrose" content it is very high. Fructose does not seem
to bother me near as much. Is there some kind of chemical in
sucrose that can cause issues? 1/2 cup of artichokes has more
sucrose than a cup of red grapes. One cup of carrots has 4,600
mg of sucrose and one cup of raspberries has 264 mg. Makes no
sense but these are the numbers and I don't do well on high-
sucrose foods.

Maybe someone here that understands sugar chemicals can make
sense of this for me. It has been a struggle on plant-based,
because of this, and I have been vegan for many years.

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Betty Annie L • a year ago 

I had problems with IBS until I got rid of processed foods.
Perhaps you should dump the corn chips and what ever else
you're eating that comes in a package.

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Alan Betty • a year ago 

Yes, get rid of the corn chips. I used to drink a fair
amount of alcohol and i also ate a lot of corn chips and
potato chips. My stomach was bothering me and
getting worse.Not wanting to give up the alcohol i gave
up the chips first and my stomach problems went
away. Just for the record i have given up alcohol since
then. Praise the Lord !!!

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Annie L Betty • a year ago 

Ironically, it is mostly the raw, fresh, and "healthy" fruits
and vegetables that cause me the most issues.
Mangoes, apples, carrots, artichokes, pineapple - the
ones highest in sucrose. I only eat corn chips once
every 2 weeks or so. Sucrose metabolism might be an
issue for some people, even with fresh unprocessed
foods.

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Coacervate Annie L • a year ago 

I have a close friend with the same problem. We
just could not understand why but the
determination was there. He was successful by
very slowly adding fruits and veg to his eating
pattern. I can tell you it took some months but he
is now eating whole foods, plant based. Good
luck.

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Annie L Coacervate • a year ago 

Thank you for sharing this. There are fruits
and veggies low in "sucrose" that do not
cause me as much issue. Oh well, so it is.

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Veganrunner Annie L • a year ago 

Annie,

Have you looked into how much fiber
you are eating? I find on the days with
80 grams or more I have an issue. And
until I put my foods into a app I had no
idea I was eating that much. 

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Coacervate Veganrunner • a year ago 

Yes, same for me too. Good point.

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Annie L Veganrunner • a year ago 

I find it difficult to be a vegan and
not get tons of fiber, yet still get
enough calories. How can one get
enough plant based calories yet
limit fiber? Drinking fruit juice is
not the answer for me, nor is
high-fat plant foods.

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Veganrunner Annie L • a year ago 

I try and not go crazy with
my morning smoothy and
keep it a reasonable size.
30-40 oz causes a bad
couple of days. If I keep to
below 20 I am ok. Also I
don't do them daily
anymore. My stomach just
works better that way. I
rotate oatmeal. I played with
the FODMAPs but it didn't
make a difference. I don't
drink juice. I also do better
with starchy veggies. 

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Anthony Gonsalves Annie L • 8
days ago 

So wait, you don't want the
fiber? Let me answer the
calories first because i'm not
sure what you meant by
that. Nuts, seeds, cooked
beans, vegetable oils, rice
(wild rice (techincally a
seed), japonica, brown rice
and sushi rice are only ones
I eat) will all give you good
caloric content. It's really
easy to get enough calories,
just not as concentrated like
tissue (meat).

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desertpooch Annie L • a year ago 

How much soy are you eating? I find it
is the worst of the bunch in foods and it
is in almost everything you buy at the
store. Do some research on Soy and I
think that you will find it is the culprit.

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Annie L desertpooch • a year ago 

I never eat soy. Not a GI issue for
me, the soy, but soy is not
something I would put on my
plate. 

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Steve S Annie L • a year ago 

Fodmaps!

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Steve Billig Annie L • a year ago 

Annie, your data on sucrose is correct, but your
interpretation of what it means is off. Yes, 1/2 cup of
artichokes has more sucrose than one cup of grapes, but
both have minuscule amounts, less than 1/4 teaspoon, as
does 1 cup of raspberries. And a cup of raw carrots has
about 1 teaspoon of sugar, as does a cup of sweet potatoes.
In general, you should not worry about sucrose,or sugars in
general in whole foods, including fruit.

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JoAnn Downey Ivey Annie L • a year ago 

I'm not exactly replying, because I too have a sucrose
question. Sucrose is a disaccharide made up of glucose and
fructose. So for complete digestion, that sucrose molecule
would have to be broken down into two monosaccharides:
glucose and fructose. I'm confused how we would know if it
was the glucose or the fructose causing a problem? Re the
IBS: ditch any processed food including corn chips and see
what happens.

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Annie L JoAnn Downey Ivey • a year ago 

JoAnn, thanks for the question. I go to
nutritiondata.self.com and type in the various foods
that seem to cause me a bit of problems. What these
foods have in common is a high sucrose content. You
can click on the "carbs" tab for each food item, and the
section will open up to reveal each sugar content :
fructose, glucose, sucrose, etc.

Is this just a random thing for me? I don't know. But my
experience is fairly consistent and interesting.

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Nate Porter Annie L • a year ago 

I thought it was sugars at first with my stomach issues, even
going vegan didn't eliminate problems. Eventually I pinned it
to fat intake. If there's oils in things I eat or something is too
fatty like chips I have stomach problems. I can't tolerate nuts
either, they cause me bad stomach pain, but seeds are fine.
Try going low fat, if thats an factor. Just my experience but I
offer it in case it helps. 

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Jeanne Annie L • a year ago 

It doesn't exactly answer the question you are asking, but
kiwi fruit is supposed to be good for IBS. You might consider
doing a little research and then including them in your diet. I
like to peel them, slice and then freeze to include a few slices
in my smoothies. Buy organic when possible.

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Don Forrester MD NF Team Annie L • a year ago 

IBS is a nonspecific description of GI symptoms that can
have many causes. Sucrose is a disaccharide composed of
one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose.
Sucrose is broken down by an enzyme, sucrase, in the small
intestine. Brown rice is very low in "sugar" but high in
starches which are essentially long chains of glucose
molecules. Sweet potatoes are somewhat higher in sugars
but still have 4X as much starch. You can use the website,
Cronometer, to check the various contents. Since it is
complex and difficult to understand you have to go with what
works. I would avoid high sucrose foods but check the foods
so you have accurate information and aren't "throwing out
the baby with the bath water".

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Annie L Don Forrester MD • a year ago 

Thank you. And I'll check out cronometer.

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Mike • a year ago 

I read in "The McDougall Program for a Healthy Heart," published
in 1996, that too much sugar can raise cholesterol, and so, Dr.
McDougall recommends only two servings of fruit a day, or three
at most. Is this a good idea, or do the antioxidants and fiber
prevent damage from the sugars, allowing us to eat more servings
than that?

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Andy Mike • a year ago 

Too much fruit intake can indeed raise cholesterol. I believe
that it raises your triglycerides. Vegetables have antioxidants
too so you can get them there too...

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Don Forrester MD NF Team Andy • a year ago 

I have the privilege of working with Dr. McDougall at the
McDougall Whole Foods program which is an 8 day
program similar to the McDougall 10-day program.
Most patients in my experience can tolerate up to 4
servings of fruit/day. Most participants in the
McDougall program see drops in cholesterol in the
order of 30% by eating what they want consistent with
the whole food plant based diet with no oils. If they still
have problems with their cholesterol or triglyceride
targets while on the correct diet then limiting fruit intake
would be the next step. It is the fructose in fruit and
sugar (e.g.50% fructose) that causes the elevation. It is
also appears, based on limited scientific studies, to be
less of a problem if the intake of fruit is spread out over
time. Eating a variety of vegetables and some fruits
should give you adequate antioxidants. You will need to
work with your physician to come up with the best path
for you. Good luck.

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SillySallySue • a year ago 

Excellent information, as usual. Thanks! But am I the only one
seeing a fuzzy, low quality video? Could someone have uploaded
this incorrectly? I can't read the charts, etc. Thanks in advance.

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brec SillySallySue • a year ago 

Looks fine here. The only fuzziness occurs for a few seconds
after switching to full-screen, but that's typical on all sites.

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team SillySallySue • a year ago 

I think that's just a function of the poor quality of the original
source material. Some of the old literature is scanned in
fuzzy.

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Bill Misner PhD • a year ago 

Brilliant and so true...to the point....Dang wish I had said this! Well
done Dr. Greger.

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Kjell Ottesen • a year ago 

This video is absolutely awesome! I have followed
recommendations from Dr. Greger and also from Forks over
Knives and it have changed my life to the better. Blood pressure is
112/72 and I am off Statins which totally surprised my GP (Most
GPs unfortunately have limited knowledge of antioxidants and free
radical damage) My antioxidant levels are scanned every four
weeks and as long as I can maintain my high AO score, I am less
likely to get any illnesses and diseases as Dr. Greger mention in
this video! Thanks for this wonderful web page and videos!!

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Carlyle070 Kjell Ottesen • a year ago 

Can you share what kind of test is it that checks for
antioxidant content? Is it a standard test? How do you get it
done?

Thank you

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Kjell Ottesen Carlyle070 • a year ago 

I will be happy to see if there is a scanner operator in
your area. Please email me your zip code to
kjell@springeramerica.com, and I will let you know what
I can find!

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Emerson Berlanda • a year ago 

thanks, very clear information

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fstfingers • a year ago 

Thank you for this video and transcript that informs us how
antioxidants work and how many millimoles we need to eat each
day, but how does that translate into servings of food? I think I
missed that part or didn't understand. How many oranges do I
need to eat? Or cups of strawberries? Is there a table or graph
somewhere that has this information? If I need to eat 8,000
millimoles to break even, how do I get it?

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veg4life fstfingers • a year ago 

Looks like you will get your answer in tomorrow's video!

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team veg4life • a year ago 

Yes indeed! Stay tuned. Please feel to subscribe at
http://bit.ly/nutritionfactsup... so you don't miss it.

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Steve Weinberg • a year ago 

Can a person get too many antioxidants and would it be harmful?

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Brandon Klinedinst • a year ago 

I got a "404 Page not found" when trying to view "How to Reach
the Antioxidant RDA"

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team Brandon Klinedinst • a year ago 

It's not up yet! Stay tuned until tomorrow.

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Darryl NF Team • a year ago 

For those who missed the paradigm shift, the invitation to a 2013
dietary antioxidant conference starts:


We believe that rapidly the term polyphenols will replace the banal
and less credible term of “Antioxidant”


The effective mechanism of dietary "antioxidants" is a bit more
complicated than quenching trilox-equivalents in a test tube.
Absorption of dietary antioxidants is too low, and their reaction
rates are too slow, to account for significant quenching of reactive
species in vivo. With the exception of vitamin E in lipid
membranes, dietary antioxidants have negligible direct antioxidant
effects compared to endogenous antioxidants like glutathione,
uric acid, superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxiredoxins,
thioredoxins etc. See How do nutritional antioxidants really work:
Nucleophilic tone and para-hormesis versus free radical
scavenging in vivo, or the presentation below by author Fulvio
Ursini, a 35 year veteran in the field.

Antioxidant and prooxidant are not binary categories, but relative
terms - a given compound may act as antioxidant or prooxidant
depending on its concentration, the redox state of its environment,
or the presence of other chemicals. Vitamin C is usually an
antioxidant, but when free iron is about it acts as a prooxidant.
Polyphenols, through autooxidation or their intitial antioxidant
activity, form semiquinone radicals and quinones with prooxidant
potential. Some act as redox cyclers, continuously losing and
regaining protons & electrons and exhausting endogenous
antioxidant capacity. For example, cancer cells in culture can be
killed by reactive oxygen species generated by high doses of
green tea polyphenols. So how do dietary doses of these
compounds reduce oxidative stress? There's a large body of
evidence that they act via pro-oxidant modifications of proteins
that regulate stress responses. The quinone products of oxidized
polyphenols react with Keap1/Nrf2 to induce endogenous
antioxidant activity, and directly or indirectly inhibit NF-κB to
modulate inflammatory responses.

With respect to the latter, another recent paper of considerable
interest was There is no evidence that mitochondria are the main
source of reactive oxygen species in mammalian cells, which
reviews evidence that our energy-converting organelles, contrary
to decades of widespread assumption, are not the major source of
reactive species. It appears that two enzymes in inflammatory
responses, NADPH oxidase and xanthine oxidase, found in
macrophage phagosomes, activated microglia peroxisomes, and
serum, may be the major sources of oxidative stress. Why would
our bodies do that? I suspect that until very recently in our
evolution, infectious disease was the major constraint on
replicative potential, so quickly responding via inflammatory,
oxidative stress creating innate immune responses was adaptive,
given the long term consequences would mostly appear after our
ancestors' fertile years. Many dietary phytochemicals inhibit NF-
κB and hence inflammatory responses, some directly inhibit
NADPH oxidase and xanthine oxidase.

As the above quote from ISANH indicates, the scientific
consensus about how dietary "antioxidants" function has shifted
in the past decade. While leveraging existing public (mis)
understanding may simplify discussions, it also misleads. If the
antioxidants worked like acid-base titration, why not take
megadoses to shift the balance to the "good" side. We need a
better term than "antioxidant" to reflect the mechanism of
flavonoids, isothiocyanates, and other dietary compounds that
activate endogenous stress responses. While hormetin works, I
also like eustressor.

Regarding this video, drinking fruit juice will increase plasma
antioxidant activity, largely due to fructose increasing uric acid
production, not any antioxidants in the juice. Also, the cited paper
comparing effects of orange juice constituents on the
inflammatory activity of mononuclear cells bears closer reading.
Its not saying that orange juice polyphenols naringenin and
hesperidin are acting as direct antioxidants, but instead that the
two are acting in their well-studied role as NF-κB inhibitors,
reducing inflammation and ROS production by NADPH oxidase
(there's nothing particularly special about orange juice, naringenin
or hesperidin; other dietary compounds are more potent NF-κB
inhibitors). Other polyphenols acting through the same mechanism
also reduce NADPH oxidase expression in mononuclear cells.
They're not just mopping up spilled water (free radicals), they're
turning off the tap. So, is this antioxidant activity, or something
much more interesting?

From free radical scavengers to nucleophilic tone: a paradigm
shift in nutraceutical effects of fruit and vegetables, presentation
by Fulvio Ursini






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VegAtHeart Darryl • a year ago 

I just went through your post and Ursin's presentation with
great interest. I wish I could say I understand what is being
said, but I unfortunately am no chemist.

I probably misunderstood, but I came away with the
impression that that polyphenols produce their beneficial
health effects by mimicking pro-oxidants and that this
stimulates an endogenous anti-oxidant response that is
helpful. Terms like nucleophilic displacement reactions were
confusing to me. But I must be misunderstanding, because I
don't get why this is hormetic (or para-hormetic, to use
Ursin's term); where does the J shaped curve come from? 

Time permitting, it would be useful if someone could provide
us with a simple example to illustrate the typical process
whereby antioxidants produce their effects --- without too
much jargon (i.e. kitchen table explanation) please! Say one
consumes one specific polyphenol from green tea. How will
it produce a beneficial effect?

Anyway, thank you for a very thought-provoking post.

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Darryl NF Team VegAtHeart • a year ago 

Mind, I haven't had a chemistry class in decades, so
this represents an interested layman's interpretation:

Chemical potential energy is lower, and compounds are
more stable, when each atom has a complete outer
electron shell. An oxidant is a compound that can
achieve a lower energy state by taking electrons or
hydrogens from other compounds. In a sense, it
"wants" electrons, hence the term electrophile;
conversely, compounds with one or more electrons to
give away are nucleophiles. Oxygen atoms "want" two
additional electrons, and by taking them as hydrogen
atoms and forming water, enough energy is released to
launch rockets.

Free radicals, which have an unpaired electron in one of
their outer electron shells, have very low reaction
activation energies, and are extremely reactive. Worse,
they can initiate chain reactions of oxidation. Rusting is
slow oxidation, but flame, that's oxidation with free
radicals. Biologically important radicals include various
reactive oxygen species, or ROS, and reactive nitrogen
species.

A radical scavenging antioxidant is simply a compound
that can easily give up an electron or hydrogen.
Polyphenols, for example, have their electron charge
distributed over an aromatic ring, so their potential
energy doesn't rise so much after loss of a hydrogen
from one of their hydroxyl groups. In donating a
hydrogen to a free radical, the energy of the polyphenol
increases a little, but that of the free radical decreases
dramatically, so the net effect is much lower net energy,
driving the reaction.

Endogenous antioxidants like glutathione use cellular
energy to constantly recycle into their reduced
(antioxidant) state that can donate hydrogens. Some
dietary antioxidants like vitamin C are recycled as well
(though its concentration is restrictied, perhaps to limit
reduction of redox active iron & copper). But what
happens to a polyphenol like EGCG from tea after its
given up a couple hydrogens to initial antioxidant
activity, autooxidation, or oxidation by a cytochrome
P450? It becomes a quinone, itself an electrophile, with
a couple carbonyls in place of its original hydroxyls (the
diagram below may help with the jargon).





Here's where it gets interesting. Quinones are reactive
with the free cysteine residues used by sensor proteins
to detect electrophiles. One such sensor protein is
Keap1, a protein that keeps (!) the transcription factor
Nrf2 in the cytoplasm. When its cysteines are bound by
electrophiles, Keap1 changes conformation, releasing
Nrf2 to enter the nucleus and initiate transcription of of
cytoprotective genes, including those for glutathione
synthesis / recycling and other endogenous antioxidant
enzymes (as well as DNA repair, protein chaperones,
metal chelators, and toxin export; over 200 "Phase II
response" or "antioxidant response element" genes are
known).

This explains how modest, dietary doses of EGCG and
other dietary "antioxidants" can, once oxidized, react in
pro-oxidant fashion to induce endogenous antioxidant
responses. Moreover, it also accounts for why high,
non-physiological concentrations of EGCG and other
polyphenols have a prooxidant effect. They cycle
between reduced (phenol) and oxidized (semiquinone
radical or quinone, both electrophiles) forms,
overwhelming the capacity of endogeneous glutathione
to keep them in their reduced state.

Endogenous antioxidants are present in higher
concentrations, and antioxidant enzymes like SOD
have faster reaction rates, than dietary antioxidants,
and are hence orders of magnitude more potent. Unlike
most dietary antioxidants, they're catalytic (meaning
they're restored to full potency after scavenging
radicals), and their levels can remain elevated for days
after Nrf2 induction. Moreover, as their enzymatic
activity is feedback regulated on short timescales, they
can rapidly respond to deletorious spikes in reactive
oxygen species, while permitting basal low levels of
ROS etc. used in intracellular signalling. Exogenous
antioxidants lack this innate "intelligence", which may
account for some harms with antioxidant
supplementation (1, 2, 3).

Are there dietary compounds that are well-absorbed
and have fast enough kinetics to substantially effect
redox balance as direct antioxidants? Off hand, I can
think of four, though all have limitations: vitamin C (up
to 70 μM in plasma, higher levels are excreted), vitamin
E (in lipids), carotenoids (in eyes/skin exposed to UV),
and perhaps ergothioneine (in mitochondria). C is
actively recycled, and itself participates in reducing E
and ergothioneine back to their antioxidant forms.
Carotenoids (eg β-carotene, lycopene etc) are lost after
participating in antioxidant reactions as described
above, but also have the ability to dissipate the
excitation energy of UV-generated singlet oxygen as
heat, repeatedly (ORAC doesn't measure this). So far,
large clinical trials of supplemental C, E, and
carotenoids have had disappointing and even adverse
effects, for which I believe the papers linked last
paragraph offer good explanations. The largest human
trial of ergothioneine to date had 12 subjects, but there
are some promising results from animal studies.

These four account for a small fraction of the in vitro
direct antioxidant capacity measured by ORAC. The
mid-90s-mid-2000s hypothesis was that all the other
plant polyphenols that dominate the ORAC measure
might participate in antioxidant defense. They do, but
largely indirectly, in ways ORAC doesn't measure.

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VegAtHeart Darryl • a year ago 

This explanation is brilliant! I think you actually
completely answered my question. Wow!

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Sue VegAtHeart • a year ago 

Oh, so this is kitchen table explanation, lol!
Will have to reread this 100 times and hope it
sinks in....

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VegAtHeart Sue • a year ago 

True - his second post in this thread is
still somewhat technical, though less
so than his first. He is exceptionally
enthusiastic and generous; if you ask
him a question he will mostly likely
provide you with an excellent answer.

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Darryl NF Team VegAtHeart • a year ago 

Thank you for the kind words.

A related cool thing I just learned.
Roasting coffee reduces its in
vitro antioxidant capacity but
dramatically increases its ability to
induce Nrf2 endogenous
antioxidant responses and inhibit
NF-κB inflammatory signalling in
vivo.

You can guess which one I want.

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Sue Darryl • a year ago 

You're saying drinking
roasted coffee is a good
thing, right?

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Darryl NF Team Sue • a year
ago 

Coassociation of
coffee drinking with
smoking confounded
recognition of coffee's
potential health
benefits for decades,
but that's changing:

• Association of Coffee
Drinking with total and
cause-specific
mortality

• Association of coffee
consumption with all-
cause and
cardiovascular disease
mortality

• A meta-analysis of
prospective studies of
coffee consumption
and mortality for all
causes, cancers and
cardiovascular
diseases.

• Effects of habitual
coffee consumption on
cardiometabolic
disease, cardiovascular
health, and all-cause
mortality.

• Prospective study of
coffee consumption
and risk of Parkinson's
disease

While Dr. Greger favors
green tea (which is
believed to act in part
through the same
cellular mechanisms),
even there direct
comparisons offer
surprises.

• Coffee, tea, and
incident type 2
diabetes: the
Singapore Chinese
Health Study

• Midlife coffee and tea
drinking and the risk of
late-life dementia: a
population-based
CAIDE study

• Coffee and tea
consumption in relation
to prostate cancer
prognosis

• The impact of green
tea and coffee
consumption on the
reduced risk of stroke
incidence in Japanese
population

• Consumption of
coffee, but not black
tea, is associated with
decreased risk of
premenopausal breast
cancer

The evidence at
present is that both
coffee and tea
(especially green tea)
offer health benefits,
assuming they don't
interfere with sleep. I
drink both, depending
on the time of day, but
increasingly suspect
the coffee may have
more of a positive
influence.

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Sue Darryl • a year
ago 

Thanks, got it.
Am reading
through and
learning a lot from
all your
comments.
Thanks for taking
the time to
explain.

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VegAtHeart Darryl • a year ago 

Yes, this seems like a pretty
good argument to take up
roasted coffee.

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Harriet Sugar Miller Darryl • 9 months ago 

Darryl,

If I could be so bold as to attempt to really simplify what
you're saying here, is the following paraphrase correct? And
if it's not, would you be so kind as to edit it?

"Anti-oxidant activity may be too simple a description of how
compounds in plants exert beneficial health effects. The
ability of plant nutrients to inhibit a compound called nuclear
factor-kappa B (NF- kB) may be more important than their
ability simply to scavenge free radicals. NF-kB helps cancer
cells hide from the immune system and promotes the
expression of cancer-promoting genes."

Darryl, do free radicals of oxygen trigger our bodies to
produce NF-kB? Could you explain that? I may be totally
misunderstanding you.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20955646

Br J Nutr. 2010 Oct;104 Suppl 3:S1-14. doi: 10.1017/S0007114510003909.


Postprandial metabolic events and fruit-derived phenolics: a
review of the science.
Burton-Freeman B.
Author information
!
!
Abstract
There is increasing evidence that the postprandial state is an important contributing
factor to chronic disease. The role of fruit phenolic compounds to protect health and
lower disease risk through their actions in mitigating fed-state metabolic and
oxidative stressors is of interest and the topic of the present paper. Two main
questions are posed: first, what is the role of plant foods, specifically fruits rich in
complex and simple phenolic compounds in postprandial metabolic management;
and second, does the evidence support consuming these fruits with meals as a
practical strategy to preserve health and lower risk for disease? This review
provides an overview of the postprandial literature, specifically on the effect of fruits
and their inherent phenolic compounds in human subjects on postprandial lipaemia,
glycaemia/insulinaemia and associated events, such as oxidative stress and
inflammation. Among the identified well-controlled human trials using a postprandial
paradigm, >50 % of the trials used wine or wine components and the remaining
used various berries. Notwithstanding the need for more research, the collected
data suggest that consuming phenolic-rich fruits increases the antioxidant capacity
of the blood, and when they are consumed with high fat and carbohydrate 'pro-
oxidant and pro-inflammatory' meals, they may counterbalance their negative
effects. Given the content and availability of fat and carbohydrate in the Western
diet, regular consumption of phenolic-rich foods, particularly in conjunction with
meals, appears to be a prudent strategy to maintain oxidative balance and health.
PMID: 20955646 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
!
!
Transcript: How to Reach the Antioxidant “RDA”!
To get up to our daily minimum of 8-11,000 antioxidant units a day, all you have to
do is eat lots of fruits and vegetables, right? Well, let's see. Let's say I ate a whole
banana during breakfast (in addition to whatever else I ate). Lunch included a
typical American salad—iceberg lettuce, half a cup of cucumber slices, and
canned peaches for dessert., Supper included a side serving of peas and carrots
and half a cup of snap peas along with yet another salad a. And a cup of
watermelon for dessert. I just ate nine servings of fruits and vegetables, feeling all
good about myself and only made it up to 2700, less than a quarter of the way to
my minimum daily recommended intake. What am I supposed to do, eat 36
servings a day? Well, what if instead of that banana, I had a single serving of
blueberries. Whoa, we gotta squish down the scale. And instead of iceberg lettuce
for that afternoon salad, four leaves of red leaf lettuce, maybe throw some kidney
beans on top, maybe sprinkle on a teaspoon of dried oregano as a bonus. An
apple and some dates for a snack. It's not even suppertime, I really just did 5
servings and I've left the minimum recommended daily intake of antioxidants in the
dust. That’s why it’s not just quantity of fruits and veggies that matters, but quality.
We should try to choose the healthiest ones. So if we do that can we now skip
fruits and veggies for supper? Not a good idea: note these estimated minimum
antioxidant needs do not take into account the added amounts needed if other
oxidant stressors are present such as meat consumption, if you're sicksickness,
cigarette smoke, air pollution, sleep deprivation—then just to stay out of oxidative
debt we'd have to consume a lot more. Remember that cool argon laser study?
Their most important finding was that antioxidant levelscan plummet within 2
hours of a stressful event. Takes 2 hours to lose,and can take up to 3 days to get
our levels back up again. So the take-home message is that especially when we’re
sick, stressed, or tired, to we should go above and beyond the minimum 8 to 11
thousand. I, ideally we need to be soaking our bloodstream with antioxidants,
which means high-powered fruits and vegetables at every meal like berries and
beans and sipping something like green tea or hibiscus all day long. To see any
graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring,
watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed
by Ariel Levitsky.To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org.

!
Doctor's Note!
This is that laser study I talked about: Antioxidant Level Dynamics.What do I mean
by daily minimum of antioxidants? You must have missed my last video, Minimum
Recommended Daily Allowance of Antioxidants.I used a similar technique to
illustrate the potent antioxidant power of spices. See Antioxidants in a Pinch.All
fruits and veggies aren’t the same. I make this point in different ways in videos like
Which Fruit Fights Cancer Better? and Anti-Inflammatory Antioxidants.I have a
series of videos on which foods have the most antioxidants. See Antioxidant
Content of 3,139 Foods and Antioxidant Power of Plant Foods Versus Animal
Foods. Note these are measured based on test tube tests. There are more
sophisticated ways to measure antioxidant activity. See Anti Up on the
Veggies.What’s the cheapest common source of whole food antioxidants? See
Superfood Bargains for a dollar per dollar comparison. What’s the cheapest
uncommon source? See Dragon’s Blood.Are there diminishing returns to getting
too many antioxidants? See Maxing Out on Antioxidants.So if we have that bowl of
berries in the morning to meet our minimum daily antioxidant needs can we just
call it a day?. Hint: the title of my next video is: Antioxidant Rich Foods With Every
Meal.If you haven't yet, you can subscribe to my videos for free by clicking here.

!
!
Gregm • a year ago 

I did some quick calculation and it comes down to this. 

Eat cookie, eat 5 blueberries

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bob • a year ago 

is there an online source where you can see a list or use a
calculator to work out our own personal diets. This video is
excellent but to make this really useful we need to apply it. In
particular, trying to get family members to eat healthier by
showing them the lack of antioxidants in their diet

Brilliant video, this series has such potential to help your everyday
man make sense of it all. A simple target and a way to see how
easy it is to miss it through uniformed decisions.

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Veganrunner bob • a year ago 

Hi Bob,

Under Doctors notes Dr Greger has videos linked that talk
about the highest antioxidants. 

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bob Veganrunner • a year ago 

Thanks veganrunner. I was thinking more of a whole list
of all food types, not just a video summary of some
foods. i guess what would be amazing is if food
packaging had antioxident content on it. e.g spinach
raw 100g - 100 units, cooked 50 units. In a way I'm
surprised the vegetable industry hasn't tried to do this -
it would really make people think more about nutrition
beyond fibre and vitamin C

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Veganrunner bob • a year ago 

Hi Bob, 

There is a list. I am on iPhone or I would link you.
Go to that video then open research of the foods
tested. All foods listed and compared.

If you don't find it I will be on computer later in the
day. 

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Veganrunner bob • a year ago 

This should help.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pm... 

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bob Veganrunner • a year ago 

Amazing, thank you!

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lynda Veganrunner • a year ago 

This list, which I printed in it's entirety, is not
much help. A conversion formula is needed
between the unit of measure used in the
report, the 8,000 minimum needed-what unit
is used here? and then trying to figure out
how much in a serving amount. Impossible
for us non-academic types! Any help would
be appreciated.

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Veganrunner lynda • a year ago 

Personally I think it is enough to make
the healthiest choices rather than keep
daily totals. With the most recent
videos I think that is the message for
breakfast lunch and dinner then have
teas throughout the day.

But I understand if that isn't enough for
you. 

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Brandon Klinedinst bob • a year ago 

http://www.oracvalues.com/sort...

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bob Brandon Klinedinst • a year ago 

thanks brandon, it's quite tempting to copy
all this data into an excel spreadsheet. Viola,
homemade antioxidant calculator

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Kjell Ottesen bob • a year ago 

Hi Bob!

I would recommend you get your antioxidant levels scanned
before you change your diet. With a baseline score, you can
rescan a few months later to see if your score has increased.
I use a scanner to measure my intake and I have close to
reach my zenith, meaning I have just about saturated my
antioxidant receptors in my body. I no longer get colds,
infections etc since my immune system is so high! Even
though diet is an important factor in increasing your
antioxidant levels, good supplements that WORKS is just as
important to maximize your levels. Good luck with your
changes, you are headed in the right direction for sure!!

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bob Kjell Ottesen • a year ago 

How do you have your antioxident levels scanned? is
this a blood test? How accurate is it and how much do
you pay?

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Kjell Ottesen bob • a year ago 

There are scanners all over the US and Canada. It
measures antioxidants on a molecular level so it is
very accurate. Scans run about $20 - $25 and
takes about 90 seconds to complete. It simply
scans the palm of your hand with a LED light. I
would be happy to connect you with a scanner
operator, I just want to respect this blog and not
endorse the company here. You can contact me
directly if you like more info at
kjell@springeramerica.com

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Darryl NF Team Kjell Ottesen • a year ago 

Note, reflection spectroscopy detects skin
carotenoid concentration, not overall
antioxidant levels. Here's a paper using the
technology Kjell describes:

Maeter, H., et al. "Case study: in vivo stress
diagnostics by spectroscopic determination
of the cutaneous carotenoid antioxidant
concentration in midwives depending on
shift work." Laser Physics Letters 10.10
(2013): 105701.

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Kjell Ottesen Darryl • a year ago 

The scanner I am referring to uses
Raman Spectroscopy which measures
the Carotenoid Molecules in your skin.
Reflection spectroscopy takes
a"snapshot" image of the orange color
in your skin which is the dominant color
of the caretoniods. So there is a
difference between the two.
Carotenoids are now an accepted
biomarker for all antioxidant families.
But both scanning methods will give
you a quick, non invasive measurement
of your AO levels. Here is some
whitepaper info on the Raman
Spectroscopy one: https://
dl.dropboxusercontent....

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bob Kjell Ottesen • a year ago 

very interesting stuff. although i
guess if you eat a lot of carrots
and not much else it could skew
the results?

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Kjell Ottesen bob • a year ago 

HI Bob!

Even though carrots are
good for you, it is more
complex than that! There is
something called "The
Antioxidant Network" which
contains of the following:
Vitamin C, Vitamin E,
CoQ10, Selenium,
Gluthathione, and
Alphalipoic Acid. All of these
components are required for
your AO levels to increase.
And more importantly, the
enemy of the antioxidant are
the free radicals. Avoiding
FRs are just as important
and some examples are
smoking (the worst one, One
cigarette contains about
10-12 Quadrillion free
radicals, pesticides, stress,
Xrays, pollution etc. As Dr
Greger also mention, just
getting through the day with
normal body functions, we
also produce free radicals,
so it is critical to
compensate with proper
amount of antioxidants.

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A. Jeffrey • a year ago 

Hey Dr. Greger,

Any thoughts on Juice Plus powder concentrates? My guess is
this might be a good idea for those who eat the SAD, but any
information on whether it would be additionally helpful for one
eating plant based. One of there claims is to reduce oxidative
stress. Thanks in advance.

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Darryl NF Team A. Jeffrey • a year ago 

Dr Greger has done two videos on Juice Plus+:

Juice Plus+® Supplements

Update on Juice Plus+®


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Annie L • a year ago 

Could too many antioxidants in the diet from food cause
problems? I have read that free radicals perform some beneficial
functions in the human body. Could dramatically reducing free
radicals to such a low level (due to antioxidants) limit the body's
own ability to fight some viruses, bacteria, diseases, etc. ? Is there
a threshold, or, a line one doesn't want to cross? 

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Darryl NF Team Annie L • a year ago 

Many plant compounds (including some in vitro antioxidants
measured by ORAC) happen to inhibit nuclear factor-κB, a
master regulator of inflammation (including that of auto-
immune diseases). Google the natural product compounds in
table 1, and you'll find they're ubiquitous in plant foods. The
inflammation modulating potency of these compounds
doesn't appear to correlate with their antioxidant capacity. 

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Annie L Darryl • a year ago 

What happens when humans fast, maybe a few days
without food.....no antioxidants coming in yet still
having exposure to free-radicals (pollution, air particles,
etc.)? Does the body have its own ability to regulate
this sort of stuff? In the absence of food? Does fasting
create an health issue in regards to not having any
antioxidants coming in? 

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Darryl NF Team Annie L • a year ago 

Short term fasting has some highly positive
effects on metabolism (1, 2, 3), but the effects are
largely through nutrient sensing/growth signalling,
rather than modulation of redox state.

The vast majority of the free radicals your cells are
exposed to arise from normal metabolism, though
they are increased in inflammatory states. They're
used to fight infection (and in autoimmune
disorders, illusory infection), in intracellular
signalling, and some leak out from mitochondria
during normal energy conversion. Living in a
hermetically sealed bubble would have a
negligible effect on reducing these exposures.

Organisms have had to deal with mopping up the
consequences of their own chemistry for billions
of years, so there are endogenous mechanisms to
regulate free radical levels and inflammation.
These mechanisms were mostly good enough to
get our ancestors through their fertile years, but
perhaps not much further.

Some dietary components (including saturated
and ω-6 fats, and high-glycemic index
carbohydrates) increase inflammation and
endogenous free radical production. Many plant
compounds (including some test tube
antioxidants) can modulate inflammation, or
induce endogenous antioxidant and repair
responses to help cope.

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Annie L Darryl • a year ago 

Thanks.

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Annie L Darryl • a year ago 

OK. But so I understand this correctly, what
about if a Buddhist Monk (i know some)
goes a couple weeks fasting in Bangkok,
Thailand, home to some of the worst air
pollution on earth. He walks the city streets
during the day, sleeps in bedroom with
screens letting in the filth of the city's
exhaust.....yet he has absolutely no ingestion
of antioxidants coming in. He is also creating
some free radicals in his daily walks. This
isn't a hypothetical situation, it is actually
occurring throughout the year. With many
people. I don't know what the theory says,
and maybe you explained it in your last post
and I'm not able to figure it out, but wouldn't
he (they) be exposed to a fair amount of free
radicals in today's day and age of living in a
questionably toxic-city? And having zero-
antioxidants coming in. Maybe you
answered this above, I don't know, but does
the human body have its own mechanism in
place (regardless of food ingestion) to
combat free radicals? Can it exist and
conquer disease without any antioxidants
coming in from food, for certain lengths of
time? Thanks for making any sense of this.

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Darryl NF Team Annie L • a year ago 

Air pollution can have awful effects,
especially to the lungs, but only some
of that is due to free radicals.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
intercalate between DNA base pairs,
causing copying errors. NOx
compounds react to become nitric acid
in lung mucus. And yes, during the
breakdown of ozone to oxygen some
radicals can attack proteins & lipids in
the lung endothelium. These can
overwhelm local endogenous
antioxidant capacity. As endogenous
antioxidant capacity (in the form of
reduced glutathione, uric acid, and
enzymes like superoxide dismutase,
catalase, peroxiredoxins, thioredoxins
etc) is estimated to be orders of
magnitude more potent than the
contribution of ingested direct
antioxidants, high air pollution would
also overwhelm any ingested direct
antioxidants.

There is a case to be made for a few
dietary compounds being significant as
direct antioxidants. Carotenoids (like β-
carotene and lycopene) can quench
singlet oxygen, a particular type of
radical created by UV excitation, and
are useful in preventing sunlight
induced damage. This ability is not
captured by ORAC measures.
Tocopherols (like vitamin E) are well
absorbed and react fast enough to
markedly reduce lipid peroxidation.
Both classes are lipid soluable and
would have limited effects in the
aqueous solutions where our DNA and
most of our proteins reside, and both
have had disappointing or adverse
results in clinical trials. The antioxidant
vitamin C is water soluable and well-
absorbed when plasma levels are low,
but plasma saturates around 70 μM
and any excess is excreted. Lastly,
ergothioneine, a ubitquitous compound
highest in mushrooms, lacks only a
known deficiency disease to rise to
vitamin status. Its a potent antioxidant
actively transported to mitochondria,
the source of perhaps 15-30% of
reactive oxygen species production.

So where does that leave the vast
majority of plant antioxidants, all those
flavonoids and other polyphenols that
dominate the ORAC measure? Some
are absorbed, but compare their
absorbed concentrations (all < 8 μM,
and most < 1 μM) to concentrations of
the major plasma antioxidants uric acid
(200-500 μM) and vitamin C (23–50
μM), or the major intracellular small-
molecule antioxidant glutathione
(500-10000 μM). Polyphenols direct
antioxidant capacity varies, but they
aren't more potent than the
endogenous antioxidants, so high
dietary polyphenols would only shift the
in vivo antioxidant capacity by perhaps
1-2%, if they only acted as direct
radical scavengers.

Yet, numerous studies convincingly
show that vegetable and fruit
consumption can improve redox status
and health outcomes far beyond what
might be expected from their absorbed
direct antioxidant capacity. What's their
trick? Many plant compounds induce
endogenous antioxidant responses,
increasing levels of glutathione and
antioxidant enzymes up to several fold.
Others inhibit expression of superoxide
producing enzymes with suspected
roles in inflammatory diseases. Due to
signalling pathway crosstalk (1, 2), the
same plant compounds often do both.
Unfortunately, the ORAC score is a
poor measure of these mechanisms.
For example, the broccoli compound
sulforaphane is exceptionally potent at
inducing endogenous antioxidant
responses, but broccoli itself is barely
in the top 200 foods ranked by ORAC. 

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Annie L Darryl • a year ago 

I think I get it now....when you
mention endogenous
antioxidants, you are referring to
that which is already in us (not
from food sources). I just
assumed that the human body
was entirely dependent on the
human making a choice to eat
certain foods, but it seems we
have this innate (endogenous)
system in us already that
produces antioxidants. Thanks.

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Devin • a year ago 

Was trying to do the math but figured it might be quicker just to
ask. Anyone know how a cup of green tea and/or hibiscus tea
stacks up using the above scale? Seems like he is using a
different scale in this video versus others.

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Darryl NF Team • a year ago 

ORAC and other in vitro antioxidant assays may offer a rough
proxy for food polyphenol content, but say little about how those
polyphenols function in living systems. For that, we would need a
composite measure of their bioavailability and their potency in
modulating endogenous antioxidant and inflammatory responses,
as for most their in vivo direct antioxidant activity would be slight
compared to endogenous antioxidants. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. The
most effective dietary "antioxidants", rather than directly
scavenging radicals, are doing much more interesting things like
inhibiting inflammatory superoxide generation and inducing
endogenous antioxidant/repair responses. There's no common
measure of in vivo antioxidant activity reflecting these indirect
mechanisms, but science is getting closer.

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Guest Darryl • a year ago 

.

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Darryl NF Team Guest • a year ago 

Probably.

At the extremes, mice deficient in Nrf2 (and with limited
endogenous antioxidant capacity) develop normally but
are highly susceptible to oxidative stress, while
constituative Nrf2 activation (full antioxidant response,
all the time) is lethal. Some reactive oxygen and
nitrogen species are required in normal physiology,
functioning as messengers in intra- and extracellullar
signalling. For example, Viagra acts through enhancing
signalling for vascular relaxation by nitric oxide, a free
radical. This review details roles of ROS in muscle
adaptation to exercise, while page F of this one
concerns the role of ROS in insulin sensitivity and
preventing metabolic syndrome. A good discussion of
the sort of balancing act between conflicting goals you
may be thinking about is offered in part 5 of this
excellent paper.

Likewise, some inflammation is necessary. Overactive
NADPH oxidases, superoxide generating enzymes
important in inflammation, are implicated in a wide
range of diseases, but those born with defective
versions (chronic granulomatous disease), suffer
recurrent infections, and formerly all died in childhood.
Numerous anti-inflammatory medications can increase
the risk of severe infections and interfere with wound
healing. As we're living in more sanitary and less violent
times than our ancestors, and living longer (aged cells
produce more inflammatory signals), its likely we would
benefit from turning the inflammation dial down from
where evolution left it, but not to zero.

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VegAtHeart Guest • a year ago 

I am replying to my mistakenly deleted question [now
replaced by a period under Guest] to provide a context
for Darryl's response.

The original question was something like:

Do you think that there is a 'sweet spot' in the cellular
concentration of Nrf2 inducers as well as anti-
inflammatory inducers? 

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Richard Crandall • a year ago 

Does it matter when you eat your antioxidants?

I'm not sure this is a huge concern, since my diet overwhelmingly
is made up of fruits, veggies (real ones, not iceberg lettuce), nuts/
seeds, legumes, & whole grains. I also drink a good bit of green
tea throughout the day. I'm curious though because I've gotten
into the habit of making a smoothie before bed which includes
hibiscus & amla powder. A lot of these videos on antioxidants talk
about how you start your mornings at an antioxidant high and
work your way back down, if you don't mediate the decline with
antioxidant-rich foods. If that's the case, is it better to load up on
antioxidants when you first wake up, or is your body able to
absorb a huge antioxidant load (as is found in an amla/hibiscus
combo) at any time of day? I'm concerned that I'm wasting all of
that antioxidant power by loading up on them before bed,
especially if they're not really all that necessary during sleeping
hours.

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Coacervate Richard Crandall • a year ago 

Hi Richard, somewhere in the vast database here Dr. G
covered that one with some data showing that it IS better to
"smoothie" out your intake throughout the day. I keep a glass
of cold-brew green tea going and top it up all day long (and
night). I believe I can actually feel the difference just adding
green tea makes. You might try searching the alphabet menu
to the left.

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Coacervate • a year ago 

Once again I am moved to say THANKS! I need to come back
here regularly else I start to veer off course. BTW/ what are "little
red beans?". I'm heading out to Binn Inn and thought I might get
some strange looks asking for LRBs, heh.

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Psych MD Coacervate • a year ago 

This is an amazingly informative video and discussion. I'm
not sure who Darryl is, a Nutritionfacts staffer or simply a
forum member, but your contributions are exceptional. Like a
previous poster I enjoy a daily smoothie (Nutriblast) packed
with pretty much everything Dr. G has featured including
amla. I did some research into triphala since it is an even
more amazing antioxidant than amla alone. Taking the heavy
metal concerns into account I went ahead and switched to
triphala after reading the quality control statement of a
particular company in which they specifically address the
issues of heavy metals and pesticides. Unless they are
commiting out and out fraud I am satisfied that the benefits
outweigh the risks.

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DGH • a year ago 

Please allow me to express my appreciation for this site and the
work of Dr Greger and his team.

May all beings everywhere be at ease...

May all beings everywhere be free from suffering...

May all beings everywhere be well, healthy, and happy.

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Robin • a year ago 

Can you offer all theses videos in print instead as an option? I'm
never in a place I can listen but I can always read. 

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Marcella Robin • a year ago 

Just a tip, at work I use my 'ear buds' on my computer when
I want to hear something non-work related. Just plug them
into the tiny hole on the side with the tiny picture of
headphones engraved in it. Or watch these quick little videos
on your cell phone using the same ear buds, hope that helps

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Guest Robin • a year ago 

There is a 'Transcript' option under each video which
provides exactly what you are looking for.

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Marcella • a year ago 

Do you have a URL to a good list of fruit and veggie antioxidant
contents? I would like to keep one handy and also to learn

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bob Marcella • a year ago 

veganrunner posted a link with all the values, look through
the comments.

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Harsh Bhavsar • a year ago 

Dr. Greger, I was wondering if you would be kind to tell me what
software you use for making these videos - especially the flip-
flopping of charts and stuff. I am a student and have to make a
presentation and would like to use similar graphics. Thanks. I love
your website and youtube channel and have told family and
friends about it. Thanks.

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Don Forrester MD NF Team Harsh Bhavsar • a year ago 

I will let Dr. Greger correct me if necessary but I believe he
uses Keynote.

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Thea NF Team Don Forrester MD • a year ago 

Dr. Forrester: Thanks for posting this! I've been wanting
to know the answer to this question too.

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Don Forrester MD NF Team Thea • a year ago 

Hi Thea, Happy Holidays. Dr. Greger has been
advocating that I switch to Keynote from
PowerPoint in my presentations. Who knows
maybe next year will be the year. Thanks Michael!

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Thea NF Team Don Forrester MD • a year ago 

Dr. Forrester: I think Dr. Greger might be on
to something. I love PowerPoint, but can't
imagine doing what Dr. Greger does in
PowerPoint without spending a huge
amount of time - if it could all be done at all.

I just checked into Keynote. If I understood
correct, according to Wikipedia, Keynote is
for Apple/iOS software only. That leaves me
out. Bummer.

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Don Forrester MD NF Team Thea • a year ago 

Yes Keynote is an Apple product. I
have Apple computers but use
Powerpoint... my former employer had
a Microsoft system. You can purchase
software for Macs that allows for
PowerPoint but sometimes certain
things get lost in translation when
going back and forth. If you do
presentations you might be interested
in the book, PresentationZen. It has led
me to dramatically change my public
presentations. As they point out fancy
technology and lots of details doesn't
always make for good presentations.

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Thea NF Team Don Forrester MD • a year
ago 

Thanks for the book tip!

!
!
!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9667503

Postprandial plasma lipid hydroperoxides: a possible link


between diet and atherosclerosis.
Ursini F1, Zamburlini A, Cazzolato G, Maiorino M, Bon GB, Sevanian A.
Author information
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Abstract
There is increasing evidence implicating a dietary source of plasma lipid peroxides
that become elevated in the postprandial state. This phenomenon may be a
contributing factor to the correlation found between postprandial hyperlipidemia and
increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Using a newly developed method for
measuring lipid hydroperoxides directly in plasma, a pilot study was performed
which revealed that lipid hydroperoxides are indeed elevated following a fatty meal.
Lipid hydroperoxides increased within 2-4 h after the meal and returned to basal
levels, corresponding to the usual postprandial hyperlipidemia. A marked
suppression of postprandial hydroperoxides was found when a meal was
consumed with wine, suggesting that these hydroperoxides can be formed and then
absorbed during the digestive process.
PMID: 9667503 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20595645
J Am Coll Nutr. 2010 Feb;29(1):46-54.
Strawberry modulates LDL oxidation and postprandial lipemia
in response to high-fat meal in overweight hyperlipidemic men
and women.
Burton-Freeman B1, Linares A, Hyson D, Kappagoda T.
Author information
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Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Elevated levels of lipids, such as total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein
cholesterol (LDL), and triglycerides (TG), are widely recognized as risk factors for
cardiovascular disease (CVD). Oxidized LDL (OxLDL) is an emerging risk factor
considered relevant in oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction, which is
implicated in the progression of CVD. Consumption of a diet rich in polyphenols
may be cardioprotective through its impact on oxidative stress and protecting LDL
from oxidation.
OBJECTIVES:
This study was designed to test the ability of strawberry phenolic compounds to
mitigate the postprandial effects of a high-fat meal on OxLDL as well as investigate
the effects of phenolic compounds on lipid metabolism.
METHODS:
Twenty-four hyperlipidemic men and women (14 women, 10 men; mean age 50.9
+/- SD 15 years) were recruited to participate in this randomized, single-blind,
placebo-controlled, 12-wk crossover trial. After a 10-day run-in period, subjects
consumed either an active strawberry beverage (Str; containing 10 g freeze-dried
fruit) or a placebo (Pbo) beverage matched in energy and macronutrient
composition for 6 weeks. Twice before randomization and once at the 6-week
crossover point, subjects received either Str or Pbo with a high-fat challenge meal
(HFM). TC, LDL, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, TG, and OxLDL were
measured at defined intervals for 6 h before and after HFM challenge. Fasting
concentrations of blood variables at 0, 6, and 12 weeks were compared to assess
chronic intake of Str or Pbo.
RESULTS:
After the HFM during the run-in period, TG and OxLDL were lower after Str than
Pbo (p = 0.005, p = 0.01, and p = 0.0008, respectively). HFM responses after 6
weeks of Str versus Pbo resulted in decreased lipid levels and a sex by treatment
interaction for OxLDL (p = < 0.0001, and p = 0.0002).
CONCLUSION:
The present results support a role for strawberry in mitigating fed-state oxidative
stressors that may contribute to atherogenesis.
PMID: 20595645 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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http://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-to-reach-the-antioxidant-rda/
Transcript: How to Reach the Antioxidant “RDA”!
To get up to our daily minimum of 8-11,000 antioxidant units a day, all you have to
do is eat lots of fruits and vegetables, right? Well, let's see. Let's say I ate a whole
banana during breakfast (in addition to whatever else I ate). Lunch included a
typical American salad—iceberg lettuce, half a cup of cucumber slices, and
canned peaches for dessert., Supper included a side serving of peas and carrots
and half a cup of snap peas along with yet another salad a. And a cup of
watermelon for dessert. I just ate nine servings of fruits and vegetables, feeling all
good about myself and only made it up to 2700, less than a quarter of the way to
my minimum daily recommended intake. What am I supposed to do, eat 36
servings a day? Well, what if instead of that banana, I had a single serving of
blueberries. Whoa, we gotta squish down the scale. And instead of iceberg lettuce
for that afternoon salad, four leaves of red leaf lettuce, maybe throw some kidney
beans on top, maybe sprinkle on a teaspoon of dried oregano as a bonus. An
apple and some dates for a snack. It's not even suppertime, I really just did 5
servings and I've left the minimum recommended daily intake of antioxidants in the
dust. That’s why it’s not just quantity of fruits and veggies that matters, but quality.
We should try to choose the healthiest ones. So if we do that can we now skip
fruits and veggies for supper? Not a good idea: note these estimated minimum
antioxidant needs do not take into account the added amounts needed if other
oxidant stressors are present such as meat consumption, if you're sicksickness,
cigarette smoke, air pollution, sleep deprivation—then just to stay out of oxidative
debt we'd have to consume a lot more. Remember that cool argon laser study?
Their most important finding was that antioxidant levelscan plummet within 2
hours of a stressful event. Takes 2 hours to lose,and can take up to 3 days to get
our levels back up again. So the take-home message is that especially when we’re
sick, stressed, or tired, to we should go above and beyond the minimum 8 to 11
thousand. I, ideally we need to be soaking our bloodstream with antioxidants,
which means high-powered fruits and vegetables at every meal like berries and
beans and sipping something like green tea or hibiscus all day long. To see any
graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring,
watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed
by Ariel Levitsky.To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org.

Doctor's Note!
This is that laser study I talked about: Antioxidant Level Dynamics.What do I mean
by daily minimum of antioxidants? You must have missed my last video, Minimum
Recommended Daily Allowance of Antioxidants.I used a similar technique to
illustrate the potent antioxidant power of spices. See Antioxidants in a Pinch.All
fruits and veggies aren’t the same. I make this point in different ways in videos like
Which Fruit Fights Cancer Better? and Anti-Inflammatory Antioxidants.I have a
series of videos on which foods have the most antioxidants. See Antioxidant
Content of 3,139 Foods and Antioxidant Power of Plant Foods Versus Animal
Foods. Note these are measured based on test tube tests. There are more
sophisticated ways to measure antioxidant activity. See Anti Up on the
Veggies.What’s the cheapest common source of whole food antioxidants? See
Superfood Bargains for a dollar per dollar comparison. What’s the cheapest
uncommon source? See Dragon’s Blood.Are there diminishing returns to getting
too many antioxidants? See Maxing Out on Antioxidants.So if we have that bowl of
berries in the morning to meet our minimum daily antioxidant needs can we just
call it a day?. Hint: the title of my next video is: Antioxidant Rich Foods With Every
Meal.If you haven't yet, you can subscribe to my videos for free by clicking here.

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Gregm • a year ago 

I did some quick calculation and it comes down to this. 

Eat cookie, eat 5 blueberries

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bob • a year ago 

is there an online source where you can see a list or use a
calculator to work out our own personal diets. This video is
excellent but to make this really useful we need to apply it. In
particular, trying to get family members to eat healthier by
showing them the lack of antioxidants in their diet

Brilliant video, this series has such potential to help your everyday
man make sense of it all. A simple target and a way to see how
easy it is to miss it through uniformed decisions.

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Veganrunner bob • a year ago 

Hi Bob,

Under Doctors notes Dr Greger has videos linked that talk
about the highest antioxidants. 

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bob Veganrunner • a year ago 

Thanks veganrunner. I was thinking more of a whole list
of all food types, not just a video summary of some
foods. i guess what would be amazing is if food
packaging had antioxident content on it. e.g spinach
raw 100g - 100 units, cooked 50 units. In a way I'm
surprised the vegetable industry hasn't tried to do this -
it would really make people think more about nutrition
beyond fibre and vitamin C

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Veganrunner bob • a year ago 

Hi Bob, 

There is a list. I am on iPhone or I would link you.
Go to that video then open research of the foods
tested. All foods listed and compared.

If you don't find it I will be on computer later in the
day. 

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Veganrunner bob • a year ago 

This should help.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pm... 

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bob Veganrunner • a year ago 

Amazing, thank you!

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lynda Veganrunner • a year ago 

This list, which I printed in it's entirety, is not
much help. A conversion formula is needed
between the unit of measure used in the
report, the 8,000 minimum needed-what unit
is used here? and then trying to figure out
how much in a serving amount. Impossible
for us non-academic types! Any help would
be appreciated.

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Veganrunner lynda • a year ago 

Personally I think it is enough to make
the healthiest choices rather than keep
daily totals. With the most recent
videos I think that is the message for
breakfast lunch and dinner then have
teas throughout the day.

But I understand if that isn't enough for
you. 

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Brandon Klinedinst bob • a year ago 

http://www.oracvalues.com/sort...

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bob Brandon Klinedinst • a year ago 

thanks brandon, it's quite tempting to copy
all this data into an excel spreadsheet. Viola,
homemade antioxidant calculator

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Kjell Ottesen bob • a year ago 

Hi Bob!

I would recommend you get your antioxidant levels scanned
before you change your diet. With a baseline score, you can
rescan a few months later to see if your score has increased.
I use a scanner to measure my intake and I have close to
reach my zenith, meaning I have just about saturated my
antioxidant receptors in my body. I no longer get colds,
infections etc since my immune system is so high! Even
though diet is an important factor in increasing your
antioxidant levels, good supplements that WORKS is just as
important to maximize your levels. Good luck with your
changes, you are headed in the right direction for sure!!

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bob Kjell Ottesen • a year ago 

How do you have your antioxident levels scanned? is
this a blood test? How accurate is it and how much do
you pay?

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Kjell Ottesen bob • a year ago 

There are scanners all over the US and Canada. It
measures antioxidants on a molecular level so it is
very accurate. Scans run about $20 - $25 and
takes about 90 seconds to complete. It simply
scans the palm of your hand with a LED light. I
would be happy to connect you with a scanner
operator, I just want to respect this blog and not
endorse the company here. You can contact me
directly if you like more info at
kjell@springeramerica.com

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Darryl NF Team Kjell Ottesen • a year ago 

Note, reflection spectroscopy detects skin
carotenoid concentration, not overall
antioxidant levels. Here's a paper using the
technology Kjell describes:

Maeter, H., et al. "Case study: in vivo stress
diagnostics by spectroscopic determination
of the cutaneous carotenoid antioxidant
concentration in midwives depending on
shift work." Laser Physics Letters 10.10
(2013): 105701.

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Kjell Ottesen Darryl • a year ago 

The scanner I am referring to uses
Raman Spectroscopy which measures
the Carotenoid Molecules in your skin.
Reflection spectroscopy takes
a"snapshot" image of the orange color
in your skin which is the dominant color
of the caretoniods. So there is a
difference between the two.
Carotenoids are now an accepted
biomarker for all antioxidant families.
But both scanning methods will give
you a quick, non invasive measurement
of your AO levels. Here is some
whitepaper info on the Raman
Spectroscopy one: https://
dl.dropboxusercontent....

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bob Kjell Ottesen • a year ago 

very interesting stuff. although i
guess if you eat a lot of carrots
and not much else it could skew
the results?

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Kjell Ottesen bob • a year ago 

HI Bob!

Even though carrots are
good for you, it is more
complex than that! There is
something called "The
Antioxidant Network" which
contains of the following:
Vitamin C, Vitamin E,
CoQ10, Selenium,
Gluthathione, and
Alphalipoic Acid. All of these
components are required for
your AO levels to increase.
And more importantly, the
enemy of the antioxidant are
the free radicals. Avoiding
FRs are just as important
and some examples are
smoking (the worst one, One
cigarette contains about
10-12 Quadrillion free
radicals, pesticides, stress,
Xrays, pollution etc. As Dr
Greger also mention, just
getting through the day with
normal body functions, we
also produce free radicals,
so it is critical to
compensate with proper
amount of antioxidants.

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A. Jeffrey • a year ago 

Hey Dr. Greger,

Any thoughts on Juice Plus powder concentrates? My guess is
this might be a good idea for those who eat the SAD, but any
information on whether it would be additionally helpful for one
eating plant based. One of there claims is to reduce oxidative
stress. Thanks in advance.

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Darryl NF Team A. Jeffrey • a year ago 

Dr Greger has done two videos on Juice Plus+:

Juice Plus+® Supplements

Update on Juice Plus+®


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Annie L • a year ago 

Could too many antioxidants in the diet from food cause
problems? I have read that free radicals perform some beneficial
functions in the human body. Could dramatically reducing free
radicals to such a low level (due to antioxidants) limit the body's
own ability to fight some viruses, bacteria, diseases, etc. ? Is there
a threshold, or, a line one doesn't want to cross? 

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Darryl NF Team Annie L • a year ago 

Many plant compounds (including some in vitro antioxidants
measured by ORAC) happen to inhibit nuclear factor-κB, a
master regulator of inflammation (including that of auto-
immune diseases). Google the natural product compounds in
table 1, and you'll find they're ubiquitous in plant foods. The
inflammation modulating potency of these compounds
doesn't appear to correlate with their antioxidant capacity. 

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Annie L Darryl • a year ago 

What happens when humans fast, maybe a few days
without food.....no antioxidants coming in yet still
having exposure to free-radicals (pollution, air particles,
etc.)? Does the body have its own ability to regulate
this sort of stuff? In the absence of food? Does fasting
create an health issue in regards to not having any
antioxidants coming in? 

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Darryl NF Team Annie L • a year ago 

Short term fasting has some highly positive
effects on metabolism (1, 2, 3), but the effects are
largely through nutrient sensing/growth signalling,
rather than modulation of redox state.

The vast majority of the free radicals your cells are
exposed to arise from normal metabolism, though
they are increased in inflammatory states. They're
used to fight infection (and in autoimmune
disorders, illusory infection), in intracellular
signalling, and some leak out from mitochondria
during normal energy conversion. Living in a
hermetically sealed bubble would have a
negligible effect on reducing these exposures.

Organisms have had to deal with mopping up the
consequences of their own chemistry for billions
of years, so there are endogenous mechanisms to
regulate free radical levels and inflammation.
These mechanisms were mostly good enough to
get our ancestors through their fertile years, but
perhaps not much further.

Some dietary components (including saturated
and ω-6 fats, and high-glycemic index
carbohydrates) increase inflammation and
endogenous free radical production. Many plant
compounds (including some test tube
antioxidants) can modulate inflammation, or
induce endogenous antioxidant and repair
responses to help cope.

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Annie L Darryl • a year ago 

Thanks.

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Annie L Darryl • a year ago 

OK. But so I understand this correctly, what
about if a Buddhist Monk (i know some)
goes a couple weeks fasting in Bangkok,
Thailand, home to some of the worst air
pollution on earth. He walks the city streets
during the day, sleeps in bedroom with
screens letting in the filth of the city's
exhaust.....yet he has absolutely no ingestion
of antioxidants coming in. He is also creating
some free radicals in his daily walks. This
isn't a hypothetical situation, it is actually
occurring throughout the year. With many
people. I don't know what the theory says,
and maybe you explained it in your last post
and I'm not able to figure it out, but wouldn't
he (they) be exposed to a fair amount of free
radicals in today's day and age of living in a
questionably toxic-city? And having zero-
antioxidants coming in. Maybe you
answered this above, I don't know, but does
the human body have its own mechanism in
place (regardless of food ingestion) to
combat free radicals? Can it exist and
conquer disease without any antioxidants
coming in from food, for certain lengths of
time? Thanks for making any sense of this.

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Darryl NF Team Annie L • a year ago 

Air pollution can have awful effects,
especially to the lungs, but only some
of that is due to free radicals.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
intercalate between DNA base pairs,
causing copying errors. NOx
compounds react to become nitric acid
in lung mucus. And yes, during the
breakdown of ozone to oxygen some
radicals can attack proteins & lipids in
the lung endothelium. These can
overwhelm local endogenous
antioxidant capacity. As endogenous
antioxidant capacity (in the form of
reduced glutathione, uric acid, and
enzymes like superoxide dismutase,
catalase, peroxiredoxins, thioredoxins
etc) is estimated to be orders of
magnitude more potent than the
contribution of ingested direct
antioxidants, high air pollution would
also overwhelm any ingested direct
antioxidants.

There is a case to be made for a few
dietary compounds being significant as
direct antioxidants. Carotenoids (like β-
carotene and lycopene) can quench
singlet oxygen, a particular type of
radical created by UV excitation, and
are useful in preventing sunlight
induced damage. This ability is not
captured by ORAC measures.
Tocopherols (like vitamin E) are well
absorbed and react fast enough to
markedly reduce lipid peroxidation.
Both classes are lipid soluable and
would have limited effects in the
aqueous solutions where our DNA and
most of our proteins reside, and both
have had disappointing or adverse
results in clinical trials. The antioxidant
vitamin C is water soluable and well-
absorbed when plasma levels are low,
but plasma saturates around 70 μM
and any excess is excreted. Lastly,
ergothioneine, a ubitquitous compound
highest in mushrooms, lacks only a
known deficiency disease to rise to
vitamin status. Its a potent antioxidant
actively transported to mitochondria,
the source of perhaps 15-30% of
reactive oxygen species production.

So where does that leave the vast
majority of plant antioxidants, all those
flavonoids and other polyphenols that
dominate the ORAC measure? Some
are absorbed, but compare their
absorbed concentrations (all < 8 μM,
and most < 1 μM) to concentrations of
the major plasma antioxidants uric acid
(200-500 μM) and vitamin C (23–50
μM), or the major intracellular small-
molecule antioxidant glutathione
(500-10000 μM). Polyphenols direct
antioxidant capacity varies, but they
aren't more potent than the
endogenous antioxidants, so high
dietary polyphenols would only shift the
in vivo antioxidant capacity by perhaps
1-2%, if they only acted as direct
radical scavengers.

Yet, numerous studies convincingly
show that vegetable and fruit
consumption can improve redox status
and health outcomes far beyond what
might be expected from their absorbed
direct antioxidant capacity. What's their
trick? Many plant compounds induce
endogenous antioxidant responses,
increasing levels of glutathione and
antioxidant enzymes up to several fold.
Others inhibit expression of superoxide
producing enzymes with suspected
roles in inflammatory diseases. Due to
signalling pathway crosstalk (1, 2), the
same plant compounds often do both.
Unfortunately, the ORAC score is a
poor measure of these mechanisms.
For example, the broccoli compound
sulforaphane is exceptionally potent at
inducing endogenous antioxidant
responses, but broccoli itself is barely
in the top 200 foods ranked by ORAC. 

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Annie L Darryl • a year ago 

I think I get it now....when you
mention endogenous
antioxidants, you are referring to
that which is already in us (not
from food sources). I just
assumed that the human body
was entirely dependent on the
human making a choice to eat
certain foods, but it seems we
have this innate (endogenous)
system in us already that
produces antioxidants. Thanks.

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Devin • a year ago 

Was trying to do the math but figured it might be quicker just to
ask. Anyone know how a cup of green tea and/or hibiscus tea
stacks up using the above scale? Seems like he is using a
different scale in this video versus others.

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Darryl NF Team • a year ago 

ORAC and other in vitro antioxidant assays may offer a rough
proxy for food polyphenol content, but say little about how those
polyphenols function in living systems. For that, we would need a
composite measure of their bioavailability and their potency in
modulating endogenous antioxidant and inflammatory responses,
as for most their in vivo direct antioxidant activity would be slight
compared to endogenous antioxidants. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. The
most effective dietary "antioxidants", rather than directly
scavenging radicals, are doing much more interesting things like
inhibiting inflammatory superoxide generation and inducing
endogenous antioxidant/repair responses. There's no common
measure of in vivo antioxidant activity reflecting these indirect
mechanisms, but science is getting closer.

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Guest Darryl • a year ago 

.

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Darryl NF Team Guest • a year ago 

Probably.

At the extremes, mice deficient in Nrf2 (and with limited
endogenous antioxidant capacity) develop normally but
are highly susceptible to oxidative stress, while
constituative Nrf2 activation (full antioxidant response,
all the time) is lethal. Some reactive oxygen and
nitrogen species are required in normal physiology,
functioning as messengers in intra- and extracellullar
signalling. For example, Viagra acts through enhancing
signalling for vascular relaxation by nitric oxide, a free
radical. This review details roles of ROS in muscle
adaptation to exercise, while page F of this one
concerns the role of ROS in insulin sensitivity and
preventing metabolic syndrome. A good discussion of
the sort of balancing act between conflicting goals you
may be thinking about is offered in part 5 of this
excellent paper.

Likewise, some inflammation is necessary. Overactive
NADPH oxidases, superoxide generating enzymes
important in inflammation, are implicated in a wide
range of diseases, but those born with defective
versions (chronic granulomatous disease), suffer
recurrent infections, and formerly all died in childhood.
Numerous anti-inflammatory medications can increase
the risk of severe infections and interfere with wound
healing. As we're living in more sanitary and less violent
times than our ancestors, and living longer (aged cells
produce more inflammatory signals), its likely we would
benefit from turning the inflammation dial down from
where evolution left it, but not to zero.

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VegAtHeart Guest • a year ago 

I am replying to my mistakenly deleted question [now
replaced by a period under Guest] to provide a context
for Darryl's response.

The original question was something like:

Do you think that there is a 'sweet spot' in the cellular
concentration of Nrf2 inducers as well as anti-
inflammatory inducers? 

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Richard Crandall • a year ago 

Does it matter when you eat your antioxidants?

I'm not sure this is a huge concern, since my diet overwhelmingly
is made up of fruits, veggies (real ones, not iceberg lettuce), nuts/
seeds, legumes, & whole grains. I also drink a good bit of green
tea throughout the day. I'm curious though because I've gotten
into the habit of making a smoothie before bed which includes
hibiscus & amla powder. A lot of these videos on antioxidants talk
about how you start your mornings at an antioxidant high and
work your way back down, if you don't mediate the decline with
antioxidant-rich foods. If that's the case, is it better to load up on
antioxidants when you first wake up, or is your body able to
absorb a huge antioxidant load (as is found in an amla/hibiscus
combo) at any time of day? I'm concerned that I'm wasting all of
that antioxidant power by loading up on them before bed,
especially if they're not really all that necessary during sleeping
hours.

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Coacervate Richard Crandall • a year ago 

Hi Richard, somewhere in the vast database here Dr. G
covered that one with some data showing that it IS better to
"smoothie" out your intake throughout the day. I keep a glass
of cold-brew green tea going and top it up all day long (and
night). I believe I can actually feel the difference just adding
green tea makes. You might try searching the alphabet menu
to the left.

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Coacervate • a year ago 

Once again I am moved to say THANKS! I need to come back
here regularly else I start to veer off course. BTW/ what are "little
red beans?". I'm heading out to Binn Inn and thought I might get
some strange looks asking for LRBs, heh.

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Psych MD Coacervate • a year ago 

This is an amazingly informative video and discussion. I'm
not sure who Darryl is, a Nutritionfacts staffer or simply a
forum member, but your contributions are exceptional. Like a
previous poster I enjoy a daily smoothie (Nutriblast) packed
with pretty much everything Dr. G has featured including
amla. I did some research into triphala since it is an even
more amazing antioxidant than amla alone. Taking the heavy
metal concerns into account I went ahead and switched to
triphala after reading the quality control statement of a
particular company in which they specifically address the
issues of heavy metals and pesticides. Unless they are
commiting out and out fraud I am satisfied that the benefits
outweigh the risks.

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DGH • a year ago 

Please allow me to express my appreciation for this site and the
work of Dr Greger and his team.

May all beings everywhere be at ease...

May all beings everywhere be free from suffering...

May all beings everywhere be well, healthy, and happy.

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Robin • a year ago 

Can you offer all theses videos in print instead as an option? I'm
never in a place I can listen but I can always read. 

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Marcella Robin • a year ago 

Just a tip, at work I use my 'ear buds' on my computer when
I want to hear something non-work related. Just plug them
into the tiny hole on the side with the tiny picture of
headphones engraved in it. Or watch these quick little videos
on your cell phone using the same ear buds, hope that helps

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Guest Robin • a year ago 

There is a 'Transcript' option under each video which
provides exactly what you are looking for.

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Marcella • a year ago 

Do you have a URL to a good list of fruit and veggie antioxidant
contents? I would like to keep one handy and also to learn

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bob Marcella • a year ago 

veganrunner posted a link with all the values, look through
the comments.

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Harsh Bhavsar • a year ago 

Dr. Greger, I was wondering if you would be kind to tell me what
software you use for making these videos - especially the flip-
flopping of charts and stuff. I am a student and have to make a
presentation and would like to use similar graphics. Thanks. I love
your website and youtube channel and have told family and
friends about it. Thanks.

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Don Forrester MD NF Team Harsh Bhavsar • a year ago 

I will let Dr. Greger correct me if necessary but I believe he
uses Keynote.

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Thea NF Team Don Forrester MD • a year ago 

Dr. Forrester: Thanks for posting this! I've been wanting
to know the answer to this question too.

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Don Forrester MD NF Team Thea • a year ago 

Hi Thea, Happy Holidays. Dr. Greger has been
advocating that I switch to Keynote from
PowerPoint in my presentations. Who knows
maybe next year will be the year. Thanks Michael!

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Thea NF Team Don Forrester MD • a year ago 

Dr. Forrester: I think Dr. Greger might be on
to something. I love PowerPoint, but can't
imagine doing what Dr. Greger does in
PowerPoint without spending a huge
amount of time - if it could all be done at all.

I just checked into Keynote. If I understood
correct, according to Wikipedia, Keynote is
for Apple/iOS software only. That leaves me
out. Bummer.

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Don Forrester MD NF Team Thea • a year ago 

Yes Keynote is an Apple product. I
have Apple computers but use
Powerpoint... my former employer had
a Microsoft system. You can purchase
software for Macs that allows for
PowerPoint but sometimes certain
things get lost in translation when
going back and forth. If you do
presentations you might be interested
in the book, PresentationZen. It has led
me to dramatically change my public
presentations. As they point out fancy
technology and lots of details doesn't
always make for good presentations.

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Thea NF Team Don Forrester MD • a year
ago 

Thanks for the book tip!

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http://nutritionfacts.org/video/food-antioxidants-and-cancer/

!
Transcript: Food Antioxidants and Cancer!
!
The USDA recently removed their online antioxidant database of foods, concerned
that ORAC values were routinely misused by food and dietary supplement
manufacturing companies to promote their products. Indeed, supplement
manufacturer's got into my-orac-is-bigger-than-your-orac pissing contests,
comparing their pills to the antioxidant superfood du jour, like blueberries, and we
know there're lots of bioactive compounds in whole plant foods that may help
prevent and ameliorate chronic disease in ways that have nothing to do with their
antioxidant power, so I understand their decision. So should we just eat lots of
whole healthy plant foods and not worry about which one necessarily has more
antioxidants than the other, or does one's dietary antioxidant intake matter?

We have some new data one some of our top killers. Dietary total antioxidant
capacity and the risk of stomach cancer, the world's second leading cancer killer.
A half million people studied, and dietary antioxidant capacity intake from different
sources of plant foods was associated with a reduction in risk. Note they say
dietary intake; they're not talking about supplements.

Not only do antioxidant pills not seem to help, they seem to increase overall
mortality, it’s like you’re paying to live a shorter life. Just giving high doses of
isolated vitamins may cause disturbances in your body's own natural antioxidant
network, and there are hundreds of different antioxidants in plant foods. They don't
act in isolation; they work synergistically. Mother nature cannot be trapped in a
bottle.

Similar results were recently reported with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the more
ORAC units you eat per day, the lower your cancer risk drops, though antioxidants
or not, greens were particularly protective. Look at that. You go from eating one
serving of green leafy vegetables per week to a serving a day, that may cut one's
odds of lymphoma in half.

Should we be worried about antioxidant intake during cancer treatment, since


most chemo drugs work by creating free radicals? According to some of the latest
reviews, there is no evidence of antioxidant interference with chemotherapy, and in
fact they may actually improve treatment and patient survival.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may
be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio
contributed by Ariel Levitsky.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org.

!
Doctor's Note!
But should we take a multivitamin? See Should We Take a Multivitamin?

What about fish oil supplements? Is Fish Oil Just Snake Oil?

I recently covered how and why we should strive to eat antioxidants with every
meal in an important three-part series:

1. Minimum “Recommended Daily Allowance” of Antioxidants

2. How to Reach the Antioxidant “RDA”

3. Antioxidant Rich Foods With Every Meal

Preferentially getting one’s nutrients from produce not pills is a common theme in
the nutrition literature. See, for example:

• Are Iron Pills Good for You?

• Can Folic Acid Be Harmful?

• Produce, Not Pills to Increase Physical Attractiveness

• Greens vs. Glaucoma

• Cranberries versus Cancer

• Prunes vs. Metamucil vs. Vegan Diet

• Optimal Phytosterol Source

Antioxidants may also slow aging, reduce inflammation, improve digestion, and
help prevent COPD. So where are antioxidants found? See my series that starts
with Antioxidant Content of 3139 Foods and Antioxidant Power of Plant Foods
Versus Animal Foods.

What about the role of antioxidants in other leading causes of death? That’s the
subject of my next video, Food Antioxidants, Stroke, and Heart Disease.

 If you haven't yet, you can subscribe to my videos for free by clicking here.

!
Adrien • 10 months ago 

"Mother nature cannot be trapped in a bottle." - Michael Greger.

I like that one. Isn't it beautiful ? And more important, it's true !

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HemoDynamic, M.D. NF Team Adrien • 10 months ago 

You are correct Adrien! Every time we try to outdo Mother
Nature she simply sits back and waits patiently for us to
come back to her for the answers.

This is what Socrates knew 2500 years ago and our Father
of Medicine, Hippocrates knew quite well, which led to his
statement (which always bears repeating), 

"Let Medicine be thy food, and food be thy Medicine."

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Mike Quinoa Adrien • 10 months ago 

Ha-ha Adrien---I was going to post the same comment. It's a
great turn of phrase.

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The Man Adrien • 10 months ago 

You can trap a blue berry in a bottle...I've done it b4. Lol

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Matt • 10 months ago 

Dr.Gregor, should vegans who take vitamin supplements just stick
to taking B12 or are multivitamins ok? I take a multivitamin
because I figured why not cover all bases. But I'm a little worried
about too much Iron.

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Tommasina NF Team Matt • 10 months ago 

Hi Matt, I had a similar question and found Dr. Greger's
optimum nutrition recommendations here: http://
nutritionfacts.org/2011... (I refer back to this page all the
time!) Hope that helps! :)

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Thea NF Team Matt • 10 months ago 

Matt: In addition to Tommasina's truly excellent reply, I would
refer you to some videos on this page where Dr. Greger
directly addresses multi vitamin use.

http://nutritionfacts.org/inde...

Take from that whatever you will. Good luck.

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Tommasina NF Team Thea • 10 months ago 

Aw, thanks Thea! :) Good call on the multivitamins
videos. There's just so much to learn and share!

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Tiago Cartageno • 10 months ago 

Hello Dr Greger,

I´m taking the Vega One supplement from Sequel Naturals ( http://
myvega.com/product/vega... ) and I would like to know your
opinion about these supplements. Their sources are plants and I
think their minerals and vitamins are not isolated. Anyway, do you
think this particular supplement could cause troubles in our health
like the ones described in your video? I really feel great when I´m
supplementing with these one scoop a day, but I would also like to
hear your opinion about Vega One. Thanks very much for your
time. You are a great inspiration for me after I have decided to
become vegetarian.

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Mark • 10 months ago 

Thanks Doctor G. Another angle on this: One who takes their
antioxidants in pill form, & _not_ in food form, must therefore
eating unhealthy food. Much of the advantage for fruit-&-
vegetable-eaters is what they _didn't_ eat!

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Bethery Mark • 10 months ago 

Amen

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Linda N Mark • 10 months ago 

I second that Amen! This video does NOT tell the entire
story. If one just takes antioxidant pills and continues to eat
unhealthy food, there is no benefit whatsoever from the pills.
However, eating as healthy and organic as possible and
added targeted nutrients can help. There are just way too
many positive studies showing this or that supplement intake
reducing this or that disease risk to let select studies which
are not necessarily well controlled turn you off to targeted
supplement intake. Watch the video "How to Optimize your
nutrition for vibrant health" by Functional Medicine Physician
Mark Hyman on you tube to get the full picture on
supplement use.

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MacSmiley Linda N • 10 months ago 

Dr. Hyman is not the most reliable source of health
information. He has been known to mix potentially
harmful advice with sound information.

Here's a prime example:

http://drhyman.com/blog/2014/0...

He's basically a low carb shill.

Stick with Dr. Greger. He's not selling anything. 

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Linda N MacSmiley • 10 months ago 

Uh, MacSmiley. Dr. Hyman MD is the chairman of
the board of Directors of the Institute for
Functional Medicine. Pretty good credentials as
far as I am concerned. I also have 625 UK and US
Accredited Nutrition hours under my own belt
comprising 4 Fully government accredited (UK
and US) Clinical and other Nutrition Diplomas.
(Most doctors get no more than 25 hours of
nutrition, IF and only IF they elect to take those
hours. They are not mandatory to become an
MD.)

Having said the above, I would be hard pressed to
label Dr. Hyman a low carb shill considering that
he states in his video on You Tube entitled "How
to Optimize Your Nutrition for Vibrant Health" the
following:

"What I am about to share might be a little
shocking. Carbohydrates are the single most
important food for long term health and well
being. This may be a shocking statement given
the low carb movement and the carbophobia in
America but its true. Of course I don't mean the
overprocessed sugary refined white food we
commonly think as carbohydrates such as
donunts, breads, bagels, muffins, colas, juices,
and most junk food. And I don't mean the cheap
super sweet government subsidized high fructose
corn syrup that is driving our epidemic of obesity
and chronic disease. The carbohydrates that I am
talking about are the real whole nourishing plant
foods the the human species has thrived on from
the dawn of evolution...(snip). What are they?
Vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts
seeds, herbs and spices." ( 


!








His blog on Eggs not causing heart attack but
sugar doing so is right on!

Dr. Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of
Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology in his
video put out by University of California Television
(UCTV)

(


!







states that both traditional high carb and low carb
diets of real whole foods both have low incidents
of cardiovascular disease because they have one
some very important things in common. They omit
sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and nutritionally
deficient white processed foods. The fat content
not withstanding. And he takes you right through
the relevant biochemistry and studies involved.

So while I subscribe to Dr. Gregor's Nutrition
facts, and sometimes get some good information
here, I don't totally always agree with many of his
views, and I ALWAYS do my own homework on
any subject. Too many people subscribe to these
blogs and by default believe everything that the
blogger states just because he or she is an MD.
Thus you might want to do your own homework
on some of these issues as well.

!



see more

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MacSmiley Linda N • 10 months ago 

"Some of the claims in this program have
not been verified." - Dr Mark Hyman's "The
Blood Sugar Solution" disclaimer at
beginning of show.

I'm glad Hyman has changed his dietary
recommendations since I last saw him on
PBS. However, my assessment about him
mixing unsubstantiated claims with sound
advice, making it difficult for the average
layperson to sift the chaff from the wheat. I
have better things to do than wading
through it all.

That goes for Robert Lustig as well. They are
both guilty of inaccuracies.

Yes, I did read that entire blog post before I
posted my comment. I agree that isolated,
added sugars are harmful, that they
contribute to calorie over consumption and
obesity, and in turn, heart disease.

However, that does not negate the veracity
of the lipid hypothesis, which is what both
he and Lustig are claiming. 

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Sebastian Tristan • 10 months ago 

Does this mean that whole dried Amla is better than Amla
powder?

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Bethery • 10 months ago 

Can you suggest a brand or brands of B12 vitamins that are good
and in reasonable amounts? I have been taking Solaray B-
Complex 100 for a long time, but just noticed that it has B12 in a
%1667 daily value.

Is there something better we can take?

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Bethery Bethery • 10 months ago 

OK, just read the page Tommasina suggested. I think I have
my answer.

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Catherine J Frompovich • 10 months ago 

Perhaps Nutrition Facts would consider amending its information
regarding antioxidant-rich plant foods to state organically-grown
and non-GMO antioxidant-rich plant foods. The reasons truly are
legion, but for starters how about this: chemical fertilizers,
pesticides, and herbicides abound in non-organically-grown crops
thereby adding more pro-oxidants to foods, so how can those
foods be considered antioxidant-rich? Furthermore, GMO crops
result from transgenic and cisgenic genetic engineering that
mandates more toxic chemicals like glyphosate be used on
growing crops. Don't believe that? Check out the facts at
"Pesticide use ramping up as GMO crop technology backfires:
study"

http://www.reuters.com/article...

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MacSmiley Catherine J Frompovich • 10 months ago 

Are you a new reader? :-)

I'm sure you'll find a lot of corroborative material about your
concerns on NF.org if you search for pesticides and GMO
separately and together. 

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Thea NF Team Catherine J Frompovich • 10 months ago 

Catherine: I thought you might be interested in a blog
posting Dr. Greger has done which touches on the topic of
pesticides:

Dr. Greger has a great blog post where he puts pesticide
consumption into perspective. :

"A new study calculated that if half the U.S. population ate
just one more serving of conventional fruits and vegetables,
20,000 cases of cancer could be prevented. At the same
time the added pesticide consumption could cause up to 10
extra cancer cases. So by eating conventional produce we
may get a tiny bump in cancer risk, but that’s more than
compensated by the dramatic drop in risk that accompanies
whole food plant consumption. Even if all we had to eat was
the most contaminated produce the benefits would far
outweigh any risks."

to read more: http://nutritionfacts.org/2013...

I translate this bit of info into: Eat organic when you can, but
don't stress about it when you can't - because you still get
plenty of benefit from the plants even when they have
pesticides on it.

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Veganrunner Thea • 10 months ago 

There is something about pesticides on my apple that
just turns me off.

Local farmers markets are overflowing with well priced
organic fruits and veggies. We need to support our
organic farmers as much as possible. As has been
stated here before--we send an important message
with our spending power. 

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b00mer Veganrunner • 10 months ago 

Unfortunately for many of us, we do not have any
farmers markets for most of the year. In the
summer I do join the only CSA available in my
area, though I consider it mostly charity on my
part, because it's very slim pickins even then.
There's one farmers market close by (for a few
months per year), and again I pretty much shop
there as a novelty since they don't offer much. But
I agree about supporting this type of business if
possible.

So for me, if I wanted to buy everything organic
this time of year, I'd have to scale way back on
variety, pay at least twice as much if not more
(and since my weekly grocery list is almost entirely
produce this would have quite an impact), and (a
pet peeve of mine) have to buy individual fruits
and vegetables each wrapped in saran wrap. We
just have regular podunk grocery stores, no WF or
TJ, so selection is pretty pitiful.

So I'll be enjoying my daily pesticide covered
apple in just a few minutes here... ;) As an extreme
analogy, that book "Alive" came to mind about
that plane crash in the Andes in the 70s... until
you're in a situation you don't really know what
you'd do!

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Soul Kitty • 10 months ago 

I love it!

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Julot Julott • 10 months ago 

What about taking several grams of pure ascorbic acid or sodium
ascorbate? Could it be bring problems also? It seems to be the
safest supplement.

Very nice that the new videos have french subtutles from now!
Thank you.

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Darryl NF Team Julot Julott • 10 months ago 

Fasting plasma levels of ascorbate peak at daily intakes of
about 400 mg, the amount in 235 g (8 oz) sweet peppers or
300 g (11 oz) kale. One plausible reason why our bodies
rapidly excrete ascorbate in excess of 70 μM in plasma is
that high levels may increase free radical generation by free
iron and copper. Transient peaks from large supplemental
vitamin C doses may do more harm than good through
increasing metal catalysed ROS generation, interfering with
radicals used in normal signaling, and from suppressing
endogenous antioxidant responses. Some papers of
particular interest:

• A new recommended dietary allowance of vitamin C for
healthy young women

• Vitamin C-driven free radical generation from iron

• Oral administration of vitamin C decreases muscle
mitochondrial biogenesis and hampers training-induced
adaptations in endurance performance

• Vitamin C supplements and the risk of age-related cataract:
a population-based prospective cohort study in women

• Do antioxidants impair signaling by reactive oxygen species
and lipid oxidation products?

I went into more detail in past comments (esp here) exploring
the shifting consensus on why food "antioxidants" are better
than supplemental ones. (TL;DR: because they're not acting
as antioxidants).

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Julot Julott Darryl • 10 months ago 

Did Linus Pauling partially failed? xD

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Darryl NF Team Julot Julott • 10 months ago 

He didn't fail that much, living to a ripe age of 93,
but I'm not convinced that 18 g of ascorbate daily
was responsible. 

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Julot Julott Darryl • 10 months ago 

I agree thats way too much from my
research also, i take it since years but not
above 5-10 grams a day.

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guest Darryl • 10 months ago 

does the same general logic hold for mineral
supplementation as opposed to minerals through diet?
I take mineral supplements because I figured they were
more basic forms and so could be absorbed similarly.
Also, is the K2 vitamin also bod in large doses? I've
heard you simply urinate out any unneeded amount
harmlessly.

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Darryl NF Team guest • 10 months ago 

Healthy bodies do imperfectly regulate plasma
levels of the minerals our ancestors commonly
encountered in excess. Some, like calcium, are
regulated in absorption and excretion, iron in
plasma chelation and excretion, others just in
excretion. Evolution provided few warranties
against adverse effects of high supplemental
intakes, particularly past our fertile years. Some
diseases associated with high mineral intake or
plasma levels:

• calcium: CVD mortality in women and in men

• phosphorous: CVD

• iron: cancer, CVD, diabetes, mortality

• copper: Alzheimer's

• manganese: neurodegeneration

• iodine: subclinical hypothyroidism

• selenium: poor total/LDL

As you can see, megadoses of minerals are to be
avoided, and the "therapeutic index" between
adequate intakes and potential toxicity from
excess is narrow with some, like copper and
manganese. Given widespread deficiency, it
appears moderate magnesium and zinc
supplementation may benefit many with poor
diets, with relatively few drawbacks. Dr. Greger
also recommends kelp (for iodine) and brazil nuts
(for selenium) for some.

Menaquinone-7 (K2 mk7) from natto or
supplements, unlike K2 mk4, does increase
plasma levels, and appears of potential benefit in
osteoporosis and vascular calcification. Its
plausible this mechanism is responsible for
reduced CVD mortality in populations with higher
intake of the longer menaquinones (the "French
paradox"). No toxicity with K1 or K2 has been
observed, but K3 (menadione) found in pet foods
does have concerns.

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Israel Navas Duran Darryl • 3 months ago 

In relation to the two studies linking calcium
supplements with an increased risk of CVD,
those were performed in general population
of old age, so presumably most participants
already presented atherosclerotic plaques at
some degree. I doubt that such correlation
would have been found had their
participants enjoyed of healthier arteries. In
this context, you should consider that the
pre-agricultural diets were notoriously more
abundant in calcium, yet, CVD was probably
a very rare pathology.

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Darryl NF Team Israel Navas Duran • 3 months
ago 

Pre-agricultural diets were also far
higher in vitamin K, which may counter
arterial calcification.

I'm not convinced age-adjusted CVD
was rare in preagricultural societies.
Few lived to ages where CVD is a/the
major mortality risk, while arterial
plaques have been found in frozen/
mummified precontact hunter-gatherer
arteries.

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Harriet Sugar Miller guest • 10 months ago 

I am a health journalist and cancer survivor and
for the past few years, have been researching and
writing a blog and soon -to-be-published
guidebook about diet and cancer. Certain
minerals are definitely problematic--particularly
copper, iron, boron and perhaps iodine. (People
who have cancer and have low thyroid function
tend to survive longer than those with cancer and
active thyroids.) On the other hand, zinc and
selenium are protective.

Copper clearly drives angiogenesis. While plant-
based diets are in general protective, one of the
pitfalls is that they can be high in copper and low
in zinc. (Phytates in plants bind zinc and other
minerals but do not interfere with human copper
absorption.) This means we should watch our
consumption of high copper plant foods --and
perhaps even supplement with a little (not much)
of high zinc, low copper animal foods. (I'll be
publishing a blog post on copper and cancer
soon, with practical advice on food choices.)

As for selenium, Brazil nuts from certain parts of
Brazil are a good but not the only source and in
fact, are relatively high in copper. At the recent
conference of the American Institute of Cancer
Research, several scientists I spoke with
suggested we turn to broccoli and garlic for
selenium because it's highly bioavailable when
bound to their molecules of sulfur. Broccoli, in
fact, was the superstar of this year's conference
and was recently shown to target cancer stem
cells. http://zesterdaily.com/cooking...

For more on foods that target cancer stem cells,
see 

http://eatandbeatcancer.wordpr...

.

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Harriet Sugar Miller Harriet Sugar Miller • 9 months
ago 

Here's the piece on how copper affects
angiogenesis.

http://eatandbeatcancer.wordpr...

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Broccoli • 10 months ago 

Fresh whole foods are best and some dry foods like beans can
lasts for many months.

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Coacervate Broccoli • 10 months ago 

agreed. we are in summer and the garden is full on. I have
been drying kale, silverbeet and other green leafys as fast as
my cheap dehydrator will take them. Any idea of how
nutritious these are after that kind of treatment = 50 C for
about 18 hours usually?

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Wegan • 10 months ago 

What about this study?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

Zinc supplementation tightens "leaky gut" in Crohn's disease.

It appears that there is a place for supplements.

Looking forward to Sunday in Camarillo.

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mary dinon • 10 months ago 

It's a tough one no doubt thanks for the share, I don't think
mother nature can ever be something truly understood the way we
would like to 

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Coacervate • 10 months ago 

This may not be the right place to ask, but if anyone is presently
fighting cancer with whole foods diet I would very much like to
compare notes. I don't have cancer but a friend does and I'm
sending her as much info as I can sort out. She's been a
responder to tamoxifen for a dozen years but somehow it has lost
its effectiveness. Now she is getting some very powerful
chemo...powerful as in **** you up...I sent her this webpage's URL.
She's a fighter. She listens but I sense that she finds the whole
Plant food idea strange and counter intuitive Maybe there is a
forum devoted to cancer fighters using this way of eating? Any
ideas would be well received. Let food be thy medicine.

If you are in this fight, you can win. Ruth Heidrich and others have
beaten cancer. Why? One thing they did was fight Fight, FIGHT!
The power of positive thinking and some fresh whole plant foods
just might be the ticket, as it was for me and my badly abused
plumbing. Let me know if you want to talk. I'll put my email up.

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Merio Coacervate • 10 months ago 

time ago on a blog i saw a sentence that sounds like this:
"Western medicine tries to cure sick people with substances
that would sicken healthy people"... to me the chemo option
is not a good idea... and for cancer, maybe correct nutrition
could be the best way to try to regain health (it depends, it
depends)... i found this lecture about cancer really interesting
and fascinating:

http://digivisionmedia.com/lec...

i search the book on amazon and found this review (the
second from the top):


!
"I am a board-certified medical oncologist with 30 years
experience in caring for cancer patients and another 20
years of research in cancer medicine dating back to 1963.
Seyfried's "Cancer as a Metabolic Disease" is the most
significant book I have read in my 50 years in this field. It
should be required reading of all cancer specialists,
physicians in general, scientific researchers in the field of
cancer and for medical students. I cannot overstate what a
valuable contribution Thomas Seyfried has made in writing
this masterpiece.

Stephen B. Strum, MD, FACP

Medical Oncologist, Member of ASCO (American Society of


Clinical Oncology) since 1975"


!



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Coacervate Merio • 10 months ago 

Thanks very much. Wow, what a provocative
presentation. I think this Dr should be supported!

Do you speak their language? In the 4th slide, when
they swapped nuclei and mitochondria between
healthy and cancer cells...I partly understand the
results of that but I don't understand this...did the
cancer cells ever revert back to healthy cells when they
put in the healthy mitochondria? Wouldn't that be the
logical thing to check out?

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Merio Coacervate • 10 months ago 

For what i understood, if you take a cancer cell,
take the nucleus and inoculate an healty cell that
lack nucleus (in fact it have a normal cytoplasm a
so mithocondria), the new cell (cancer nucleus +
healty citoplasm) do not develop cancer whatso
ever... but if you take the mithocondria from a
cancer cell and put in another cell it's a total
different story... you have cancer development...


in fact from the theoretical point of view of the
lecture, if you took a cancer cell, free it from his
bad mitochodria and put some new ones, well
maybe the cell recover...


i do not know if i'm right, got to look at the
studies... anyway if i'll say those things to my
pathology professor, well, she will problably call
me "crazy"... sorry to have not much time to get
deeper, i got a dissertation to prepare... maybe
the next week i would add stuff to this post...


PS

anyway, i'm italian, with a "good" english
background... hope to enhance it with time... it's a
must for my field od study... 

!



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Coacervate Merio • 10 months ago 

Thank you! that's what I though he was
saying. Also, is this theory just for brain
cancer? He seems to suggest that...but at
the end maybe not? Are brain mitochondria
somehow different in their ketone
metabolism? Exciting stuff. I've got to get
that book.

Merio, could I please impose on you when
you have some time would you please send
me an email:

cambria at xtra dot co dot nz

I promise not to bother you with too much
writing. Just some little ideas.

Yes, by all means get the dissertation
written!

toto corde

Wayne

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Merio Coacervate • 10 months ago 

i think it works where the cell thrives
only/mainly on glucose, brain cells are
that kind of cell (and brain cancer is
one of the worst, many times
impossible to surgically removed) and
many kind of cancers really need
glucose to survive... 

for others tissue i do not know, for
example liver could make his own
glucose, so maybe that diet isn't much
helpful... 

i'm sorry for the book that is not at a
low price, that's a pity... of course you
could "bother" me with every question
you want :-) ... wait just a week and i
will send you a mail... 


Best regards!

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Harriet Sugar Miller Merio • 9 months ago 

Here's a discussion of Seyfried's ideas simplified for us
layfolks: http://eatandbeatcancer.wordpr...

an interview with Seyfried:

http://cancer-insights.asu.edu...

and a video of a talk in which he lambasts the current
treatments for brain cancer. (That's at the end of the
video.)



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!

Thomas Seyfried, Ph.D.—Targeting


Energy Metabolism in Brain Cancer
[AHS12 Talks] 

from Ancestral Health Society  PLUS


! !


00:00


21:29



! 





! 



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Vimeo














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Merio Harriet Sugar Miller • 9 months ago 

Thanks for posting this info, i will evaluate it
ASAP...

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DGH Coacervate • 10 months ago 

I get the sense that a whole food plant-based diet is very
effective for both treating and preventing atherosclerosis, like
you had, and plays some role (though not as big as we'd like
to think - there is chance mutation and genetics after all) in
preventing cancer, but once cancer is established, it may
only slow the process down.

In that case, I would opt for radical solutions (burn it, cut it
out, poison it), and if this didn't work, come to peace with it.

Yes we only have one life to live but banging one's head
against the wall is wasting precious time. Acceptance,
acceptance. I have never seen anyone with late stage
malignancy who survived their disease, although
spontaneous remission can occasionally occur (it has
certainly been reported in the medical literature). I wouldn't
put my hopes on any diet if I had late-stage cancer. Instead, I
would come to terms with it and start planning how I would
want to live the rest of my life, and then do it. Go on with it.
Fighting wastes so much precious time.

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JacquieRN NF Team Coacervate • 10 months ago 

Hi Coacervate, I am sorry to hear about your friend's cancer
fight. I don't know of any online communities specific to
cancer and whole plant-based food diets, but one may
exists. It sounds like an opportunity for you to create this
space for others!

!



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Coacervate JacquieRN • 10 months ago 

Thanks anyway. I've never "created space" before. I'm
told that I waste a bit of it though ;) I'd need a 13 year
old to show me with my addled gob. You're talking
about starting a website right?

!
!
!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17536129

J Am Coll Nutr. 2007 Apr;26(2):170-81.


Plasma antioxidant capacity changes following a meal as a
measure of the ability of a food to alter in vivo antioxidant
status.
Prior RL1, Gu L, Wu X, Jacob RA, Sotoudeh G, Kader AA, Cook RA.
Author information
!
!
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
Determine 1) if consumption of a meal of different fruits or berries increases plasma
hydrophilic (H-) or lipophilic (L-) antioxidant capacity (AOC) measured as Oxygen
Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC(FL)); 2) if including macronutrients in the
meal alters postprandial changes in AOC; and 3) if preliminary recommendations
can be developed for antioxidant intake.
METHODS:
Changes in plasma AOC following consumption of a single meal of berries/fruits
(blueberry, dried plum, dried plum juice, grape, cherry, kiwifruit and strawberry)
were studied in 5 clinical trials with 6-10 subjects per experiment. In two studies
with blueberry or grape, additional macronutrients (carbohydrate, fat, protein) were
included in the control and treatment meals. Blood samples collected before and
after the meal were analyzed for AOC.
RESULTS:
Consumption of dried plums or dried plum juice did not alter either the H- or L-AOC
area under the curve (AUC). Consumption of blueberry in 2 studies and of mixed
grape powder [12.5 (Study #1), 39.9 (Study #4) and 8.6 (Study #5) mmole Trolox
Equivalents (TE) AOC, respectively] increased hydrophilic AOC AUC. L-AOC
increased following a meal of blueberry containing 12.5 mmole TE AOC (Study #1).
Consumption of 280 g of cherries (4.5 mmol TE AOC) increased plasma L-AOC but
not H-AOC. The AOC in the control groups in which additional macronutrients
(Studies #4 and #5) were added decreased from the postprandial baseline AOC
measurement.
CONCLUSION:
We have demonstrated that consumption of certain berries and fruits such as
blueberries, mixed grape and kiwifruit, was associated with increased plasma AOC
in the postprandial state and consumption of an energy source of macronutrients
containing no antioxidants was associated with a decline in plasma AOC. However,
without further long term clinical studies, one cannot necessarily translate increased
plasma AOC into a potential decreased risk of chronic degenerative disease.
Preliminary estimates of antioxidant needs based upon energy intake were
developed. Consumption of high antioxidant foods with each meal is recommended
in order to prevent periods of postprandial oxidative stress.
PMID: 17536129 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
!!
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/pink-juice-with-green-foam/

Transcript: Pink Juice with Green Foam!


!
You’ve heard me say over and over that berries are the best fruit. So why
didn’t cranberries do better than these others? Because it's not cranberry
juice, it's cranberry cocktail—only 25% juice. So it should rightly be way up
here, and take the gold. How do you do it without the corn syrup, though?
You make your own.

2 cups of water, a handful of frozen cranberries, 8 teaspoons of erythritol,
and a hardcore blender. When you do that, you don’t end up with 100%
juice, you end up with 200% juice. 

Let me explain: Here’s the amount of 6 amazing phytonutrients in frozen
cranberries, but then you blanch them, throw away all the wonderful solids,
clarify it, pasteurize it and you’re left with less than half of the phytonutrients
what you started with. So even if you found 100% cranberry juice, it would
really only be 50% of the whole berry’s phytonutrient power. That’s why it’s
better to blend the whole thing up. I call it my pink juice but it’s not juice at
all, It’s whole fruit. Nothing taken away or filtered out.

Comes out to be about 12 calories—25 times fewer calories, with at least 8
times more phytonutrients. 

When I make it with frozen cherries with the juice of a whole lemon thrown in
I call it my red juice. 

The only thing healthier than berries? Dark green leafies, so for extra credit
add some fresh mint leaves. Gives it a weird looking green foam on top, but
then you’re chugging down berries and greens, then two healthiest things on
the planet.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger
may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the
audio contributed by veganmontreal.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Doctor's Note!
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. Be sure to check
out all the videos on juice (including Is pomegranate juice that wonderful?).

For some context, please check out my associated blog posts: Alzheimer's


Disease: Up to half of cases potentially preventable, Hibiscus tea: flower
power, Which Common Fruit Fights Cancer Better?, and Anti-Cancer
Nutrient Synergy in Cranberries

!
Michael Greger M.D. NF Team • 3 years ago 

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. Be
sure to check out all the videos on juice (including Is pomegranate
juice that wonderful?).

For some context, please check out my associated blog posts:
Alzheimer's Disease: Up to half of cases potentially preventable
and Hibiscus tea: flower power.

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Don Brix Michael Greger M.D. • 3 years ago 

Subject *: Cranberry juice recipe

Message *: I was unable to understand the name of the
sweetener you suggested in the recipe for homemade
cranberry juice in the video of 12/03. I'd be grateful if you
could send along the spelling of the product. Thanks,

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team Don Brix • 3 years ago 

"Erythritol," a nearly noncaloric sugar alcohol found
naturally in certain fruits. I have a video about it here: A
Harmless Artificial Sweetener. My family goes through
about a pound a month. A study published last month
adds a cautionary note, though: consuming erythritol
with a large load of fructose (as can be found in certain
confectionery and soft drinks) could inhibit fructose
absorption in the small intestine and result in bloating
and discomfort from fructose fermentation in the colon.
I don't imagine people would typically be mixing their
diet and regular soda together, but if they did it could it
could be a bad combo.

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BPCveg • 3 years ago 

When you do that you end up with 200% juice and 100% faith in
erythritol!

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Meha • 3 years ago 

I know my question will sound silly, but what is exactly a "hardcore
blender"? Where I live there are cheap and expensive blenders,
but all of them crappy.

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aguccione@sbcglobal.net Meha • 3 years ago 

Have you seen Vitamix blenders demonstrated at Costco-
type stores? They are powerful enough to crush a car hood!
Seriously though, these blenders run about $500.00, but they
are worth the investment. An order comes with a wet blade,
but a dry blade container is handy for milling grain and nuts.
The more you use them, the better they run. They are almost
indestructible. We loooooooove ours! You can buy them on
line new or refurbished (a little less spendy).

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Laurie K. aguccione@sbcglobal.net • 3 years ago 

I'm on my second Vitamix! The first was white, and
after about a decade of making my green drinks, the
white base just became too discolored. I use mine so
much and I like to leave it on the counter, but the
discoloration became an eyesore. It sold IMMEDIATELY
on ebay. I don't have that problem with my second
Vitamix because it's black :) Great suggestion to buy a
refurb, I believe you can get a decent warranty on
them, too. They are incredibly sturdy and have so many
uses. Best purchase I've ever made for my health!

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Johnson Laurie K. • a year ago 

Just buy a blendtec about $200 cheaper and even
more powerful

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kaodjs1 Meha • 3 years ago 

I have made this drink with a Ninja blender and it turns out
great. I bought mine for under $50 at Target. Amazon sells
them too. Ninjas have 3 layers of blades that are quite sharp,
so the Ninja serves as a blender and food processor (fast
chopping like salsa) for me.

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KC kaodjs1 • a year ago 

I love my Ninja! It is an awesome blender -- My friend
has a Blendtec and she constantly has to stop - stir
contents - and start it again to keep it moving. I NEVER
have that problem with the Ninja no matter how packed
it is (I got mine at Kohls -- It came with the blender and
a smaller food processor for under $100).

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pattyrose KC • 10 months ago 

I have a BlenTec - don't particularly care for it -
my sister bought a Vita Mix and doesn't use it and
instead bought a Ninja which she loves. Would
never spend the money again for a BlenTec or a
VitaMix

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wilscot • 3 years ago 

You can make a powerhouse smoothie with an ordinary blender:
add about half to one cup of thawed berries, two big handfuls of
chopped greens (eg kale or spinach or a mix) and as much juice
(eg grape or pomegranate) as you need to get it to blend. Then
you can add some ground flax just as you drink it which provides
the fat to help with absorbtion of the nutrients from the greens!

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wickedchicken • 3 years ago 

I never thought of mint as a dark green leafy veg..... I have a mint
plant in my garden so will be utilising it a lot more now - thanks!

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evanbrand • 3 years ago 

Dr Gregor,

Are there published studies providing evidence about the efficacy
of frozen fruit (vs fresh)?

What are viable sources of acai in the US?

Sambozan adds soy lecitihin to their acai product.

Please advise.

Thank you for these great videos.

Your fan,

Evan Brand

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team evanbrand • 3 years ago 

Great question! I found two good studies comparing fresh to
frozen fruit. One on strawberries and one on raspberries.
They both found the same thing: "no statistically significant
differences between the...[antioxidant levels] for fresh and
frozen strawberries" and "It is concluded, therefore, that
freshly picked, fresh commercial, and frozen raspberries all
contain similar levels of phytochemicals and antioxidants per
serving." And in fact frozen last longer than fresh, are
available year-round, and tend to be cheaper and more
convenient. If you look in my freezer, normally it's half frozen
greens and half frozen berries (though this time of the year
it's also stuffed with 20 pounds of fresh dates!).

In terms of your acai question, I'm not sure what your
concern about soy lecithin is. Even people with soy allergies
are often able to tolerate lecithin (soy proteins are more than
100 times less allergenic than other allergens such as eggs
and dairy). I love the frozen packs of unsweetened acai pulp
(featured in my videos Superfood Bargains and Antioxidant
Content of 300 Foods), though if you're extremely allergic to
soy you may just have to stick to less exotic berries.

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DrDons evanbrand • 3 years ago 

Hi Evanbrand, Wanted to add a thought to Dr. Gregers
excellent response. Since Acai Palms are tropical all Acai is
imported. You might look for products that are certified and
fair trade certified. Having been a physician for 30+ years I
tend to be skeptical of the "hype" associated with new
products whether they are drugs, alternative therapies or
food products. View Dr. Greger's other videos for relative
information on: Cost http://nutritionfacts.org/vide... Weight
http://nutritionfacts.org/vide... and Serving size: http://
nutritionfacts.org/vide.... Stay tuned as the science changes
every year.

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Heidi Woodruff • 3 years ago 

I blend a Banana, handful of blueberries, flax seeds and baby
spinach with a bit of Stevia powder (for sweetness), water and ice
cubes. Yum! Even my teenage son will drink it!

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HTWWO • 3 years ago 

I hear what you are saying about Erythritol but you made an even
better claim about dates as a sweetener. Since it's going in the
blender, why not dates instead?

I'm going to try it this afternoon.

!



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HTWWO • 3 years ago 

Just made batch one. One cup water, half cup cranberries, two
dates (seeds removed.) Blend to liquid.

Love it.

!



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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team HTWWO • 3 years ago 

What a great idea--you just made it even healthier!

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Kaleb Rogers Michael Greger M.D. • a year ago 

Sub in cold brewed hibiscus for water. Mind blown.

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Lawrence HTWWO • 2 years ago 

HTWWO- Yes, great idea. I made this drink with hibiscus
flower tea (leaves and all), dried peppermint leaves and
pitted dates. I found it necessary to strain the results as it
was too particle-laden. But, then I placed the strained liquid
back into the blender, added two tbsp ground flax seed and
one ripe banana for an awesome smoothie. Sounds like a lot
of bother, but it wasn't that much trouble. Thank you Dr.
Greger for this marvelous resource!

!



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Jill McKeever HTWWO • a year ago 

I'm trying this. I have everything on hand. ;D THank you for
sharing.

!



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Rease HTWWO • a year ago 

This was a great idea - I just tried it and it was fantastic.
Thanks for the tip!! (I used carbonated water to make it more
"cocktail" like.)

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veganmom • 3 years ago 

So where would one find erythritol? Wf?

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team veganmom • 3 years ago 

Yes, you should be able to find it at any health food store
(including Whole Foods). I've found it cheaper to just order
online, though.

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dragonfur Michael Greger M.D. • a day ago 

What about stevia? I've seen no mention of that no-cal
sweetener (I don't mean the derived, over-processed
versions the major food companies now sell, but the
basic dried, ground stevia leaf. I've even thought about
trying to add it to my garden, but a lot of good things
won't grow in this clay-heavy Texas blackland!)

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mercman40 • 3 years ago 

If dates are better, and molasses second best, why use Erythritol?

I tried date sugar but found it does not really work so well with tea,
coffee, or any drinks that don't have a thick smoothy like
consistency.

Is Erythritol better than raw sugar, or honey even?

I can spend hours reading and listening to the videos...thanks for
all you do!!!

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Toxins mercman40 • 3 years ago 

Erythritol is derived from fruits and passes fairly quickly
through our body. It is considered the best artificial
sweetener. Check it out on this video.

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

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ahernandez • 3 years ago 

Should the cranberries, mentioned in the video, pitted? – I know a
3hp blender is capable of pureeing even the toughest seeds of
certain fruits including the avocado, but I just wanted to be sure.

Thank you.

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Robertaj • 3 years ago 

I made a double batch of this tonight and my husband and I drank
it throughout the evening. After about an hour my husband started
having gas pains and then had diarrhea for a couple of hours. I
also had bad gas pains and loose stools within a few hours. I just
ordered 4.5 lbs via the Internet but now am afraid we are having a
bad reaction to erythritol. Is this possible? Lots of "dangers" listed
on the Internet, but nothing research based that I could find. What
do you know about the possible negative side effects? Thanks!

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team Robertaj • 3 years ago 

The wonderful thing about erythritol is that 90% of it is
absorbed in the small intestine, and so one doesn't typically
experience the gastrointestinal side-effects seen with other
sugar alcohols (such as xylitol). Having said that, 10% does
make it down into the colon, and so you can overdo it, as
you and your husband experienced. Now over a period of
weeks, your colonic flora will shift to start metabolizing the
erythritol, but you definitely want to start slow.

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Patrice • 2 years ago 

 Try iherb.com - they have good prices on erythritol, as well as the
ceylon cinnamon Dr. Greger recommends. You can use cod
POD782 for $5 off an order up to $40 or $10 off more than $40. 
Plus, there is free shipping, AND, make sure you click on the
"Freebies" tab at the top and select a free sample for your order!  

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Krasmuss • 2 years ago 

I have a question about drinking a lot of cranberry juice, especially
concentrated forms...I've heard that there are lots of oxalates(?) in
cranberries, and was wondering if there would be a higher risk of
developing kidney stones from too much cranberries?

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Toxins NF Team Krasmuss • 2 years ago 

Dont worry about oxalates, as long as your eating a varied
healthy vegan diet oxalates are of no concern.  I would avoid
drinking cranberry juice as this is a concentrated source of
sugar.

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

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SteveW-Torrance • 2 years ago 

Dr. Greger, your videos (aside from a world of great dietary info)
are very funny at times...In a good way. I cannot say I 'get'
everything presented but its a very helpful source for me in my
quest to improve my health. I wanted to thank you for your efforts
and making this sometimes complex info approachable and
actionable. 

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ileana • 2 years ago 

Dr Michael, I'm from Costa Rica an I always interested in your
videos. Please send me the information of what you and your
family eat in order to be certain that my family eats well. Best
wishes

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Ninasky87 • 2 years ago 

do i have to blend is juicing give the same benifts>

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Linda Rudnick • 2 years ago 

Alcohol sugar is not a good thing. It is better to use Stevia and
there are some wonderful brands (I like Stevita powder or liquid). It
is possible for you to post your recipes on your website, like the
Pink Juice recipe, or am I just not able to find them. Thank you for
your good work.

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Martie • 2 years ago 

So do you have a recipe book with all of your recipe suggestions?

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Tobias Brown • 2 years ago 

I tried this recipe and while it tastes good, we lose much of the
taste of the cranberries -- due to the sweetener and water. Next
time, I'll try less erythritol and more cranberries with a couple
cubes of ice to cool it down, and maybe try dates as the
sweetener.

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jenne • a year ago 

Dr Greger Could you not use stevia as the sweetener?

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Toxins NF Team jenne • a year ago 

Check out this video on the healthiest artificial sweetener.

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

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jenne Toxins • a year ago 

so I take it there are no no really good sugars or even
OK ones, guess I'll stick with stevia until the jury comes
in. Linda that is what I am using now the powder and
the liquid.

Tobias I was going to make it this this weekend and
thought when I saw it it has too much water, heck I
drink pure cranberry juice everyday and eat
pomegranates all the time, I love tart though.

Thank You Dr Greger for taking the time to reply.

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Toxins NF Team jenne • a year ago 

The healthiest artificial sweetener is erythritol.

http://nutritionfacts.org/topi...

The healthiest non artificial sweetener would be
molasses or date sugar

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

Here's the scoop on stevia

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

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jenne Toxins • a year ago 

I have hep C so try to steer clear of sugar
and if I remember those are high in sugar I
try to stay at 16-20 grams a day if that. 

So looks like I will buying the erythirtol
tomorrow, again thank you!!!

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Michelle • a year ago 

Do you have any information on antioxidant content of cranberries
(or any other fruits) before versus after blending? I've always been
curious about how much gets oxidized from the blending process
versus what we would absorb from just eating the whole fruit.

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Mercedes • a year ago 

Does heating up the cranberry/lemon recipe in the microwave
destroy the nutritional benefits? We love it unsweetened! Quite the
surprise! :-)

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Chicov • a year ago 

You can use dried mint also, only takes a bit, less than a
teaspoon. Truvia is a common brand name of the sweetener. My
cranberries always went bad before I could figure out what I
wanted to do with them. Now they are a pleasure to get out of the
freezer, and even the grandkids love this drink.

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Sebastian Tristan • a year ago 

I blend whole, fresh cranberries with blueberries and medjool
dates. The taste feels like I'm cheating, but - health wise - I ain't.
=) I'll try to add mint next time.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17536129

J Am Coll Nutr. 2007 Apr;26(2):170-81.


Plasma antioxidant capacity changes following a meal as a
measure of the ability of a food to alter in vivo antioxidant
status.
Prior RL1, Gu L, Wu X, Jacob RA, Sotoudeh G, Kader AA, Cook RA.
Author information
!
!
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
Determine 1) if consumption of a meal of different fruits or berries increases plasma
hydrophilic (H-) or lipophilic (L-) antioxidant capacity (AOC) measured as Oxygen
Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC(FL)); 2) if including macronutrients in the
meal alters postprandial changes in AOC; and 3) if preliminary recommendations
can be developed for antioxidant intake.
METHODS:
Changes in plasma AOC following consumption of a single meal of berries/fruits
(blueberry, dried plum, dried plum juice, grape, cherry, kiwifruit and strawberry)
were studied in 5 clinical trials with 6-10 subjects per experiment. In two studies
with blueberry or grape, additional macronutrients (carbohydrate, fat, protein) were
included in the control and treatment meals. Blood samples collected before and
after the meal were analyzed for AOC.
RESULTS:
Consumption of dried plums or dried plum juice did not alter either the H- or L-AOC
area under the curve (AUC). Consumption of blueberry in 2 studies and of mixed
grape powder [12.5 (Study #1), 39.9 (Study #4) and 8.6 (Study #5) mmole Trolox
Equivalents (TE) AOC, respectively] increased hydrophilic AOC AUC. L-AOC
increased following a meal of blueberry containing 12.5 mmole TE AOC (Study #1).
Consumption of 280 g of cherries (4.5 mmol TE AOC) increased plasma L-AOC but
not H-AOC. The AOC in the control groups in which additional macronutrients
(Studies #4 and #5) were added decreased from the postprandial baseline AOC
measurement.
CONCLUSION:
We have demonstrated that consumption of certain berries and fruits such as
blueberries, mixed grape and kiwifruit, was associated with increased plasma AOC
in the postprandial state and consumption of an energy source of macronutrients
containing no antioxidants was associated with a decline in plasma AOC. However,
without further long term clinical studies, one cannot necessarily translate increased
plasma AOC into a potential decreased risk of chronic degenerative disease.
Preliminary estimates of antioxidant needs based upon energy intake were
developed. Consumption of high antioxidant foods with each meal is recommended
in order to prevent periods of postprandial oxidative stress.
PMID: 17536129 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
!!
!
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-power-of-no/!
Transcript: The Power of NO!
!
Our understanding of nitric oxide has come a long way since it was named
"molecule of the year" in 1992 and won some folks a Nobel Prize in '98. But
it's a key biological messenger within the body and its message is: "open
sesame". It's released by the lining of our arteries to tell the muscle fibers
within the walls  of our arteries to relax, so our arteries open up and let the
blood flow.

That's why when people are having a heart attack, they're giving
nitroglycerine, which your body converts to nitric oxide to open up our
arteries. In fact that's how Viagra works: it boosts nitric oxide signaling,
which leads to dilation of the penile arteries.

The ED we really need to be concerned about, though, is endothelial


dysfunction: dysfunction of the lining of all our arteries, considered a first
step toward atherosclerosis, our leading cause of death.

Here's what happens: NO, nitric oxide, is produced by an enzyme called NO


synthase. If you have a lot of free radicals in your body, though, they come in
and not only gobble up the NO -- they hijack this enzyme -- they hijack NO
synthase, take it over, and have it instead start making more free radicals.

So our arteries become dysfunctional. They don't relax when they should.
And that can contribute to the hardening of our arteries.

If, however, we flood our body with antioxidants by eating healthy foods, it
should quench those free radicals and let NO get back to its job.

So recently, for the first time ever, researchers studied the effects of eating
high antioxidant foods on NO activity. We saw what choosing higher
antioxidant plant foods did to inflammation. What effect does it have on our
arterial function?

You can hook people up to a device that measures the dilation of their
arteries and blood flow through ultrasound. In the study, people started
eating their normal miserable diet, then switched to an even more miserable
diet, and their arterial dilation capacity dropped, though not significantly.

They started out eating a pretty crappy diet to begin with, but which they
then let people get back to, so then their NO activity came back to baseline.
Then they had these people eat the higher antioxidant foods, like berries,
and within  a period of just two weeks, a significant jump in their arteries'
ability to relax and dilate normally.

This is where they should have been in the first place, or even higher. This
study suggests that choosing antioxidant-rich plant foods can improve blood
flow to all parts of our bodies.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger
may be referring, watch the above video. This is transcript contributed by
Bruce A. Hamilton.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

!
Doctor's Note!
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. Be sure to check
out all the other videos on antioxidants and don't miss the videos on heart
disease. And there are 1,449 subjects covered in the rest of my videos–
please feel free to explore them!

For more context, check out my associated blog posts:  Antioxidants in a


Pinch: Dried Herbs and Spices and Hibiscus Tea: The Best Beverage?

!
Michael Greger M.D. NF Team • 3 years ago 

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. Be
sure to check out all the other videos on antioxidants and don't
miss the videos on heart disease. And there are 1,449 subjects
covered in the rest of my videos–please feel free to explore them!

For more context, check out my associated blog post,
Antioxidants in a Pinch: Dried Herbs and Spices.

!



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Kali Michael Greger M.D. • 2 years ago 

How do antioxidant levels affect venous insufficiency?  What
are the dietary ways to help heal conditions like DVT?

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Don Forrester MD NF Team Kali • 2 years ago 

 These studies relate to what is happening in our
arteries and not veins. I don't know of studies directly
addressing venous insufficiency and diet. However
people following a plant based diet tend to be thinner
which is associated with less lower extremity venous
difficulties. I would imagine that foods that tend to
cause inflammation & clotting would be associated with
more DVT's. These include Arachidonic Acid see http://
nutritionfacts.org/vide...  and http://nutritionfacts.org/
vide.... It would also make sense that foods that
promote anti-inflammation and anti clotting (omega 3,
EPA, DHA) would be associated with less DVT's.  See
the videos...  http://nutritionfacts.org/vide... and http://
nutritionfacts.org/vide.... Of course you never know
when a study on DVT's and diet will appear so stay
tuned to NutritionFacts.org. 

!



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VegAtHeart • 3 years ago 

Fascinating study on flow mediated dilation...perhaps the effects
of higher antioxidant consumption by vegetarians (compared to
omnivores) may also explain some of the heart health benefits of
vegetarianism reported by Dean Ornish's lab. Given the vastly
higher antioxidant content of plant foods compared to animal
foods, I wonder if higher antioxidant intake may better explain
heart health benefits of vegetarianism than reduced cholesterol/
saturated fat intake. I look forward to future videos on this topic!

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Jubilee • 3 years ago 

I stumbled across the

so called 80 10 10 diet on http://www.30bananasaday.com

Can you tell me if this diet is great and healthy? Or do people
following it risk malnutrition?

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tree • 2 years ago 

yeah choclate has antioxidants!!!

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Kman • 2 years ago 

Could you please do some videos on Whey Protein? I am
interested in if they : 

contain any bad chemical residues

have any cognitive benefits

have any anti-cancer benefits

have any satiety or weight loss benefits

and anything else related to health and illness. Thanks for the
great work you do.

I tried clicking on your Ask the Doctor link but it seems to be
broken.

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Toxins NF Team Kman • 2 years ago 

Whey protein is harmful, and you will find out why in these
videos http://nutritionfacts.org/inde...

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Christo Okulian • 2 years ago 

Hi Doc, hi Toxins,

Am crazily addicted w/ health knowledge from doctor Greger and
his crew.

please kindly help me, are there any correlation between arterial
elasticity w/ heart beat rate and VO2max ? please kindly provide
the literature study, thx much.

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Caveat M. Tor • a year ago 

Given that ED drugs work by raising NO levels, and there is now
apparently a regimen of daily low-dose Cialis for ED patients,
might this regimen be beneficial for an adult male who is
physically active, not suffering from ED, but at risk of
cardiovascular disease due to age, sex, familial risk, and past
diet?

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Toxins NF Team Caveat M. Tor • a year ago 

Heart disease can be reversed entirely with diet, so other
factors would not have too much influence with this.

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

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Cynthia Chabra • a year ago 

Dr Esselstyn said on Forks over Knives the Extended Interviews
that recent studies now show the same effect on endothelial cells
from olive oil, palm oil and soybean oil as from animal fat. Can you
address that please?

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Derrek • 8 months ago 

What about BPA tomato paste in cans? I bought some and don't
know if I should eat it or not. I'll have to buy organic in the future.

Also would about conventional strawberries, grapes, celery and
blueberries? I can't always afford organic. Should I avoid them
then? I'm in college and am broke. 

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Thea NF Team Derrek • 8 months ago 

Derrek: Dr. Greger has a great blog post where he puts
pesticide consumption into perspective. :

"A new study calculated that if half the U.S. population ate
just one more serving of conventional fruits and vegetables,
20,000 cases of cancer could be prevented. At the same
time the added pesticide consumption could cause up to 10
extra cancer cases. So by eating conventional produce we
may get a tiny bump in cancer risk, but that’s more than
compensated by the dramatic drop in risk that accompanies
whole food plant consumption. Even if all we had to eat was
the most contaminated produce the benefits would far
outweigh any risks."

from: http://nutritionfacts.org/2013...

I translate this bit of info into: Eat organic when you can, but
don't stress about it when you can't.

Happily, there is a way to take this advice a step further to
minimize your risks without completely depleting the
pocketbook. Every year, the Environmental Working Group
actually measures pesticide levels in fruits and veggies--after
those fruits and veggies have been prepared in the way
people would normally eat them. (For example, peeling a
banana or washing first.) If you scroll down on the following
page, you will see a list for the "Dirty Dozen" and the "Clean
Fifteen".

http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/su...

I bring your attention to these lists because I think they are
very helpful for people who can't afford to eat organic for
everything. You could use these lists to help you decide
when it is worth putting down money for organic and when it
might be safer to buy non-organic.

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Lizzi • 6 months ago 

Are there any new ideas about how to HELP HAND AND FINGER
PAIN?

I am in a very painful situation with my hands. How can I reverse
this and is Aleve safe to take? I do not want drugs, but am
Vegetarian with severe hand pain. Thanks for any light we can
shed on this~ What foods could help pain?

!



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!
!
!
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-power-of-no/

Transcript: The Power of NO!


!
Our understanding of nitric oxide has come a long way since it was named
"molecule of the year" in 1992 and won some folks a Nobel Prize in '98. But
it's a key biological messenger within the body and its message is: "open
sesame". It's released by the lining of our arteries to tell the muscle fibers
within the walls  of our arteries to relax, so our arteries open up and let the
blood flow.

That's why when people are having a heart attack, they're giving
nitroglycerine, which your body converts to nitric oxide to open up our
arteries. In fact that's how Viagra works: it boosts nitric oxide signaling,
which leads to dilation of the penile arteries.

The ED we really need to be concerned about, though, is endothelial


dysfunction: dysfunction of the lining of all our arteries, considered a first
step toward atherosclerosis, our leading cause of death.

Here's what happens: NO, nitric oxide, is produced by an enzyme called NO


synthase. If you have a lot of free radicals in your body, though, they come in
and not only gobble up the NO -- they hijack this enzyme -- they hijack NO
synthase, take it over, and have it instead start making more free radicals.

So our arteries become dysfunctional. They don't relax when they should.
And that can contribute to the hardening of our arteries.

If, however, we flood our body with antioxidants by eating healthy foods, it
should quench those free radicals and let NO get back to its job.

So recently, for the first time ever, researchers studied the effects of eating
high antioxidant foods on NO activity. We saw what choosing higher
antioxidant plant foods did to inflammation. What effect does it have on our
arterial function?

You can hook people up to a device that measures the dilation of their
arteries and blood flow through ultrasound. In the study, people started
eating their normal miserable diet, then switched to an even more miserable
diet, and their arterial dilation capacity dropped, though not significantly.

They started out eating a pretty crappy diet to begin with, but which they
then let people get back to, so then their NO activity came back to baseline.
Then they had these people eat the higher antioxidant foods, like berries,
and within  a period of just two weeks, a significant jump in their arteries'
ability to relax and dilate normally.

This is where they should have been in the first place, or even higher. This
study suggests that choosing antioxidant-rich plant foods can improve blood
flow to all parts of our bodies.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger
may be referring, watch the above video. This is transcript contributed by
Bruce A. Hamilton.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

!
Doctor's Note!
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. Be sure to check
out all the other videos on antioxidants and don't miss the videos on heart
disease. And there are 1,449 subjects covered in the rest of my videos–
please feel free to explore them!

For more context, check out my associated blog posts:  Antioxidants in a


Pinch: Dried Herbs and Spices and Hibiscus Tea: The Best Beverage?

!
Michael Greger M.D. NF Team • 3 years ago 

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. Be
sure to check out all the other videos on antioxidants and don't
miss the videos on heart disease. And there are 1,449 subjects
covered in the rest of my videos–please feel free to explore them!

For more context, check out my associated blog post,
Antioxidants in a Pinch: Dried Herbs and Spices.

!



!
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Kali Michael Greger M.D. • 2 years ago 

How do antioxidant levels affect venous insufficiency?  What
are the dietary ways to help heal conditions like DVT?

!



!
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!



Don Forrester MD NF Team Kali • 2 years ago 

 These studies relate to what is happening in our
arteries and not veins. I don't know of studies directly
addressing venous insufficiency and diet. However
people following a plant based diet tend to be thinner
which is associated with less lower extremity venous
difficulties. I would imagine that foods that tend to
cause inflammation & clotting would be associated with
more DVT's. These include Arachidonic Acid see http://
nutritionfacts.org/vide...  and http://nutritionfacts.org/
vide.... It would also make sense that foods that
promote anti-inflammation and anti clotting (omega 3,
EPA, DHA) would be associated with less DVT's.  See
the videos...  http://nutritionfacts.org/vide... and http://
nutritionfacts.org/vide.... Of course you never know
when a study on DVT's and diet will appear so stay
tuned to NutritionFacts.org. 

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VegAtHeart • 3 years ago 

Fascinating study on flow mediated dilation...perhaps the effects
of higher antioxidant consumption by vegetarians (compared to
omnivores) may also explain some of the heart health benefits of
vegetarianism reported by Dean Ornish's lab. Given the vastly
higher antioxidant content of plant foods compared to animal
foods, I wonder if higher antioxidant intake may better explain
heart health benefits of vegetarianism than reduced cholesterol/
saturated fat intake. I look forward to future videos on this topic!

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Jubilee • 3 years ago 

I stumbled across the

so called 80 10 10 diet on http://www.30bananasaday.com

Can you tell me if this diet is great and healthy? Or do people
following it risk malnutrition?

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tree • 2 years ago 

yeah choclate has antioxidants!!!

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Kman • 2 years ago 

Could you please do some videos on Whey Protein? I am
interested in if they : 

contain any bad chemical residues

have any cognitive benefits

have any anti-cancer benefits

have any satiety or weight loss benefits

and anything else related to health and illness. Thanks for the
great work you do.

I tried clicking on your Ask the Doctor link but it seems to be
broken.

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Toxins NF Team Kman • 2 years ago 

Whey protein is harmful, and you will find out why in these
videos http://nutritionfacts.org/inde...

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Christo Okulian • 2 years ago 

Hi Doc, hi Toxins,

Am crazily addicted w/ health knowledge from doctor Greger and
his crew.

please kindly help me, are there any correlation between arterial
elasticity w/ heart beat rate and VO2max ? please kindly provide
the literature study, thx much.

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Caveat M. Tor • a year ago 

Given that ED drugs work by raising NO levels, and there is now
apparently a regimen of daily low-dose Cialis for ED patients,
might this regimen be beneficial for an adult male who is
physically active, not suffering from ED, but at risk of
cardiovascular disease due to age, sex, familial risk, and past
diet?

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Toxins NF Team Caveat M. Tor • a year ago 

Heart disease can be reversed entirely with diet, so other
factors would not have too much influence with this.

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

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Cynthia Chabra • a year ago 

Dr Esselstyn said on Forks over Knives the Extended Interviews
that recent studies now show the same effect on endothelial cells
from olive oil, palm oil and soybean oil as from animal fat. Can you
address that please?

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Derrek • 8 months ago 

What about BPA tomato paste in cans? I bought some and don't
know if I should eat it or not. I'll have to buy organic in the future.

Also would about conventional strawberries, grapes, celery and
blueberries? I can't always afford organic. Should I avoid them
then? I'm in college and am broke. 

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Thea NF Team Derrek • 8 months ago 

Derrek: Dr. Greger has a great blog post where he puts
pesticide consumption into perspective. :

"A new study calculated that if half the U.S. population ate
just one more serving of conventional fruits and vegetables,
20,000 cases of cancer could be prevented. At the same
time the added pesticide consumption could cause up to 10
extra cancer cases. So by eating conventional produce we
may get a tiny bump in cancer risk, but that’s more than
compensated by the dramatic drop in risk that accompanies
whole food plant consumption. Even if all we had to eat was
the most contaminated produce the benefits would far
outweigh any risks."

from: http://nutritionfacts.org/2013...

I translate this bit of info into: Eat organic when you can, but
don't stress about it when you can't.

Happily, there is a way to take this advice a step further to
minimize your risks without completely depleting the
pocketbook. Every year, the Environmental Working Group
actually measures pesticide levels in fruits and veggies--after
those fruits and veggies have been prepared in the way
people would normally eat them. (For example, peeling a
banana or washing first.) If you scroll down on the following
page, you will see a list for the "Dirty Dozen" and the "Clean
Fifteen".

http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/su...

I bring your attention to these lists because I think they are
very helpful for people who can't afford to eat organic for
everything. You could use these lists to help you decide
when it is worth putting down money for organic and when it
might be safer to buy non-organic.

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Lizzi • 6 months ago 

Are there any new ideas about how to HELP HAND AND FINGER
PAIN?

I am in a very painful situation with my hands. How can I reverse
this and is Aleve safe to take? I do not want drugs, but am
Vegetarian with severe hand pain. Thanks for any light we can
shed on this~ What foods could help pain?

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!!
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/breast-cancer-risk-red-wine-vs-white-wine/

Transcript: Breast Cancer Risk: Red Wine vs. White


Wine!
!
After diagnosis, women with breast cancer may cut their risk of dying nearly
in half—estrogen-receptor positive; estrogen receptor negative—just
instituting simple, modest lifestyle changes, 5 or more servings fruits and
veggies a day and just like walking 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week. But
what about preventing breast cancer in the first place?

If you actually follow the advice of the official dietary guidelines for cancer
prevention does it actually reduce your risk of cancer? If you manage your
weight, eat more plant foods, less animal foods, less alcohol and breastfeed
if you're a woman, based on the largest prospective study on diet and
cancer in history, you may significantly lower your risk of breast cancer,
endometrial cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, kidney cancer, stomach
cancer, UADT cancer—you don't want to get cancer in your UADT, believe
me—no, that means basically oral cancer, as well as lower risk for liver
cancer, esophageal cancer, and all cancers combined.

Of all the recommendations, the "Eat mostly foods of plant origin" appeared
the most powerful. For example a study in the UK found that in just one year
in Britain there were14,902 excess cases of cancer caused by something
they were exposed to 10 years earlier. What was that something that ended
up causing thousands of cancers? Deficient intake of fruit and vegetables. If
that was some instead chemical spill or something causing 14 thousand
cancers, people would be up and arms to ban it, but instead when that killer
carcinogen is not eating their fruit and veg, as the Brits would say, it hardly
get's anyone's attention.

What if you throw in smoking too? Researchers created a healthy lifestyle


index, defined by four things: #1 exercise, #2, a dietary shift away from the
standard American diet high in meat, dairy, fat, and sugar towards a more
prudent dietary pattern—for instance green and yellow vegetables, beans,
and fruits. #3 avoidance of tobacco and #4 avoidance of alcohol. If young,
women scoring higher on those four things may cut their odds of getting
breast cancer in half, and older women may cut their odds of breast cancer
80%!

We've covered how even light drinking can increase breast cancer risk, but
for women who refuse to eliminate alcohol, which is less carcinogenic, red
wine or white? Well some studies, such as the Harvard Women's Health
Study suggest less or even no risk from red wine and we may have just
figured out why. Remember how mushrooms were the vegetable best able to
suppress the activity of aromatase, the enzyme used by breast tumors to
produce its own estrogen? Well if you run the same human placenta
experiments with fruit, strawberries get the silver, but grapes get the gold.

But what kind of grapes? The whimpy green grapes used to make white
wine didn't work, compared to those used for making red.  Bottom line, "red
wine may serve as a nutritional aromatase inhibitor, which may ameliorate
the elevated breast cancer risk associated with alcohol intake." But why
accept any elevated risk, by instead just eating grapes. And if you do, chose
ones with seeds if you can, as they may work even better.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger
may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the
audio contributed by Ariel Levitsky.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Doctor's Note!
My reference to the cancer risk associated with even light drinking (up to one
drink per day) is explored in Breast Cancer and Alcohol: How Much is Safe?

Wasn't there a study that found that fruits and vegetables weren't protective
against cancer, though? See my video on the EPIC Study.

For more on the aromatase story, see:

• Vegetables Versus Breast Cancer

• Breast Cancer Prevention: Which Mushroom Is Best?

• Breast Cancer vs. Mushrooms

• Why Do Asian Women Have Less Breast Cancer?

More on grapes in Fat Burning Via Flavonoids and Best Fruit Juice.

What if you already have breast cancer, though? Well, Cancer Prevention and
Treatment May Be the Same Thing, but I do have been a few studies on
breast cancer survival and diet:

• Breast Cancer Survival and Lignan Intake

• Breast Cancer Survival and Soy

• Breast Cancer Survival and Trans Fat

• Breast Cancer Survival, Butterfat, and Chicken

Also, be sure to check out my associated blog post for more context:  Breast
Cancer & Alcohol: How Much Is Safe? and Breast Cancer and Wine.

If you haven't yet, you can subscribe to my videos for free by clicking here.

!
Marty • 2 years ago 

The last comment in the video was to eat red grapes with seeds.
I'd like too but they are no longer produced. They're not even
availabe at health food stores. I've asked for them but I'm told
there is no demand. So next time you're at your store, let your
voice be heard.

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cpgraettinger • 2 years ago 

do you need to eat the seeds or is there something inherently
different about the flesh of gapes that have seeds?

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vegan2u cpgraettinger • 2 years ago 

Eat the seeds! Very nutritious

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David • 2 years ago 

I love todays video for a number of reasons: 1) It shows women,
without going thru breast removal surgery as to how they can
decrease the risk of breast cancer (as well as cancer in general,
cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and the list goes on and on). 2)
Many state that drinking wine has health advantages - as the
video indicates its best to eat the grape, receive the health
benefits and avoid the down side of alcohol, such as the fact that
alcohol attacks fatty tissue, much of what the brain in composed
of! 3) The video emphasizes the importance of not putting off a
transition toward healthier eating, because when a symptom
appears, such as dementia for example, its the result of what the
person has been consuming for the last 10-20 years! What we do
today determines our tomorrows.

Thanks Dr Greger for another great lesson in health !

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vegan2u • 2 years ago 

Dr Greger, Great info, I saw somewhere that you were on Dr Oz,
has it aired? If so, please let me know when or when it intends to
air..thank you

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Thea NF Team • 2 years ago 

Nice special effects. (the twinkling) Sort of reminded me of your
older videos where we got to guess before you revealed an
answer. I really like that format. That sort of format gets my brain
into more active listening.

But I gotsa say, I aint eaten no seeds! :-0

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Ronald Chavin • 2 years ago 

Dr. Greger seems to contradict himself between his videos on light
alcohol drinking:

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

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Ronald Chavin Ronald Chavin • 2 years ago 

One of the many reasons why fruits and berries don't prevent
cancer in real populations of real people as well as
cruciferous vegetables, allium vegetables, legumes
(especially soy), tomatoes, mushrooms, and green leafy
vegetables is that they are sweet:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/

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Ronald Chavin Ronald Chavin • 2 years ago 

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/porta...

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/cont...

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Nan S Ronald Chavin • 2 years ago 

All these excellent citations seem to warn against
the dangers of excess fructose in its free form, as
in soft drinks sweetened with high fructose corn
syrup. However, I see no problem with the smaller
amount of slowly released fructose and sucrose
from fruits and vegetables, which are contained in
a fiber matrix to slow absorbtion. In this case, the
furctose will be metabolized by glycolysis rather
than the pentose phosphate shunt, which will
eliminate the problem of excess protein synthesis.
The many epidemiological studies on fruit and
vegetable consumtion show that they are helpful
in preventing cancer.

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Ronald Chavin Nan S • 2 years ago 

The majority of epidemiological studies say
that fruits don't prevent cancer as well as
vegetables:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

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Ronald Chavin Ronald Chavin • 2 years ago 

Cooked cruciferous vegetables didn't
prevent cancer much better than fruits:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

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Ronald Chavin Ronald Chavin • 2 years ago 

Small quantities of the bad arsenic - inorganic
arsenic - is present in grapes, apples, red sugar
beets, and rice bran: http://www.webmd.com/
diet/news...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

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Ronald Chavin Ronald Chavin • 2 years ago 

One cup of raw grapes are lower in dietary fiber
(only 1.4g) and higher in total sugar (23.4g) than
any other fruit:

http://nutritiondata.self.com/...

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Ronald Chavin Ronald Chavin • 2 years ago 

Eating a small cluster of grapes should not cause
gas or diarrhea in the vast majority of people:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

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Roberta Ronald Chavin • a year ago 

No Greger does not contradict himself. He reports that very
modist alcohol consumption shows up on the graph for
HEART disease as benifitial,but on a CANCER graph as risk
producing.


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Jean • 2 years ago 

I believe I read somewhere that wine confers cardiovascular
benefits above and beyond grapes because of some chemical
that is produced in the fermentation process. I wonder if the same
might be true for this aromatase activity of red wine. OK - I'll admit
it - I'm a woman who loves red wine (and drinks it in moderation).

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Lyra Jean • 2 years ago 

Here's to women who love their wine! :) That said, I'm
grateful for this new info because now I know how to lower
my risk by choosing the right wine. And I love red wine far
better than white, anyway, so this is good news indeed.
Seems to me that if you are eating right (vegan), exercising
regularly, and getting your five to nine servings of fruits and
vegies, drinking in moderation is less risky. But I'd like to see
more studies. The trouble is, most of these studies are
carried out with subjects who eat meat and/or dairy, not with
vegans. So I wonder how vegans wine drinkers would stack
up agains people who don't consume wine or alcohol but do
eat a standard American diet centered on meat and dairy
consumption. I'd be willing to wager that the vegan wine
drinkers would still have much lower cancer risk due to a
healthier lifestyle overall. To your health... Salud!

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HTWWO • 2 years ago 

Is there any research that compares alcohol consumption with a
standard American diet to alcohol consumption with a plant based
diet? Does not alcohol speed some things into the blood stream
that might otherwise pass through the system?

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Don Forrester MD NF Team HTWWO • 2 years ago 

I'm not aware of any studies on alcohol consumption and
SAD vs plant based diet. I also don't know any studies that
show interference of the absorption of nutrients by alcohol.
However, alcohol consumption should be limited as it is
viewed by the body as a toxin creating a myriad of effects on
all systems (e.g. nervous, arterial, liver, endocrine). It is
common to see vitamin deficiencies in folks who drink a lot
of alcohol due to the lack of consumption of healthy foods.
Alcohol(7) is more calorie dense then carbohydrates(4) or
protein(4)... not as calorie dense as oil(9).

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Bike123 • 2 years ago 

White wine comes from red grapes, but is separated immediately
from the skins and seeds.

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Darryl NF Team • 2 years ago 

BTW, white wine is produced from the same grapes as red; they
just discard the skins (and most of the intriguing polyphenols) for
white wine production.

Wine has resveratrol, beer has zantholhumol from the hops, but its
plausible ethanol itself is a hormetin. Figure 4 in this meta-analysis
is suggestive: Alcohol drinking and all cancer mortality: a meta-
analysis

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Jitka • 2 years ago 

In Italy there are no grapes without seeds. In Britain there are no
grapes with seed . Which is more natural? British grapes are are
sterile, fruitless fruits!!

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DragonDad • 2 years ago 

You can get grape seed oil to replace eating the grape seeds

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Stephen Lucker Kelly • a year ago 

I was just wondering if you know any websites that focus more on
plant based nutrition in the UK? As this is mostly centred round
the US? So do you know a good doctor I can follow on plant
based nutrition who focuses more on sources in the uk?

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Rubal • a year ago 

Hi Dr. Greger, I'm a US medical student and fully support your
website. There is absolutely nothing like it out there that I've come
across! I was hoping you would shed some light on Resveratrol
supplements as there have been so many studies but its getting
hard for me to wrap my head around all the information. Thank
you so much for your work!!

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Sebastian Tristan • a year ago 

I must have missed this one: Are you saying that Red wine isn't
healthy after all?

!
!
Transcript: Antioxidant Level Dynamics!
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/antioxidant-level-dynamics/

OK, here’s another fascinating study. Published last year in the Journal of
Biomedical Optics and comes straight out of science fiction. They used an
argon laser to measure, in real time, the levels of antioxidants in people’s
bodies. Antioxidant substances in living human skin. 

We know that eating fruits and vegetables boosts our antioxidant levels,
while stress eats up our stores of antioxidants causing our levels to drop, but
how fast does this all happen? What are the dynamics of it? We didn’t know,
until this study.

While they were taking measurements they had people take diaries—when
they were sick, tired, eating tomato sauce, up partying all night. And so they
came up with graphs like this, tracking antioxidants levels and linking them
to life events. So here for example, things are going fine, then stress at work.
Eats more fruits and veggies, but then starts not getting enough sleep,
boosts fruit and veggie consumption, then gets a bad cold—drops him way
down before starting to recover.

Their most important finding was that antioxidant levels can plummet within
2 hours of a stressful event, You get stuck in traffic, agitated, breathing in car
exhaust and your body starts using up antioxidant stores left and right. Takes
2 hours to lose, and can take up to 3 days to get our levels back up again.
So the take-home message is that especially when we’re sick, stressed, or
tired, we need to be soaking our bodies in antioxidants, which means fruits
and vegetables at every meal and snack, and sipping green tea all day long.

They’ve actually used this same laser technology to tightly correlate the
development of wrinkles with low antioxidant levels in the skin, so even if
you don’t care what’s going on inside your body, you should eat healthy for
the outside too.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger
may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the
audio contributed by veganmontreal.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

!
Doctor's Note!
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!

For some context, please check out my associated blog posts: Acai to


Zucchini: antioxidant food rankings, The Best Way to Prevent the Common
Cold?, and Hibiscus Tea: The Best Beverage?

!
!
Strix • 3 years ago 

Wow, fantastic info. It seems stress and emotional turmoil can
cause so much damage. This reminds me of how we know things
intuitively, or perhaps even literally seeing the consequences of
things such as this, yet are told there is no "evidence." Glad to see
the evidence coming through! Thanks for providing it -- and in
realtime!


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Becky Austin • 2 years ago 

Dr. Greger,

What do you think of this research?

http://www.medpagetoday.com/He...

They do agree with you about vitamins, but seem to undermine
the helpfulness of any antioxidents when treating cancer.

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Gediz • 2 months ago 

How about indigenous antioxidants promoted by aerobic
exercise ...

!
!
!
!
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/antioxidants-in-a-pinch/

Transcript: Antioxidants in a Pinch!


!
Dried Indian gooseberries may be the healthiest snack on the planet. Two
hundred times the antioxidant content of blueberries. So, most antioxidant
content per serving, but ounce for ounce, dried herbs and spices pack, on
average, the greatest antioxidant punch. For example, herbs and spices may
max out at ten times the antioxidant power of nuts and seeds. But, look, it's
easy to eat an ounce of nuts. Not so easy, an ounce of nutmeg. So, but look,
some herbs and spices are so off-the-chart amazing, that even just a small
pinch can go a long way.

Here's the antioxidant power of a bowl of spaghetti [7] and marinara sauce
[60]. Let's make that whole wheat spaghetti [68]. And maybe a few florets of
steamed broccoli on top, and you have a nice 142 antioxidant unit meal. But
sprinkle one little spoonful of dried oregano on top [260], and you nearly
double the antioxidant power of that meal.

Here's a bowl of oatmeal [16]. Here's a bowl of oatmeal with just a half
teaspoon of cinnamon on top [116], dramatically boosting the nutrition.

Now whenever I eat anything, I always try to think of ways I can add
something to boost the nutrition in the end. Can I throw in some greens or
beans? Can I sprinkle herbs or spice on top? But which are the most
powerful? Here's a teaspoon of oregano -- one of the best. And cinnamon.
But both beaten out by marjoram, which is in the oregano family, but more
than 50% more powerful than oregano. So if instead of oregano, you
sprinkled marjoram, you'd be up to here [326].

Next: allspice. Then, dried lemon balm, which makes a really nice tea. I used
to grow it in my garden. And speaking of tea: dried peppermint. Try
sprinkling dried mint on salads, foccacia, tabouli, it goes good in Indian
dishes... It's always a good idea to have some around.

And then finally, the leader of the pack: cloves! Here's that unassuming
oatmeal with a half teaspoon of cinnamon [116] and just a pinch of cloves
[161].

In a few minutes, you can microwave a sweet potato [56], mash it up with
some cinnamon [156] and cloves [246] for a nice kind of pumpkin pie taste,
and you have a cheap, simple, easy snack -- snack! -- with more
antioxidants than some people get all day long! For example, Egg McMuffin
for breakfast [13], Big Mac for lunch [31], then an 8-oz. filet mignon for
supper [38], even with a few sprigs of parsley on top [44] . Our "pumpkin pie"
sweet potato may have the antioxidant power of nearly a week's worth of the
Standard American Diet in one healthy snack.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger
may be referring, watch the above video. This is transcript contributed by
Bruce A. Hamilton.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Doctor's Note!
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. Be sure to check
back for the other videos on herbs and don't miss all the videos on spices.
And there are 1,449 subjects covered in the rest of my videos–please feel
free to explore them!

For more context, check out my associated blog posts: Acai to Zucchini:
antioxidant food rankings, Antioxidants in a Pinch: Dried Herbs and Spices,
Top 10 Most Popular Videos of the Year, Increasing Muscle Strength with
Fenugreek, Plant-Based Diets for Metabolic Syndrome,  Hibiscus Tea: The
Best Beverage?, Cinnamon for Diabetes, and Which Common Fruit Fights
Cancer Better?

!
I LOVE this video!!!!

This video definitely fills your "practical" criteria. It is so helpful in
really explaining the situation, putting things into perspective. This
will be one of my go-to videos to share with people. (Though it is
so hard to choose!)

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bbfarm • 3 years ago 

This is a great addition to a growing collection of videos that seem
to presuppose that the more antioxidants one consumes the
better. Is there evidence to support this notion? Should I always
strive to consume as many antioxidants as possible, as these
videos suggest, or is there some reasonable upper limit that would
counteract all likely nutritional sins and beyond which there is no
point in consuming more?

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Thea bbfarm • 3 years ago 

bbfarm: I think the follow videos answer your question. What
do you think?

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

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GeorgeI bbfarm • 3 years ago 

Excellent point. More is not always better. I have seen
articles here and there that spices and herbs, in too great a
quantity could have some undesirable effects.

However, Dr. G's recommendations aren't all that radical.

A teaspoon of cinnamon in your morning oatmeal? A glass of
hisbicus punch? Putting oregano on pasta sauce?

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bbfarm • 3 years ago 

Thanks, Thea. Those two videos come close to answering my
question: the first, on the Mitochondrial Theory of Aging, seems
wholly persuasive to me, but doesn't address the question of how
much is enough of antioxidants; the paper referenced in the
second video offers evidence that the more antioxidants one
consumes the more they are absorbed, but this doesn't really
answer the question: Is there some upper limit of antioxidants one
should consume to derive the maximum possible benefit? Not that
it's a hardship consuming all those delicious antioxidants....

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Thea bbfarm • 3 years ago 

bbfarm: good point. I don't have a definitive answer for you,
but I have some thoughts.

On one hand, I seem to remember hearing on one of the
videos (either one of the videos about problems with
multivitamins or one of the videos on vitamin D
recommendation) that *yes*, there could be some problems
with over-dosing on certain antioxidants. (I don't have time to
try to track down that video.)

On the other hand, I think the situation is pretty complicated
and that we probably don't have a definitive answer to the
question just yet. Aren't there a bazillion (or so :-) different
antioxidants? And we only seem to focus on a small number.
When we eat food like berries, they are "package foods". We
aren't eating just one single antioxidant or even only
antioxidants, but a whole range of materials. My gut tells me
that most of the time, eating whole foods that are stuffed
with antioxidants would only be a good thing. That by going
that route, we probably couldn't (easily) over-dose.

That's just my gut feeling. I hope someone else has a better
answer for you.

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Evan Brand • 3 years ago 

Dr, Gregor,

does the anti-oxi value decrease with age of spice (or berry)? If so,
how much?

Second, how much is "toxic"? I heard taking more than 1-2 tbsns
of cinnamon a day could be toxic. is one hurting one self if one
takes 2 tbsns of all the above mentioned spices a day?

-Evan

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team Evan Brand • 3 years ago 

Please see my video Oxalates in Cinnamon in terms of
dosing. I have a video coming up comparing the safety of the
four common types of cinnamon: 

-Cinnamomum verum ("True cinnamon", Sri Lanka cinnamon
or Ceylon cinnamon)

-Cinnamomum burmannii (Korintje or Indonesian cinnamon)

-Cinnamomum loureiroi (Saigon cinnamon or Vietnamese
cinnamon)

-Cinnamomum aromaticum (cassia or Chinese cinnamon)

I'll go through how you can tell which is which to choose the
safest, but just wanted to give you the heads up to make
sure you're using Ceylon (not cassia cinnamon).

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Elvin Michael Greger M.D. • 3 years ago 

In the upcoming video kindly also take into account this
kind of cinnamon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team Elvin • 3 years ago 

Elvin, I edited my reply above to lay it out--don't
worry I'll include it!

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Geoffrey Levens Michael Greger M.D. • a year ago 

A lot of folks use cinnamon for its supposed
blood sugar controlling aspect. Isn't it the
much more toxic, cassia type that really has
that effect?

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filippodibari • 3 years ago 

Dr Greger, please, are you here talking about dry or fresh oregano,
marjorane, etc.? Thanks. fil

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team filippodibari • 3 years ago 

These numbers are for dried--fresh is better if you can find it.
The best way is to grow it yourself (on the windowsill if need
be). Oregano grows like a weed!

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GeorgeI • 3 years ago 

Dr. Greger;

Dried oregano or majoram have almost no taste. Is it safe to
assume that means the antioxidants have also been lost?

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team GeorgeI • 3 years ago 

The study I pulled these numbers from used dried oregano,
but even dried should smell and taste aromatic. Sounds like
you need to buy some fresher dried herbs! Note my reply to
Fillippo above, though.

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Alexandra Georgiadis GeorgeI • 3 years ago 

Hi George, 

The flavor of dried spices are often brought out when they
are cooked, or added to hot meals. So if you're just adding it
to salads or room temperature foods you may not get as
much flavor out of them. Also, I have found that different
brands of spices are better than others, try experimenting!
Better yet, bulk spices tend to have the strongest aromas
and flavors (from my experience) and you can buy very small
amounts at a time. Rest assured antioxidants are still present
in dried spices! 

Check out more information on the different health benefits
of spices: http://nutritionfacts.org/blog... 

And here are a couple videos about other antioxidant rich
food sources: http://nutritionfacts.org/vide... http://
nutritionfacts.org/vide... 

I hope this helps!

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Elvin • 3 years ago 

According to this -- www.jacn.org/content/20/suppl_... --
antioxidants are not necessarily a good idea. Well?

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bbfarm • 3 years ago 

Note though, Elvin, that the study you reference questions the
usefulness of antioxidant supplements by offering evidence that
this kind of antioxidant can be beneficial or harmful depending on
the kind of cancer one has (harmful for lung cancer, for example,
while beneficial for prostrate cancer) and one's natural
background level of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The authors
don't question the benefits of antioxidants derived from whole
plant foods; their reference numbers 42 through 45 refer to papers
that buttress the notion that antioxidants derived from whole
foods are unequivocally good.

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yummy • 3 years ago 

Dr G...have you tried purple sweet potatoes ?....I buy them at my
local co-op, so combining them with the cinnamon and cloves
would provide even more antioxidents. They have a purple velvet
color inside and the skins are a muddy brownish-purple color.
They are my very favorite snack or sometimes, breakfast.

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team yummy • 3 years ago 

I've always wanted to try them! You wouldn't care to send
me one would you? (hint, hint :) NutritionFacts.org is a
completely non-commercial, nonprofit entity but I'm not
above accepting exotic veggies! My address, should anyone
feel inspired to share in their bounty, is 2100 L st.,
Washington, DC 20037

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LynnCS Michael Greger M.D. • 2 years ago 

Wondering if a supermarket find would grow. How long
would it keep till the proper growing season? I want
one too. Have to look around. Thanks to yummy for the
idea. Lynn

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dnervina Michael Greger M.D. • 4 months ago 

Dr. Greger... If you are serious about sending purple
potatoes I am willing to send you some purple
Japanese sweet potatoes. I live in Santa Cruz California
where the organic produce is abundant.

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GeorgeI • 3 years ago 

glut.org is a 100% vegetarian co-op in Mt. Raineer Maryland.
While they don't consistently carry it, they often have purple
potatoes.

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cchafetz • 3 years ago 

Dr. Greger, I loved your video "Antioxidants in a Pinch", so I
shared it on facebook. A friend of mine who is an acupuncturist
and practices chinese medicine wrote the following in quotes. I'm
interested in your opinion as I've never heard of someone needing
fewer antioxidants: "some people actually need oxidants as
opposed to anti-oxidants, depends on your relative level of
oxidation, and how would anyone know their personal oxidaztion
level?"

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Toxins cchafetz • 3 years ago 

The quote is nonsense. Oxidation is our bodies way of
"rusting" or our cells dying. NOBODY needs oxidation. Our
body is under thousands and thousands superoxide attacks
every single day so antioxidants are critical for optimal
health. Check out these 2 videos going into detail.

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

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Flexiblelivingllc • 3 years ago 

Would therapeutic grade essential oils work the same 

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Ed1618 • 2 years ago 


I enjoyed the antioxidants in a pinch 

video, but I'd like to bring attention to another research paper,
"Inhibition of 

Protein Glycation by Extracts of Culinary Herbs and Spices” 

by R. P. Dearlove et al (J Med Food 11 

(2) 2008, 275–281 ) that I like better. The results vary somewhat
from the 

research that Dr. Greger looked at (although cloves still won the
top spot) 

because the researchers used a different, and I think more
biologically 

interesting test, the ability of extracts of culinary herbs and spices
to 

inhibit protein glycation, or AGEs, which play an important role in
both aging 

and disease processes.

You can find a pdf copy of the paper 

here: 

https://docs.google.com/gview?... 

I recommend that you print out a copy 

of Table 1 and post it in your kitchen - I did.


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Chef John • 2 years ago 

What is journal source for Antioxidants in a Pinch?

The journal, Molecules Vol 15, Issue 10 which you cite

for the Russian study on antioxidants in sprouted seeds

is worth reading. I would like to read the full published

Journal cited for Antioxidants in a Pinch.

Chef John Rasmussen rawfoodchef.john@gmail.com

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lovestobevegan • 2 years ago 

Overcome illness and boost your immune system with this simple
tomato soup.

Bonus: Quick and easy enough to make that a healthy significant
other could cook it for you.

Even though the soup contains only a few basic ingredients, it is
still loaded with antioxidants.

Get Well Soon Tomato Soup

– Jar strained tomatoes

– 2 small red onions, diced

– 5 cloves garlic, minced

– 1 tbsp oregano

– 1 tbsp basil

– 1 tsp cilantro

– 1 tsp marjoram

– 1 tsp parsley

– ¼ tsp white pepper

– ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Simmer onions and spices in a small amount of water until onions
translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add strained tomatoes. Fill jar
with a little water and shake to get out the rest of the tomatoes
and add to soup. Bring to a boil then simmer for a couple minutes.
Add garlic and simmer a couple minutes more. Serve steaming
hot and season to taste with sea salt.

Bookmark my new Plant-Based Emporium Facebook page for all
my latest recipes. https://www.facebook.com/Plant...

~Complements of lovestobevegan


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LynnCS • 2 years ago 

Wow, great information. I've heard that cinnamon is good for
balancing the blood sugars too. I've been using an herbal mix
called Italian seasoning sprinkled on my salad most days, for
years. Good in a soup too. I am sure there's a lot of benefit from
the oregano and marjoram in it. Who knew? I wonder about the
benefit from the rosemary, thyme, sage, and basil in it too since I
use so much? Hmmm. I wish they would stop calling things like
mushroom powders, herbs. You're talking real herbs here.

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Calvin Leman • 2 years ago 

Antioxidants in green drink of broccoli, kale, etc.? Like marjoram,
maybe?

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Peep Matts • 2 years ago 

sorry but trow away that microwave - it is hazardous to your food
and than to your health. Also you should use ceylon cinnamon.

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barbarabrussels Peep Matts • a year ago 

Is this (the microwave bit) based on a good study? Thanks

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Thea NF Team barbarabrussels • a year ago 

barbarabrussels: From what I have seen, the
microwave is perfectly safe. On top of that, the
microwave has the benefit of cooking foods fast and
sometimes taking away the need to cook with oils,
making the microwave an especially healthy option.
(For example, you can cook onions and mushrooms
quickly in the microwave without any oil. The food
comes out great too!)

I know the internet has a bazillion pages dedicated to
scaring people away from using a microwave. But
those pages all seem to be repeats of the same content
that has been debunked (at least to my satisfaction).
Here is the best page I have found on understanding
the microwave and the myths that surround it:

http://www.drmyattswellnessclu...

You can see sources sited at the bottom of the page if
you want to follow through.

Hope you found that helpful.

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JoAnn Downey Ivey barbarabrussels • 7 months ago 

Dr. Greger has a video on how different methods of
cooking affect nutrition. Boiling is not good, steaming is
great as well as microwaving. Check it out.

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Guest • 2 years ago 

today I had a crazy idea when preparing my oatmeal - I figured,
why not to add a full teaspoon of red dried paprika to a bowl (in
addition to cinnamon, nuts and flax)? this way it looks much more
attractive, not much taste is changed - and one would think an
antioxidant score might improve to some significant extent. Now if
you had some research proof for this totally groundbreaking/ life-
changing innovation... (so the real question is whether dried
paprika has any significant anti-ox value as it is a pretty
inoffensive spice with great color)

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MarthaLA • a year ago 

The following is being shared around facebook. I wondered what
you think or know of all this. Legit? -- 

___________________________________________________________
______________________________

I have gotten many requests to re-post this! It has gotten more
than 28,000 shares! So here it is again!

Great information!! Cinnamon and Honey...!Drug companies won't
like this one getting around. Facts on Honey and Cinnamon:

It is found that a mix of honey and cinnamon cures most diseases.
Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world.
Scientists of today also note honey as very effective medicine for
all kinds of diseases. Honey can be used without side effects
which is also a plus.Today's science says that even though honey
is sweet, when it is taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it
does not harm even diabetic patients. Researched by western
scientists:

HEART DISEASES: Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder,
put it on toast instead of jelly and jam and eat it regularly for
breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol and could potentially save
one from heart attack. Also, even if you have already had an
attack studies show you could be kept miles away from the next
attack. Regular use of cinnamon honey strengthens the heart
beat. In America and Canada, various nursing homes have treated
patients successfully and have found that as one ages the arteries
and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and
cinnamon revitalize the arteries and the veins.

ARTHRITIS: Arthritis patients can benefit by taking one cup of hot
water with two tablespoons of honey and one small teaspoon of
cinnamon powder. When taken daily even chronic arthritis can be
cured. In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen
University, it was found that when the doctors treated their
patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half
teaspoon Cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that
within a week (out of the 200 people so treated) practically 73
patients were totally relieved of pain -- and within a month, most
all the patients who could not walk or move around because of
arthritis now started walking without pain.

BLADDER INFECTIONS: Take two tablespoons of cinnamon
powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water
and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder....who knew?

CHOLESTEROL: Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons
of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water given to a
cholesterol patient was found to reduce the level of cholesterol in
the blood by 10 percent within two hours. As mentioned for
arthritic patients, when taken three times a day, any chronic
cholesterol-could be cured. According to information received in
the said Journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves
complaints of cholesterol.

COLDS: Those suffering from common or severe colds should
take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon
powder daily for three days. This process will cure most chronic
cough, cold, and, clear the sinuses, and it's delicious too!

UPSET STOMACH: Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures
stomach ache and also is said to clear stomach ulcers from its
root.

GAS: According to the studies done in India and Japan, it is
revealed that when Honey is taken with cinnamon powder the
stomach is relieved of gas.

IMMUNE SYSTEM: Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder
strengthens the immune system and protects the body from
bacterial and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey has
various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of Honey
strengthens the white blood corpuscles (where DNA is contained)
to fight bacterial and viral diseases.

INDIGESTION: Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of
honey taken before food is eaten relieves acidity and digests the
heaviest of meals

INFLUENZA: A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a
natural 'Ingredient' which kills the influenza germs and saves the
patient from flu.

LONGEVITY: Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when
taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age. Use four teaspoons
of honey, one teaspoon of cinnamon powder, and three cups of
boiling water to make a tea. Drink 1/4 cup, three to four times a
day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life
spans increase and even a 100 year old will start performing the
chores of a 20-year-old.

RASPY OR SORE THROAT: When throat has a tickle or is raspy,
take one tablespoon of honey and sip until gone. Repeat every
three hours until throat is without symptoms.

PIMPLES: Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of
cinnamon powder paste. Apply this paste on the pimples before
sleeping and wash it off the next morning with warm water. When
done daily for two weeks, it removes all pimples from the root.

SKIN INFECTIONS:Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal
parts on the affected parts cures eczema, ringworm and all types
of skin Infections.

WEIGHT LOSS:Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast
and on an empty stomach, and at night before sleeping, drink
honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water. When
taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese
person. Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat
to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high
calorie diet.

CANCER: Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed
that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured
successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should
daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of
cinnamon powder three times a day for one month.

FATIGUE: Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of
honey is more helpful rather than being detrimental to the strength
of the body. Senior citizens who take honey and cinnamon
powder in equal parts are more alert and flexible. Dr. Milton, who
has done research, says that a half tablespoon of honey taken in a
glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, even when
the vitality of the body starts to decrease, when taken daily after
brushing and in the afternoon at about 3:00 P.M., the vitality of the
body increases within a week.

BAD BREATH: People of South America, gargle with one teaspoon
of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water first thing in
the morning so their breath stays fresh throughout the day.

HEARING LOSS: Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon
powder, taken in equal parts restores hearing.

be sure to click SHARE so it will store on your personal page.

For more healthy recipes, tips, motivation and fun, join us here:
Charles Sims Weight Loss

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James Allister • a year ago 

Antioxidants may not be all they're cracked up to be. They may
indicate that the food is healthy- or maybe not. See for example:

http://www.nutraingredients.co...

and

http://gettingstronger.org/201...

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Andy • a year ago 

Hey Doc, is there such a thing as anti-oxidant overdosing?

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Toxins NF Team Andy • a year ago 

Apparently you can never have too much antioxidants.

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

Although the possibility of overdosing on supplemental
antioxidants is a real issue.

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

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Matija Biljeskovic • a year ago 

Great video Dr. Greger! Is eating an oatmeal with a small teaspoon
of amalaki powder once a day safe and how does amalaki
compare to cinnamon as an antioxidant?

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Home Cook • a year ago 

Dr. Greger, Have there been any studies comparing anti oxidant
rankings of dried herbs vs fresh? I look forward to your daily
emails. Thank you so much!!!

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camille • a year ago 

Speaking of all things dried, I wonder what you think of freeze-
dried greens, which one stirs into water for a green drink? Do you
see a benefit to such a "super-food" supplement?

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Vegan56 • 9 months ago 

Simply Organic has a great array of spices. A little pricey, but
watch for sales and snatch them up! Their all-purpose seasoning
is my main go-to. They have all of these mentioned.

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Veri Tas • 6 months ago 

Recommending microwaving food is hardly healthy - microwaving
food further depletes antioxidants and flavonoids, destroys
enzymes in foods, deactivates anti-cancer nutrients and has been
proven to destroy vitamin B12, amongst other vitamins.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu... 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu... 


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disqus_lM5S2p6ef7 Veri Tas • 2 months ago 

I'd love to see Toxins or one of the Dr's respond to this... I've
heard and seen many people explain microwaves have not
been proven to be bad per se and that its just as bad as
boiling your veggies...

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Toxins NF Team disqus_lM5S2p6ef7 • 2 months ago 

Dr. Greger has covered this topic here

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

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Veri Tas disqus_lM5S2p6ef7 • 2 months ago 

You said "I've heard...." - from whom?

Check the references given above.

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dnervina • 4 months ago 

Coenzyme Q10

How much CoQ10 do we need daily?

What is our highest source to get it?

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Thea NF Team dnervina • 4 months ago 

dnervina: Here are Dr. Greger's Nutrition Recommendations:

http://nutritionfacts.org/2011...

He doesn't mention CoQ10 specifically. I interpret that to
mean that CoQ10 is not a nutrient we need to be particularly
concerned with when eating a whole plant food based diet.

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http://nutritionfacts.org/video/which-fruit-fights-cancer-better/

Transcript: Which Fruit Fights Cancer Better?!


!
There are many ways to compare the healthfulness of different foods. One
can compare nutrient content, for example. So if you were interested in
antioxidants you might compare vitamin C levels. If you did that with our two
most popular fruits, apples and bananas, based on vitamin C content
bananas would appear twice as healthy, 10 mg in a banana compared to
only 5mg in an apple. But vitamin C is just one of thousands of different
phytonutrients in fruits and vegetables. Turns out the vitamin C in apples
accounts for less than 1% of an apple's total antioxidant activity.

Here's the total antioxidant content of a red delicious apple. Here's how
much the vitamin C in the apple contributes. You can hardly even see it.
Even though there's only about 5mg of vitamin C in a small apple, it has the
antioxidant equivalent of 1500 mg of vitamin C. I've reviewed before how
taking that much vitamin C straight in a supplement may actually have a pro-
oxidant effect and cause DNA damage, but you can get three times that
antioxidant power eating an apple, without the adverse effects.

Of course there's more than just vitamin C in bananas too. In fact I was
surprised to see this study out of Harvard suggesting that not only
blueberries and strawberries, but bananas was a significant source of
anthocyanins, the red/blue/violet phytonutrients found in berries. Maybe I
underestimated bananas. They are after all, technically berries.

Still, I'm looking three fruits and I'm seeing some anthocyanins here and
here, but not seeing much red, blue, or violet here. Now wild bananas are a
different story. There's anthocyanins in blue, purple, orange red, red purple,
and pink purple bananas, but none in yellow… So the Harvard researchers
were challenged on it and they said look, we just took values from the USDA,
and it turns out USDA apparently made a mistake. No anthocyanins in
bananas, and despite twice the vitamin C, bananas were beat out by apples
in terms of overall antioxidant power. But that's just measuring the ability of
these fruits to quench an oxidation reaction in a test tube. It would be nice to
measure actual biological activity. For example in this apple study, they also
measured the ability of apple extracts, from both peeled and unpeeled
apples, to suppress the growth of human cancer cells growing in a petri dish
compared to control. Wouldn't it be great to be able to compare that kind of
superpower between different fruits. Well, now we can.

Here is a graph of cancer cell proliferation versus increasing concentrations


of the 11 most common fruits eaten in the United States. They decided to
use liver cancer for this study. If you drip water on these cancer cells as a
control, nothing happens they start out powering away at 100% growth and
they keep powering away at 100% growth. And pineapples, pears, and
oranges don't do much better. Peaches start pulling away from the pack. At
high peach concentrations, cancer cell proliferation drops about 10%, but
bananas and grapefruits work about 4 times better, dropping cancer growth
rates by about 40%. Red grapes, strawberries and apples do even better,
cutting cancer cell growth up to half at only half the dose, but these two
fruits are the winners, causing a dramatic drop in cancer proliferation at just
tiny doses, lemons, and, cranberries. So if you look at the effective dose
required to suppress liver cancer cell proliferation, apples are more powerful
than bananas, but cranberries win the day. And there was no effective dose
listed for orange, pear, and pineapple since they didn't appear to affect the
cancer cell growth at all.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger
may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the
audio contributed by Jonathan Hodgson.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

!
Doctor's Note!
This reminds me of my #1 Anticancer Vegetable video (along with it's
"prequel, Veggies vs. Cancer). Other videos in which I rank various foods
include:

• A Better Breakfast

• Anti Up on the Veggies

• Antioxidants in a Pinch

• Best Berries

• Best Fruit Juice

• Better Than Goji Berries

• Better Than Green Tea?

• Glycotoxins

• Green Tea vs. White

• The Healthiest Sweetener

• Vegetables Rate by Nitrate

How can you consume cranberries palatably? Check out my recipe for Pink
Juice with Green Foam.

More berried treasure in my next three videos:

• Cranberries versus Cancer

• Strawberries versus Esophageal Cancer

• Black Raspberries versus Oral Cancer

For some more context, please check out my associated blog posts: 98% of
American Diets Potassium Deficient, Dr. Greger's Natural Nausea Remedy
Recipe, Do Vegans Get More Cavities?, Which Common Fruit Fights Cancer
Better?, Anti-Cancer Nutrient Synergy in Cranberries, Raspberries Reverse
Precancerous Lesions, and  Top 10 Most Popular Videos from 2013

If you haven't yet, you can subscribe to my videos for free by clicking here.

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Jessica Hess • 2 years ago 

Hi Dr. Gregor. I am wondering if change the cancer cells used if we
would see different results? Or can we assume that these will fight
other cancer cells too? How does that work?

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elaine Jessica Hess • a year ago 

Read Richard Beliveau's book "Foods that fight cancer"
where he tested different cancer cells with different foods.
His research is also a large part of Dr. David Servan-
Schreiber's book titled Anti-cancer.

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Jose • 2 years ago 

Great piece! Many thanks! I'm guessing that drinking cranberry
juice (as opposed to eating cranberries) would have a comparable
benefit?

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omnimatty • 2 years ago 

Make them into a fruit salad. Yum!

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Paul • 2 years ago 

Interesting that the fruit concentrations that did the best were
those lowest in sugar. I mean lemons and cranberries are both low
sugar, sour and tart fruits. I wonder if some of the effectiveness in
fighting cancer cells was not only the presence of antioxidants but
also the absence of sugar/carbs?

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Thea NF Team Paul • 2 years ago 

Paul: Thank you for your comment. I was scratching my
head trying to figure out why oranges would have such a
different effect than lemons. Your observation is helpful.

It also raised this question for me: I'm not going to eat a
lemon the same way that I would eat an orange. I have to put
the lemon in other things and usually something that does
make it sweeter. For example, lemonade. Lemonade is
perhaps an extreme example where one is actually adding
sugar to lemon water, but here's my thought: *IF* it were true
that the natural sugars in some fruits make those fruits less
effective in fighting cancer, would you have the same
lessening of effectiveness of lemon by the way that people
actually eat lemon?

Just a thought.

Thanks again.

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b00mer Thea • 2 years ago 

Just chiming in here- I go through a lot of lemons, and
almost never in the context of sweet. I think it's rare
that I make an entree type dish that doesn't have at
least some lemon in it. It's a great flavor enhancer and I
think it allows me to use less salt. I think I eat a lot of
middle eastern food. But also most pasta dishes,
tomato based dishes, stews, soups, etc. They all get
lemon! :)

Also btw Thea, the Chickpea & Onion stew is amazing!
I've made it four times now :)

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Thea NF Team b00mer • 2 years ago 

b00mer: Good points! Not everyone is as sweet-
focused as I am.

Thanks for the feedback about the stew. I'm so
glad you like it. The true test of a dish is whether
or not someone would eat or make it again. Your
answer is most clear. :-)

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Bob b00mer • a year ago 

Where is this Chickpea & Onion stew recipe you
speak of? Sounds great.

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b00mer Bob • a year ago 

Hi Bob, the recipe is from Lorna Sass's
"Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure",
which is an awesome cookbook I would
definitely recommend purchasing if you have
a pressure cooker. But that recipe in
particular you can find here: http://
mealsteps.com/recipe/ch...

Enjoy!

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Thea NF Team b00mer • a year ago 

b00mer: Thanks for finding this link!
Someone else on NutritionFacts has
asked for good recipes with beans. I
was going to mention this recipe along
with some other ideas, but I love that I
can now point the person to an actual
recipe in addition to mentioning the
cookbook. Thanks.

---

FYI: to anyone interested. One of my
tweaks for this recipe is to add a bunch
of sliced mushrooms to the pot. Also, I
experiment with various beans. I
particularly like this dish with red
kidney beans. Just some ideas.

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Margo Paul • a year ago 

After having many cancers in my family, I finally had a Doctor
tell me that carbs are cancer fuel!!! And if you are trying to
fight cancer, limit the carbs.

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Modus Operandi Margo • 20 days ago 

Which carbs? The ones from blueberries, corn syrup
contained in muffins, whole grains,...?

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Don • 2 years ago 

As of today, I'm changing the make-up of my fruit and vegetable
smoothies. With "thanks" and "appreciation". :-))

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Thea NF Team • 2 years ago 

I so love this video! It's long and detailed enough to tell a great
and interesting story.

Like others, now I want to see this same type of experiment
performed on other fruits and other foods and other cancers. And
performed with food combos - like real cranberry juice that people
drink which have added sugars. So, so interesting!

I learned several things today. One of them was the real shocker:
Bananas are a kind of berry? Wow. I did not know that. Cool.

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Plantstrongdoc Thea • 2 years ago 

Just for illustration - could be interesting to see the same
experiment with dissolved meat (I know - disgusting!) or
eggs, maybe dairy or olive oil. My guess: Nothing happens -
maybe growth of the cancer cells?

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Darryl NF Team Plantstrongdoc • 2 years ago 

Most work on meat extracts examine its association
with colon cancer, where heme from red meat is
believed to catalyse formation of carcinogenic N-
nitroso compounds and aldehydes, while inhibiting
apotosis.

"Heme iron from meat and risk of colorectal cancer: a
meta-analysis and a review of the mechanisms
involved." http://cancerpreventionresearc...

It seems this hyperproliferative effect of a meat extract
can be halted by the chlorophyll in green vegetables.

"Green vegetables, red meat and colon cancer:
chlorophyll prevents the cytotoxic and
hyperproliferative effects of heme in rat colon."

http://carcin.oxfordjournals.o...

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Plantstrongdoc Darryl • 2 years ago 

Darryl,

Thanks - very interesting article.

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mcooks • 2 years ago 

Did I hear correctly that other varieties of bananas contain
anthocyanins? I live in South America where there are a great
variety of bananas, including my favorite, red bananas. Do they
actually contain more antioxidants that the plain yellow ones sold
in the States? Thanks for all the great information.

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Darryl NF Team mcooks • 2 years ago 

"Distribution of anthocyanins in wild and cultivated banana
varieties."

http://www.sciencedirect.com/s...

Alas, behind a paywall. Red bananas did have the highest β‐
carotene content:

"Compositional variation in β‐carotene content,
carbohydrate and antioxidant enzymes in selected banana
cultivars."

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com...

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Annoyed by Paleofraud • 2 years ago 

Nice vid! Wondering how the anti-cancer effects of EATING some
fruits compares with NOT EATING any animal protein? I'd like to
know if my no-animal consumption would dwarf the effects of
being selective about what kinds of fruit I choose. Just guessing,
but according to Dr. Campbell in Whole, eliminating meat/dairy/
eggs/fish etc. has a much larger preventative and cure effect for
most cancers than most cancer treatment drugs/therapies.

PS were they liver cancer cells from a vegan or non-vegan??

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Thinkabouddit • 2 years ago 

I recently heard that, to fight some particular disease, our organic
apples and pears are now doused in antibiotics.

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Darryl NF Team Thinkabouddit • 2 years ago 

Certified organic has never meant biotechnology product
free. The lines are somewhat arbitrary (though IMO justified
by antibiotic resistance concerns):

δ-endotoxin produced by Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria: 

Organic http://biology.ucsd.edu/news/a...

Tetracycline produced by Streptomyces aureofaciens
bacteria: 

Organic today, Not organic in 2014: http://
www.oregonlive.com/port...

The greater surprise is that antibiotics are being, and will
continue to be, liberally sprayed over non-certified fruit
orchards. The perils of grafted clone monocultures.

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Darryl NF Team • 2 years ago 

Unfortunately, no one has followed up this 2002 Liu lab
comparative fruit study with a more comprehensive one. The 2009
Béliveau lab study really broadened and deepened the 2002 Liu
lab comparative vegetable study.

I suspect a more comprehensive fruit study would offer parallel
results, generalizing benefits to entire classes of fruit like berries
and concentrated citrus, much as all the cruciferous and alium
vegetable families ran away from the pack in the 2009 study.

The Liu lab also did a comparative anticancer study on nuts.
Walnuts and pecans got the highest accolades, as they often do:

"Antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of common edible nut
seeds." http://www.sciencedirect.com/s...

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R Ian Flett • 2 years ago 

The lemon and orange comparison is interesting and presumably
it's the limonin rather than vitamin C that's the more important
factor. They do not specifically mention peel, pulp or the seed,
which is highest in lemonin.

Smaller lemons are more potent. Lemon peel can be toxic if taken
in high doses. We already have grape seed extract, but need to
add lemon seed extract to our supplement arsenal. It has a long
half life and seems beneficial to the liver also.

I don't understand why cranberries were singled out in this study
when blackberries have higher antioxidant activity according to
previous studies shown on this site.

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Guest R Ian Flett • 2 years ago 

The blackberry antioxidant value was published in 2010.

This comparative fruit study dates from 2002. Maybe not the
"Latest in Clinical Nutrition", but its still the most recent
comparative study on antiproliferative activities of fruit.

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Analisa • 2 years ago 

What about kiwi? btw, love, love, love this site! :))

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Ronald Chavin • 2 years ago 

The 4 best fruits for cancer prevention are olives (hydroxytyrosol),
amalaki (gallic acid), haritaki (chebulinic acid and chebulagic acid),
and bibhitaki (belleric acid, bellericoside, and bellericanin):

http://www.lipidworld.com/cont...

It's a smart precaution to consume fruits that contain substantial
amounts of tannins as capsules or tablets instead of eating them
fresh, drinking them as herbal teas, or mixing their powders into
drinks. The reason is that our digestive juices will deactivate the
cancer-causing threat from tannins. That's why tannins, which are
the most powerful antioxidants in the human diet, have never
caused cancer beyond the lower stomach and have been
implicated in causing only cancers of the mouth, nose, throat,
esophagus, and upper stomach:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

In real populations of real people, fruits tend to be less effective
than legumes, allium vegetables, and cruciferous vegetables at
preventing cancer:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...

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Ronald Chavin Ronald Chavin • 2 years ago 

Tannins can heal but tannins can also kill:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/s...

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Ronald Chavin Ronald Chavin • 2 years ago 

Some fruits contain much greater amounts of
proanthocyanidins (condensed tannins) than others:

http://jn.nutrition.org/conten...

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Brent Mendelssohn • 2 years ago 

Please hire someone else to narrate your videos. I can barely
understand you. Your narration sounds like someone trying to talk
underwater with a mouthful of marbles.

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Lyra Brent Mendelssohn • 2 years ago 

I have no problem understanding Dr. Gregor. I like his voice
just fine, and frankly I think you're being rude. This the rare
doctor who is actually saving lives. You should be more
appreciative. Just saying.

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Thea NF Team Brent Mendelssohn • 2 years ago 

I too have no problems understanding the video. Everyone
has different ears and brains, so maybe you just don't work
well with these videos. However, (and I mean the following
suggestion in all sincerity and kindness), I wonder if you
should get your hearing checked? Or your computer
hardware? No one else seems to have a problem....

Happily, those with hearing problems can read the transcript
- a feature that Dr. Greger so kindly provides on this site.
Just click on the link above.

Good luck.

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BBN • 2 years ago 

I was disappointed to hear you casually mention that
supplemental vit c may have pro-oxidant effects. The source you
provide for this is a 1998 publication. You fail to mention the many
more recent studies which reach the opposite conclusion. While I
support using foods vs concentrated supplements for the best
nutrition, I think it is a mistake to discourage use of vit c
supplements - since many folks may benefit from this who may
otherwise not adhere to a good plant-based diet. What
happened? You usually are more balanced in your review of the
literature.

BN

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Lawrence • 2 years ago 

Another information packed video! I already eat red delicious
apples with skin on a regular basis thanks to Dr. Greger. Now, I'll
be upping my lemon intake in various ways and will snap up fresh
cranberries whenever available and freeze them for use
throughout the year. QUESTION: Using the data for lemons, for
example, what is the blender recipe for obtaining a beverage that
would contain, say, '40 mg/ml concentration of fruit extract?' In
other words, how can I say definitively that I am drinking a
therapeutic mixture as opposed to something tasty and refreshing
but not even close to getting me on the lemon curve as shown.
Thanks!

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John Rehl • 2 years ago 

Any idea where pomegranate (juice) might fit? It seems as if it
would have a similar profile to cranberry, but is not considered in
the study ?

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Constance Baggetta • 2 years ago 

do you have a healthy diet for weight loss.....

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HereHere • 2 years ago 

This research begs more research. I'd love to know about the
effectiveness of limes, rhubarb, and mango.

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Molly • 2 years ago 

I cook my oatmeal with a few chopped halawi dates and 1/2 cup
of cranberries every day, and it's really good. Top it off with
homemade almond milk and chia seeds or ground flax seeds and
it's a good way to cram in a lot of nutrition first thing in the
morning.

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Martie • 2 years ago 

What happened to the Kiwi? That was the winner in one study?

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Karen Zurawski • 2 years ago 

I have been diagnosed with uterine cancer. The Oncologist said I
cannot eat raw fruit and vegetables because of bacteria.
Everything must be cooked. I am a Vegan and I miss my salads.
What I read is to eat veggies and fruit. I value your opinion and
would appreciate your opinion and advice. 

Karen Zurawski

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Nan S Karen Zurawski • 2 years ago 

I disagree with your doctor. Little bacteria penetrates the skin
of fruit and bacteria is destroyed by stomach acid. Even
cooking doesn't destroy all bacteria.

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val • 2 years ago 

Should we be eating the ENTIRE lemon or is this video only about
lemon JUICE? Thanks!

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Dr. Connie Sanchez, ND NF Team val • 2 years ago 

The video is explaining the antiproliferative effects of specific
fruits on liver cancer. Lemons and cranberries appear to be
the most effective in supressing cancer growth. Juices are
concentrated forms of nutrients, however, eating the whole
fruit you get the whole nutritional package which includes
the fiber. Limonene is one of the major components found in
lemon and has demonstrated anticancer activity. The white
pith of the lemon has been shown to contain the highest
content of limonene.

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Harriet Sugar Miller Dr. Connie Sanchez, ND • 3 months ago 

Are you sure about the pith containing the most
limonene, Dr. Sanchez? Or does the peel contain more?

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wilma • 2 years ago 

are freeze dried powders of strawberries ,blueberries and citrus
fruits as good as the fresh variety for health benefits I have a few
different ones we add to our cereal every morning

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TitusLivy • a year ago 

Thank you for including the complete citations for articles you
reference in your videos. Now can you please convince the
relevant journals to grant free (or reasonably) priced access?
Sadly, they continue to act as though every interested party were
affiliated with a major university and had scads of grant money to
spend on subscriptions. Oh, well...in the meantime, your video
summaries are an excellent stop gap. Thanks!

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Youcef TitusLivy • 4 months ago 

There are many options to go around that :

1) You've got Deepdyve now as a decent option for people
who to have access to full-texts but are not affiliated. They
had a free trial period when I open my account with them.
Deepdyve does not cover all the databases so quite a
number are not full-text, even with paid subscription, but
they're growing on expanding and signing contracts with
bigger publishers to they can offer more access.

2) Also do search for the article on Google with the full name,
sometimes the full-text is accessible for free. You may add
"filetype:PDF" at the end to extract only the PDF files.

3) Alternatively if you have been affiliated in the past, and
published, you can join ResearchGate, a number of full-texts
are accessible there. Sadly they've not been so open to
independent researchers and will expect you to show them
one science publication of yours at least. I hope they open
their minds a bit to the idea that one can be researcher
without having to be affiliated...

4) Many libraries offer their members access to peer-
reviewed databases, their subscription can vary a lot. Also,
some will require that you are in the library, others will grant
you access from your online library account account from
anywhere you are.

5) You can contact the authors directly and ask them to send
you a copy of the article, but check their personal research
page first, because sometimes the link to a copy is there. For
the authors who have the time, I suppose they take pride in
sharing with you their research.

6) You can ask a friend who is affiliated to a uni or the likes,
from experience it's best to ask them articles in bulk instead
of whenever you need them. Some close friends may event
grant you full access to their uni account or to their laptop
with access, but that obviously comes with safety and
liability issues as most user conditions require that the
credentials are strictly not shared with other people.

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Mark • a year ago 

Cranberries aren't eaten whole & raw. Is there an _edible_ form of
cranberry that delivers the full anti-cancer effect?

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Mark • a year ago 

Eat the lemon? There's much evidence that juice's inferior to
whole fruit. Who's eating whole raw lemons?

!
!
!
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/anti-inflammatory-antioxidants/

Transcript: Anti-Inflammatory Antioxidants!


!
Should we really try to go out of our way to make higher antioxidant
choices? Isn't it enough just to eat lots of fruits and vegetables? Does it
really matter which ones we eat?

Yes it does. Check out this new study. They took two dozen folks; had them
eat a high antioxidant diet and a low antioxidant diet but here's the catch.
Throughout, they ate the same number of fruits and vegetables -- the same
amount of fiber etc.

So, while on the high antioxidant diet they were eating, like, berries and
citrus, and on the low antioxidant diet they had to stick to wimpier choices
like lettuce and bananas. But same amount.

This is what happened to the level of inflammation within their bodies. Those
switching from their regular diet to an even lower antioxidant diet saw the
levels of C-reactive protein in their bodies rise 40%, whereas those switching
to the high antioxidant diet saw their levels drop, even though both groups
were eating the same number of servings of fruits and vegetables every day.

So, quality counts, not just quantity.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger
may be referring, watch the above video. This is transcript contributed by
Bruce A. Hamilton.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Doctor's Note!
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. Be sure to check
out all the other videos on antioxidants and don't miss the videos on
inflammation. And there are 1,449 subjects covered in the rest of my videos–
please feel free to explore them!

Also, be sure to check out my associated blog posts: Fighting Inflammation


with Food Synergy, The Most Anti-Inflammatory Mushroom, Antioxidants in a
Pinch: Dried Herbs and Spices, Lead Poisoning Risk From Venison,How
Tumors Use Meat to Grow, Plant-Based Diets for Rheumatoid Arthritis, 98%
of American Diets Potassium Deficient, Plant-Based Diets for
Fibromyalgia, and Hibiscus Tea: The Best Beverage?

!
!
!
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/antioxidant-content-of-3139-foods/

Transcript: Antioxidant Content of 3,139 Foods!


!
In the beginning,  blueberries were the best.  Then walnuts took the title,
then  wild blueberries took it back, then  small red beans were the #1
most antioxidant packed foods… until herbs and spices were tested.

I frankly thought it was over in 2007.  Remember, USDA had released a


database of 277 foods. When only 40 foods were tested blueberries were #1,
but when  hundreds of foods were tested blueberries,  no longer even
made the top ten. I ranked them for you by serving size, and by cost,
antioxidant bang for your buck. Mission accomplished, until, last year.

“The total antioxidant content of more than 3,000 foods, beverages, spices,
herbs and supplements used worldwide. The most comprehensive ever, by
far. Are there even 3000 foods out there? Just looking at the first page the
138 page chart of their data, you know you're in for a wild ride when they
don't just include something like  gooseberries, whatever those are, or 
Indian Gooseberries, or indian gooseberries in a can, but even the
antioxidant power of the  syrup in the can of the Indian gooseberries.

The tested 30 different beers, for those who stay up all night wondering if
there’s more antioxidants in Coors or Bud Light?  The answer? Miller by a
hair. But nothing compared to  Santa Claus beer from Austria, which put
Guinness and the rest to shame. Don’t laugh, the standard American diet is
so pitiful that beer represents the 5th largest source of antioxidants in the
United States.

They  measured Cap’n Crunch, the antioxidant content  of tootsie rolls, 


everything from Kirspy Kreme to the  crushed dried leaves of the African
Boabab tree.  The skin of an organic lemon. , Norwegian jungle dessert. It
took them 8 years to compile this data.

With 3,139 foods tested you can get as nitty gritty as you want.  Like those
new gold kiwis, do they have more antioxidants than the regular green kiwis?
About three times as much! This body of work can help us decide hundreds
of real-life grocery store decisions we make all the time, but it’s easy to get
lost in the details. Let’s take a step back, which is what the researchers did.
What does this body of work say about what we should eat, in general?

 The first thing they did, table 1, was to split it into plant foods versus
animal foods.  Heres plant foods.  Here’s animal foods.  On average,
plant foods have 64 times more antioxidants than meat, fish, eggs, and dairy.
This represents a powerful argument to eat a plant-based diet. Everytime
you eat something in  this column, you miss out on an opportunity to eat
something in  this column. Animal foods  max out at 100,  plant foods
go to 289,000.

 Quoting from the conclusion: “rich foods originate from the plant kingdom
while meat, fish and other foods from the animal kingdom are low in
antioxidants…. Diets comprised mainly of animal- based foods are thus
low in antioxidant content while diets based mainly on a variety of plant-
based foods are antioxidant rich, due to the thousands of bioactive anti-
oxidant phytochemicals found in plants which are conserved in many foods
and beverages.”

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger
may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the
audio contributed by Dianne Moore.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Doctor's Note!
For more context, check out my associated blog posts: Treating COPD With
Diet, The last heart attack, Acai to Zucchini: antioxidant food rankings , Kiwi
Fruit for Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Hibiscus tea: flower power,
NutritionFacts.org: the first month, Top 10 Most Popular Videos of the Year,
Ergothioneine: A New Vitamin?, The Science of Acai Berries, and Hibiscus
Tea: The Best Beverage

PaulB • 3 years ago 



A couple of comments,

First congratulations on the launch! I intend to be a daily reader.
Your contribution to the health of people everywhere as well as the
health of the planet, and benefit to animal welfare is
immeasurable. Thank you.

Second, I want to tie back this video with the video you did on
Beliveau's work on foods fighting cancer. Beliveau while
acknowledging the importance of antioxidants cautions
overemphasizing this as a health metric (proxy) (See pages 60 to
64 in Beliveau's Foods to Fight Cancer). The specific example he
gives in those pages is of isothiocyanates which have very limited
antioxidant potential but which are also believed, based on current
research, to have among the highest effects on stopping cancer. I
realize that this video was primarly to compare the metrics of
animal vs. plant food. And so, in such a comparison, antioxident
given the wealth of data makes sense. A disclaimer, say 30
seconds or a cross reference to the work you did on capturing
Beliveau's research (I think Furhman gave onion a 50 ANDI score,
I will have to check)would help.

Paul

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team PaulB • 3 years ago 

Thank you for your kind words, and you're absolutely right
that the antioxidant power of plant foods represents only one
of their many benefits. That's indeed why I presented those
two videos (part 1 and part 2) ranking vegetables by their
ability to slow down cancer cell growth. Just because
something is good for you doesn't mean it necessarily has
lots of antioxidants (like oyster mushrooms) and just because
something has lots of antioxidant power doesn't mean it's
necessarily good for you (uric acid and preservatives like
BHT come to mind).

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Youcef Michael Greger M.D. • 4 months ago 

I agree with Paul. Exactly what you just said Michael
would be of great help for the existing portion of
readers with little knowledge in health science. As of
now, a lot of the videos on antioxidants come off as if
antioxidants alone were the only or the most important
factor for health, when we know indeed there is more
than just that antioxidants to health.

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corygold • 3 years ago 

Dear Dr. Greger,

I have seen most of the videos that you have released on your
DVD sets and I was curious if you have come across any studies
relating to bee pollen. I am a vegan and take my B12 supplement
several times a week in addition to my daily spoonful of bee
pollen. I know that some people argue that bee pollen isn't
necessarily vegan although I guess that is in the grey area. Have
you come across any studies discussing the pros/cons of taking
this so called "superfood"? Thank you so much for your time and
for putting this site up.

-CoryG

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Youcef corygold • 4 months ago 

Dr. Gernez, most famous in France for world-changing work
on preventing degenerative diseases, recommended to blow
of a minute amount of pollen on newborns (anytime during
their immunotolerance period) along with minute amounts of
vaccuum cleaner dust collected in late summer ("yuk" you
may say, I know!) as a means to get their immune system to
recognize pollen. It may be less necessary in places where
moms and their newborn are discharged within days of the
delivery, because that way the baby is naturally exposed to
allegens in the short window of opportunity that is his first
few weeks of life. Any medical textbook refers to that period
of immunotolerance and the doctor did it on all his family,
none are allergic.

That's the only really valuable thing I've heard so far on
pollen, and I'm like you always curious to learn more about
its benefits, perhaps more as a food this time :)

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Toxins • 3 years ago 

I would like to know the same regarding bee pollen and the safety
of glucasomine

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JohnSwallow • 3 years ago 

Dear Dr. Greger: Is antioxidant power THE ONLY measure of
antioxidants, so that the higher the ORAC value the better and
variety of antioxidants not so critical?? I'm confused!!

This is an incredible website that I promote to many!! Thank you
so VERY MUCH!!

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JohnSwallow JohnSwallow • 3 years ago 

I'm eager to find your answers on nutritionfacts.org! I'm
intelligent, just not this web-savvy!! balangiga@aol.com
Please help! Great website! Its too early to nominate you for
a Nobel Prize in Medicene, but its CERTAINLY COMING!
John S.

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JohnSwallow • 3 years ago 

balangiga@aol.com John Swallow 4th message, 1st with
notification requested to my Email.!

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team JohnSwallow • 3 years ago 

Sorry it took me so long to get to your comment. Please see
my answer to PaulB above.

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wickedchicken • 3 years ago 

LOL that beer is the 5th greatest source of antioxidants in the
American diet!!!! OMG.

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sherry7701 • 3 years ago 

Dr. Gregor,

You have given us all a wonderful gift with this website. Thank you
for the fantastic resource to help us all navigate the complex world
of nutrition science.

Sherry

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Tan Truong • 3 years ago 

Maybe I'm slow, but what's the number one antioxidant food?

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Megann19 • 3 years ago 

I don't think you're slow...your question is actually a good one. I
don't know of any one food in particular as holding the #1 position
for post digestion antioxidant potential, as far too many variables
would preclude such a finding most likely. However, the following
foods have ORAC (oxygen radical absorptive capacity) scores that
are considered impressive: Cocoa, red beans, berries, and spices
like dried clove, oregano, ginger, cinnamon and tumeric. However,
scientists are continually discovering powerful disease fighting
substances in all kinds of plant foods, which is a very powerful
plus for those of us following a vegetarian and/or vegan lifestyle.

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Tan Truong • 3 years ago 

Megann19, Thanks for your response. You make good points. I
just thought I'd get a #1 from this study, at least on some merits
and until proven otherwise. Oh well, we'll just have to keep eating
the best whole foods regardless. :)

This site keeps me on my toes and reminds me to keep increasing
my consumption of fruits and vegetables. Never felt better.

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Tan Michael Greger M.D. • 2 years ago 

 Your link is broken Dr. It's the extra http at the beginning. :)

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team Tan • 2 years ago 

 Thank you so much--corrected!

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guest • 2 years ago 

As always this is a great video. I would really love to see a video
simply discussing exactly what antioxidants are and why we
should be so concerned with them. 

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guest guest • 2 years ago 

also, can you give us more details about how antioxidants
are calculated?

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Toxins NF Team • 2 years ago 

I have a question regarding the antioxidant content of the study
here using FRAP and the USDA study showing ORAC values of
foods.

This study by the USDA  in your other video of the antioxidant
content of 300 foods (https://www.drgourmet.com/colu... seems
to put apples at 3065 umol/100 grams while this study (http://
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pm... puts apples at 300 umol/100 grams.
Are these 2 methods of testing the antioxidant capacity of certain
foods that inaccurate? 

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Jonas Kilikevicius • 2 years ago 

Raw cacao has the most of any foods even more than acai which
has a score of 536. Raw cacao has a score of 955 source:
Superfoods by David Wolfe.

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lovestobevegan • 2 years ago 

What better way to increase your consumption of purple cabbage
than with this simple-to-make snack.

Antioxidant Coleslaw

– 3 cups purple cabbage, chopped

– 1 clove garlic, minced

– 1 green onion, thinly sliced

– ½ small red onion, diced

– 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

– Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a shallow dish. Better flavour is
achieved when ingredients can marinate in the fridge overnight.

Bookmark my new Plant-Based Emporium Facebook page for all
my latest recipes. https://www.facebook.com/Plant...

~Complements of lovestobevegan


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Yaron • 2 years ago 

Great video!

I have a short question. Is there such thing as *too much* anti-
oxidants?

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Toxins NF Team Yaron • 2 years ago 

apparently not according to Dr. Greger.

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

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Yaron Toxins • 2 years ago 

Thank you for the reply!

I actually read a part of the original study. It seems that
they only tested one antioxidant... Therefore I find it
difficult to understand why the same result should
follow for other antioxidants as well.

Interesting stuff anyways.

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ern2win • a year ago 

Dear Dr. Greger,

Thanks so much for highlighting this study and lists. I have
downloaded the list.

In reviewing some items in the list, I came across what seems and
unusual result: Toasting whole wheat bread doubles the
antioxidant value!

Whole wheat bread Wonder USA 0.47

Whole wheat bread, toasted Wonder USA 1.00

1. Do you believe this is correct?

2. How can it be explained?

Thanks,

-Ernie

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Daniel Johnson ern2win • 6 months ago 

Toasting removes moisture (and weight) so if test is per 100
grams, 100grams of toast contains more wheat than
untoasted.

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Ernest Mayberry Daniel Johnson • 6 months ago 

Thanks Daniel,

I did additional research which confirmed the result, but
your explanation makes perfect sense.

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Kelley • a year ago 

Looks like the USDA removed the list from its website?

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beccadoggie10 Kelley • a year ago 

I googled "U.S. Department of Agriculture. Oxygen Radical
Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) of Selected Foods – 2007.
November 2007. It is now at:

http://www.orac-info-portal.de...

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rick • a year ago 

I know what antioxidants do but not sure what they are. Do all
vitamins have antioxidants or just E and C? Is vitamin E a
antioxidant or does it contain antioxidants?

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Toxins NF Team rick • a year ago 

There are many many antioxidants found in plant foods.
Vitamin E and C are indeed antioxidants, but there are many
more. Strawberries for example, have a wealth of
antioxidants.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu...


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Jeff F • a year ago 

In a book on sports exercise and nutrition called “The First 20
Minutes” the author quotes a German study which showed that
post

exercise, athletes taking anti-oxidants (vitamin C and E
supplements) had elevated levels of antioxidants BUT the same
level of free radicals as those who hadn’t consumed the vitamins.
It was because the body didn’t summon its own genetic and
enzymatic defense mechanisms in the presence of the

consumed anti-oxidants. This would indicate that consuming high
levels of

anti-oxidants may be ineffective if your body reacts by reducing its
own defensive efforts. Are you aware of the validity of this
research? The book also mentions similar results found a few
years earlier in lab rat experiments at U of Valencia in Spain and U
of Wisconsin, Madison.

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Toxins NF Team Jeff F • a year ago 

Dr. Greger will release a video showing that Exercise is an
oxidative activity, but for several days after, our antioxidant
capabilities are significantly stronger then before the
exercise. He also shows how consuming antioxidants while
exercising does not produce the same effect. Details soon to
come!

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JR • 7 months ago 

What about this in vitro vs. in vivo distinction? http://ars.usda.gov/
Services/d...

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Daniel Johnson • 6 months ago 

I see the USDA is no longer posting the study this is derived from,
as they felt it was being misused.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/servic...

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Mindaugas Raulinaitis • 6 months ago 

What is the secret to aging more slowly and living longer? NOT
ANTIOXIDANTS, apparently.

Many people believe that free radicals, the sometimes-toxic
molecules produced by our bodies as we process oxygen, are the
culprit behind aging. Yet a number of studies in recent years have
produced evidence that the opposite may be true.

Now, researchers at McGill University have taken this finding a
step further by showing how free radicals promote longevity in an
experimental model organism, the roundworm C. elegans.

“The Intrinsic Apoptosis Pathway Mediates the Pro-Longevity
Response to Mitochondrial ROS in C. elegans”, Callista Yee, Wen
Yang, and Siegfried Hekimi, Cell, May 8, 2014 http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.ce...

https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom...

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Andy from Holland • 4 months ago 

Dear Dr Gerger. I want to express my great appreciation for
sharing this information. It is good to have a source where you get
the facts. 

I watched you presentatiom on the leading causes of death and it
is one of the most impressive presentations I've ever seen. 

It changed, and probably will extend, my life. Thank you very
much.


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dpool • 4 months ago 

Hi Dr Greger,

Thank you so much for this valuable resource!

A quick question on my favorite topic, beer. You mentioned a
breakdown of the different antioxidant properties of different beers
but I was wondering if there is any research around other health
benefits to beers. For example, some great beer coming out of
Russian River in California include brettanomyces, lactobacillus,
and pediococcus. Could these possibly be serving as probiotics?

Potential health areas for discovery:

Organic vs non-organic beer

Unfiltered vs filtered 

Hop content directly influencing antioxidant levels

Best,

Drew

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HC • 11 days ago 

Dr. Greger, For vegans who periodically fast (every couple of
weeks I fast for 2-3 days), is there some harm being done
because we fail to ingest antioxidants/phytochemicals while
fasting? HD

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Boby • 11 days ago 

Soda bi carbonate mix in lemon jioce Is it good for cancer?

!
!
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/antioxidant-power-of-plant-foods-versus-
animal-foods/

Transcript: Antioxidant Power of Plant Foods Versus


Animal Foods!
!
 In a review on vegetarian diets and public health published last year, they
 concluded that sufficient scientific evidence exists for public healthy policy
to ptromote a plant-rich diet for health promotion. This does not need to wair
for science to provide all the answers as to why and how.

 But this is certainly one reason On average, 64 times more antioxidant


power in plant foods than animal foods, but is it really a fair comparison?
Included in the plant group were some things that were just off the charts,
like some exotic wild berries, herbal medicines that really skewed the chart
upwards. People eat corn,  they don’t eat dried Norwegian cornflowers. So
let’s  bring it down to earth.

The average plant food may have over a thousand micromoles of ferric ion
reducing antioxidant power per decagram, but for comparison’s sake I’m
going to choose the least healthy plant food I can think of,  good old
American iceburg lettuce, which I think of as basically just water. It doesn’t
have 1,157 units of antioxidant power,  it has, 17 units.

 Still beats out fish, though, which averages 11. Even nice pink salmon? 
7. Chicken?  6. A hardboiled egg?  2 And eggbeaters, which is just the
whites,  zero. Even  coca cola has 4! The  same amount found in cow’s
milk, and yogurt, though soymilk  only has about twice that. The best
animal foods can do, in the meat category, is a serving of  ox liver at 71. It
beat out  moose meat, reindeer steak, but… still couldn’t quote reach,  a
Snickers bar. This is why we need to eat a plant-based diet.

There is one animal product, however,  that does kick some serious tush.
There are samples of blueberries that didn’t even test that antioxidant rich.
An animal product so healthy, I encourage everyone to consume it… when
they’re a baby.  Human breast milk.

During infancy, breast is best. After infancy plants are preferred.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger
may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the
audio contributed by Dianne Moore.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Doctor's Note!
Thank you both for visiting the site and leaving comments. Please let me
know if any questions arise.

For some context, please check out my associated blog posts:  Acai to


Zuccini: Antioxidant Food Rankings, Can antioxidant-rich spices counteract
the effects of a high-fat meal?, Kiwi Fruit for Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Is
Caffeinated Tea Really Dehydrating?, Antioxidants in a Pinch: Dried Herbs
and Spices, Hibiscus tea: flower power, Vitamin B12: how much, how often?,
Biblical Daniel Fast Tested, Eating Green to Prevent Cancer, Ergothioneine: A
New Vitamin?, The Anti-Wrinkle Diet, Plant-Based Diets for Rheumatoid
Arthritis, Apple Peels Turn On Anticancer Genes, Plant-Based Diets for
Fibromyalgia, and Hibiscus Tea: The Best Beverage?

!
Nouh Alaoui • 3 years ago 

amazing :) thanks

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lbateman • 3 years ago 

Way to go, Dr. Greger: this couldn't be put any better way!

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Michelle Goddard • 3 years ago 

These comparisons of plants to animal products are undoubtedly
enlightening and of course we should all be eating huge amounts
of salad and greens daily.. but it would be great to see some
discussions about grass fed beef/dairy and pastured eggs thrown
into the mix, to see how we could improve our nutrition (and
animal welfare/food production standards) without giving up some
of our favourite animal products too.

Thanks for the videos, all very informative and thought-provoking..

Michelle from http://www.mybigfatgreenblog.w...

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Toxins Michelle Goddard • 3 years ago 

Regardless of how meat is handled and how animals are
raised, animal products in itself are nutrient poor and is a
cancer promoter. There are not many positive things that can
be said about meat even if it were organic. Its still not
healthy.

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wickedchicken • 3 years ago 

LOL at the snickers bar. Love the way you present the data! I
wonder, what portion did they use of each? Average portion of
lettuce V average portion of fish? I presume. I wouldn't be eating a
whole head of lettuce very often......!

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Toxins wickedchicken • 3 years ago 

I think the measurements were looking at concentrations of
antioxidants in the foods.

"all samples were homogenized, dry samples were
pulverized and solid samples were chopped in a food
processor...The concentration of antioxidants was
measured"

You can read more about it here http://
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pm... on the "Sample collection and
sample preparation" heading.

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Peter Heeks Toxins • 3 years ago 

Hi, I have just followed the link you posted and read
through some of the original study, including the pdf file
with all of the results in. The results really confuse me!
The amounts of the foods I considered high antioxidant
seem to be a lot lower than I would have thought.

For example, I eat lots of red lentils & medjool dates,
and was expecting them to be very high. Apparently
red lentils are 0.23 per 100g (this is a third of the
snickers bar mentioned?). USA Medjool dates are
showing as only 0.56, so only 2/3rds of the snickers
bar?

I am disheartened by these results, considering I
thought I was following a very high antioxidant diet, I
don't have huge quantities by weight of berries and
spices very often, so have to rely on my staple foods.
Even Broccoli is showing as approx 1.0, compared to a
snickers bar being 0.73.

Could you do anything to put these results in
perspective, or are we just consuming much less
antioxidants then we might think even following a rich
plant based diet?

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Toxins Peter Heeks • 3 years ago 

I can only partially answer this question and say
that although brocolli may not have a mega dose
of antioxidants, antioxidants are phytochemicals
but not all phytochemicals are antioxidants. Most
phytochemicals being studied for health reasons
do function as antioxidants, but many serve
additional functions that are unrelated to their role
as antioxidants. So brocolli may come close to
antixoxidant content of a snickers bar but this is
only part of the nutrient profile. Hope this helped!

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brad mayeux Toxins • 6 months ago 

chocolate is actually very high in
antioxidants... sugar isnt good for you in
high quantities, but thats a different story.

REAL chocolate (cocoa) is a powerhouse of
antioxidants (before its processed - heated
etc...)

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Kamal Prasad • 3 years ago 

Has there been any study done on diet post stroke and recovery?

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DrDons Kamal Prasad • 3 years ago 

Hi KamalPrasad, Unfortunately I'm not aware of any studies
in this area. It would be nice if there was more studies done
in this area. We'll all have to stay tuned. On the other hand
there are several studies that show that following a whole
food plant based diet will result in lower blood pressures and
cholesterol levels which one would imagine would lower the
risk of having another stroke. see Dr. Gregers videos
nutritionfacts.org/videos/avoi... and nutritionfacts.org/videos/
whos...

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BarbaraH • 3 years ago 

Here's something I happened to come across recently that might
help put the anti-oxidant thing in some perspective. It's a
message board response by Jeff Novick, on a McDougall forum. I
hope it's okay to put the link here. Scroll down to 4) in Jeff's
response, where he starts talking about antioxidants. It's very
long. http://www.drmcdougall.com/for...

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DrDons BarbaraH • 3 years ago 

Hi BarbaraH- Thanks for the link. Jeff Novick is one of the
best read evidence based registered dieticians I know. His
post points added to the videos that Dr. Greger has
previously posted point out some of the difficulties in figuring
out how much and what type of antioxidants to consume,
how to prepare foods, are the antioxidants absorbed(i.e
adding a squeeze of citrus to green tea markedly increases
absorption), do they make it into the cells or their organelles
through the effects of outside factors such as stress.It is
complex. See Dr. Greger's previous videos: http://
nutritionfacts.org/vide... and http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...
among others for further information. I would just keep up
with the science by following reliable sources and make the
best choices as you plan your whole food plant based diet.

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Patrick McNerthney • 3 years ago 

Speaking of Jeff Novick, I am a little confused over your opinion of
iceberg lettuce versus Jeff's here:

http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/N...

Jeff's conclusion is: "Iceberg lettuce is a healthy food. Not only is
it fairly high in nutrient density, it is very low in calorie density. Yet,
somehow it gets relegated to the level of junk food."

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Toxins Patrick McNerthney • 3 years ago 

I have heard this as well from Jeff, I am curious as to what
Dr. Greger makes of it.

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team Patrick McNerthney • 3 years ago 

Based on it's nutritional content, it's the least healthy leafy
green on the planet, but even the least healthy green is
healthier than a lot of what the public eats! Check out my
video Nation's Diet in Crisis to see just how bad the
Standard American Diet is.

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Toxins Michael Greger M.D. • 3 years ago 

Ahh, this makes sense. Thanks!

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Patrick McNerthney Michael Greger M.D. • 3 years ago 

I agree the Standard American Diet is in crisis, that is
not my question at all.

In your video, you said "Iceberg lettuce, which I think of
as bascially just water".

This is what I am a little confused about versus
examining the actualy nutritional facts of iceberg
lettuce. It may be the "least healthy leafy green", but
that does not make it unhealthly. Similarly, grass fed,
lean beef may be the "most healthly beef", but that
doesn't make it healthy.

It appears at first glance that you have fallen victim to a
food myth. Do you really consider iceberg lettuce to be
basically just water in nutritional content?

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team Patrick McNerthney • 3 years
ago 

Iceberg lettuce is 96% water, but that's not a bad
thing--water is a nutrient too! I'm not saying it's
junk food; I'm just saying that any other green is
better so if you have a choice (and even most
salad bars these days offer alternatives) pick
something better.

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Patrick McNerthney Michael Greger M.D. • 3 years
ago 

I still think you are dissing iceberg lettuce
unjustifiably. Romaine lettuce is 95% water
so I don't see the point about iceberg lettuce
being 96% water making them all that
different. Is that 1% difference really that
significant?

As long as one is eating a wide variety of
fruits and vegetables, iceberg lettuce is a
perfectly good and healthy choice at times,
even if other leafy greens are available.
Some people prefer it, so it might mean that
they end up eating more resulting in more
net nutrients. Also, if one needed more
Vitamin C or E, then iceberg lettuce is the
better choice.

I suppose if one doesn't eat a proper wide
variety of fruits and vegetables, then the
slight difference might make a difference.
But if one is eating a healthy, plant-based
diet and you like iceberg lettuce, enjoy it
without any stigma or guilt.

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Toxins Patrick McNerthney • 3 years ago 

Patrick, I think the point Dr. Greger is making is
that, yes, iceberg lettuce is healthy but there are
other greens and vegetables that are far healthier.
Iceberg lettuce is the most consumed by
American families and it would contribute to their
health if they ate more of the cruciferous greens.

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ConcernedVegan • 2 years ago 

ORAC value of foods (aside from the vitamin C and E) have never
been shown to have any benefit in vivo, they might be potent in a
test tube, but have little to no antioxidant benefits in the body.  In
fact, only 5% of phytochemical antioxidants are even absorbed
and then they're fast-tracked to the liver for excretion.  The only
benefit of phytochemicals is probably their hormetic effect, as the
body treats them as a toxin.  Also, the amino acids in meat (and
meat has a much more favorable amino acid profile for this and
much higher protein density) can be directly used by the body to
produce glutathione, the most potent antioxidant in vivo.  Not to
mention meat has very high concentrations of CoQ10, the second
most powerful antioxidant in vivo, as well as creatine (an indirect
antioxidant by boosting mitochondria efficiency), Carnitine and
Carnosine (two potent in vivo antioxidants).  All of these meat-
derived antioxidants are critical to antioxidant recycling in the
human body, which are FAR more important then total antioxidant
numbers.  Antioxidants without proper recycling chains just
become pro-oxidants.  It's great that your a vegan (I'm one myself
for ethical reasons), but purposely misleading people by
presenting information in a bias fashion and/or cherry-picking
what studies you analyze is quite unethical and completely goes
against what real science is about.  I would never try to stretch the
science to make it look like a vegan diet is more healthy than a
vegan-style diet that also incorporates 6-10oz of whole-food
meats per day.  

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Guest ConcernedVegan • 2 years ago 

Don't know how this site works, if you will see my reply or
not. But have you received an answer on that?

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Guest ConcernedVegan • 6 months ago 

You're not a vegan. You're a meat industry plant. 

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ConcernedVegan • 2 years ago 

Why did my post get deleted?  Nice censorship... 

ORAC value of foods (aside from the vitamin C and E) have never
been shown to have any benefit in vivo, they might be potent in a
test tube, but have little to no antioxidant benefits in the body.  In
fact, only 5% of phytochemical antioxidants are even absorbed
and then they're fast-tracked to the liver for excretion.  The only
benefit of phytochemicals is probably their hormetic effect, as the
body treats them as a toxin.  Also, the amino acids in meat (and
meat has a much more favorable amino acid profile for this and
much higher protein density) can be directly used by the body to
produce glutathione, the most potent antioxidant in vivo.  Not to
mention meat has very high concentrations of CoQ10, the second
most powerful antioxidant in vivo, as well as creatine (an indirect
antioxidant by boosting mitochondria efficiency), Carnitine and
Carnosine (two potent in vivo antioxidants).  All of these meat-
derived antioxidants are critical to antioxidant recycling in the
human body, which are FAR more important then total antioxidant
numbers.  Antioxidants without proper recycling chains just
become pro-oxidants.  It's great that your a vegan (I'm one myself
for ethical reasons), but purposely misleading people by
presenting information in a bias fashion and/or cherry-picking
what studies you analyze is quite unethical and completely goes
against what real science is about.  I would never try to stretch the
science to make it look like a vegan diet is more healthy than a
vegan-style diet that also incorporates 6-10oz of whole-food
meats per day.  

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ConcernedVegan • 2 years ago 

Sorry, for my hasty assumption.  I see it wasn't deleted and i
apologize. 

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L∃N∀ (Lena) • 2 years ago 

Michael, your site is great, thank you very much for informative
and entertaining videos, I have shared quite a few of them already
- please keep them coming!

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Freepam • 2 years ago 

This is an old video but I am wondering why you are comparing
anti-oxidant values of plants and meats. Surely people eat meat
for protein and fats, and then have the plants for the anti-oxidants.
I hear you that meat isn't great for us and I haven't even watched
any of those videos yet. But I am still eating some grass fed
organic raised meat because I got too thin on a plant diet alone.

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Toxins NF Team Freepam • 2 years ago 

Animal fat, that being saturated fat, serves no dietary
purpose for us and the more we consume the less healthy
we are.

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

As for protein, all whole plant foods contain complete
proteins and if one eats till they are hungry till they are full
then they are getting adequate protein.

 Just because beef is organic and grass fed does not change
inherent traits of meat that make it harmful. For example,
bacteria inherently grows on meat and endotoxins found in
meat is an inherent trait. These endotoxins cause chronic
inflammation.

http://nutritionfacts.org/?s=e...

Continue exploring this wbesite and you will  find that the
issue with meat is far more then just contamination.

 

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Freepam Toxins • 2 years ago 

Thank you. I watched all the Volume 9 videos and I am
convinced to try a plant based diet again. I am being
tested now for Gluten sensitivity with cross-linked
foods so that eliminates most starches from my diet.
I'm just scared to go down to 95 lbs again like I did on
the vegan diet last time.

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Micheleski • 2 years ago 

Hi, thanks for the video. What is the unit measure based on unit
per calorie? Unit per  oz? 

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Tush • a year ago 

Doc, your video is useless. Why don't you actually state vegetable
based foods that are high in antioxidants?

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team Tush • a year ago 

Please click on the next videos. I go into excruciating detail.

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Moses Nachman • a year ago 

okay, so let us assume that plant-based foods are far more
healthy to eat than animal-based foods. but within the plant foods,
which are the healthiest? that is, assuming that the five main
categories of plant foods are fruits, raw vegetables, high-starch
vegetables, nuts, and seeds, what is the order of the healthiest
plant food group to the least healthy?

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team Moses Nachman • a year ago 

I've got a video on that! Somewhere... Anyone remember?

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Guest • 6 months ago 

The plant kingdom is so vast in nutrients, major minerals, minor
minerals, protein, the way nutrients work together and cooperate
within the human body and the processes that create vitamins
that it will NEVER be known just how all of it works together for
the good of the human body. The VASTNESS of what has been
proven in clinical studies is not even the tip of the iceberg of how
a plant based diet was made for the human race to live life,
thrwart disease and THRIVE!

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Dez • 6 months ago 

Fair and thorough -- as always. Thanks Doc.

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Carmen • 10 days ago 

I'm vegetarian but I find this was taken completely out of context.
Meat was never supposed to be an antioxidant, it's just protein &
fat. Antioxidants are to come from vegetables and fruits. So to say
meat doesn't have antioxidants is like saying plant-based foods
don't have B12 so we should eat meat. None the less, shocked
about snickers & coke.

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BB Carmen • 9 days ago 

I'm not certain that it's out of context. Eating animal
products means less room for antioxidant-rich foods (plants)
in the diet, whereas eating a vegan diet does not mean less
room for B12 intake (obtained very easily with a supplement).
According to the studies shared by Dr. Greger, the estimated
minimum antioxidant need is 8 000-11 000 units, which
means rich-antioxidant foods should be consumed
practically all day, everyday. It's harder for people to eat a
suitable antioxidant diet if it's the animal foods take take up
the space in their plates... Also, a well-balanced vegan diet
of whole foods will also meet the body's needs for protein
and fat...

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http://nutritionfacts.org/video/anti-up-on-the-veggies/

Transcript: Anti Up on the Veggies!


!
In choosing the healthiest foods, you may notice that everywhere you look,
everyone seems to have a different "top ten" list of the most antioxidant-rich
foods, with probably dozens of competing commercial products swearing
theirs is the "best of the best". Some are probably just making stuff up, but
genuine competing estimates arise from people citing old data,

[J. Agric. Food Chem. 2004, 52, 4026-4037, "Lipophilic and Hydrophilic
Antioxidant Capacities of Common Foods in the United States"]

where they only test a few dozen foods, or a few hundred, but other
disparities arise from different labs using different tests.

There are four in common usage: ORAC, TEAC, TRAP, and FRAP. USDA likes
ORAC. These researchers

[Nutrition Journal 2010, 9:3 "The total antioxidant content of more than 3100
foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide"]

used FRAP, in part because it's one of the quickest methods, which is
important if you're doing 3,000 foods. Each has their pros and cons, but the
problem with all of them is that they're just measuring how good a particular
food is at altering a chemical oxidation reaction in a test tube. It's not done in
a biological system.

But for the first time ever, scientists at Cornell took 27 vegetables

[J. Agric. Food Chem. 2010, 58, 6621-6629, "Cellular Antioxidant Activity of
Common Vegetables"]

and measured their cellular antioxidant activity: their ability to quench free
radicals within cells, by testing various vegetables on cultures of human liver
cells. Sure, some phytonutrient may be a great antioxidant outside the cell,
but what if it can't get inside the cell? That's where we need it!

If you do the standard ORAC test, this is what you find: spinach at the top,
cucumber at the bottom. No surprise; dark green leafy leads the pack. But
again, this is a chemical assay, measuring how these foods slow down some
oxidation reaction in a test tube, a reaction that actually doesn't even occur
in nature. But hey, look, it's the best we had: until now. Any guesses as to
who was able to unseat spinach? Here's the cellular antioxidant activity.
Cucumber is still at the bottom. But now, beating everyone else: beets!
Number one, spinach, isn't even in the top ten any more. All the cruciferous
moved ahead: Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower. And hey,
look, between the beets and the red bell pepper, it looks like the greens got
beat out by the reds.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger
may be referring, watch the above video. This is transcript contributed by
Bruce A. Hamilton.

Doctor's Note!
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. Be sure to check
out all the other videos on antioxidants and don't miss all the videos where
we rank foods. And there are 1,449 subjects covered in the rest of my
videos–please feel free to explore them!

Check out my associated blog post for more context:  Which Common Fruit
Fights Cancer Better?

Michael Greger M.D. NF Team • 3 years ago 



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. Be
sure to check out all the other videos on antioxidants and don't
miss all the videos where we rank foods. And there are 1,449
subjects covered in the rest of my videos–please feel free to
explore them!

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OCDmom • 3 years ago 

Do you know of any research or connections between nutrition &
mental illnesses such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,
Anorexia, or other conditions involving the basal ganglia of the
brain??

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DrDons OCDmom • 3 years ago 

I'm not aware of studies for those disorders... there are
studies suggesting that a plant based diet can help improve
mood, depression and anxiety. See http://nutritionfacts.org/
vide... plus consumption of food additives on children see
http://nutritionfacts.org/vide.... Hopefully more studies will
come along showing the benefit of healthy eating on peoples
mental well being.

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guest OCDmom • 10 months ago 

Avoid gluten. Dr. Mcdougall has claimed that it can cause
mental illness.

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Ed guest • 7 months ago 

What are you talking about? McDougall has never said
anything bad about gluten. In fact, he recommends
whole wheat as part of your "starch-based" diet,
(unless you have Celiac disease like 1% of people). In
fact, he's already done a video about how "gluten-free"
is a distraction from our real dietary problems.

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jbwomer • 3 years ago 

So, now what? Should I be putting beets in my smoothie instead
of kale? What about all those other great green leafies, dump
them for the new list?

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veganlinda jbwomer • 3 years ago 

I usually put beets in my green smoothies (which makes
them red). I wouldn't throw out the greens, but add in the
reds, but I'm no doctor.

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Toxins jbwomer • 3 years ago 

jbwormer, antioxidants are only one aspect of the full
nutritional profile of green leafies. There are many nutrients
that do not act as antioxidants that are highly benifical to
ones health. Keep the greens!

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jmboss • 3 years ago 

This new assay shows that Lettuce has more cellular antioxidant
value than Romaine? Something seems very wrong here!

Sorry to see that Kale doesn't look to have been included in this
study.

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Bob jmboss • a year ago 

It could be green leaf lettuce...it doesn't specify iceberg.

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jmboss • 3 years ago 

I suspect the study on cellular antioxidant activity of 25 common
fruits will be posted soon. Should be another very informative
video.

Wondering how the antioxidant values of spices would place using
this new "real world" assay method.

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Elvin • 3 years ago 

Does this new information have any bearing on cooked vs raw? I
recall that according to the video ' Best Cooking Method' (which
by the way is an example of a video with excellent sound, not
distorted/too loud /muffled), bell peppers should deffo not be
cooked.

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Ridley • 3 years ago 

Dr. Greger:

Where does swiss chard belong on the scale? I grow a lot of it and
freeze it so that I can eat it all year. I use it the same way spinach
is used. I much prefer it to spinach, and it is easier to grow in my
climate. Does it have similar health benefits as spinach?

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filippodibari • 3 years ago 

This is a very interesting topic. Looking fwd to see the Codex
Alimentarius to incorporate this way of measuring A.Ox. into their
standard practice. Well spotted Dr Greger. Cheers. fil

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Anne-Marie • 3 years ago 

Hi,

Is it possible to have the complete study (on cellular antioxydant
activity) with the graphic. It will be very usefull for my work.

Anne-Marie, dietician in Montreal

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team Anne-Marie • 3 years ago 

Je viens de vous l'a envoyé Anne-Marie profitez-en!

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Adalberto Michael Greger M.D. • 2 years ago 

Hi Dr. Greger,

I would love to get this study on cellular antioxidants,
but they're charging for the full text! The source isn't
even cited here, I've seen it in the #7 DVD:

   

J Agric Food Chem. 2010 Jun 9;58(11):6621-9.

Cellular antioxidant activity of common vegetables.

Song W, Derito CM, Liu MK, He X, Dong M, Liu RH.

SourceDepartment of Food Science, Cornell University,
Ithaca, New York 14853-7201, USA.Thank you so much
for all your work!Adalberto M. Caccia (from Italy)

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Jordan Bray • 3 years ago 

Can we assume that since beets were so good at penetrating and
anti-oxidizing liver cells, that they will do that for all (or even most)
cells in the body?

Or, just like in (http://nutritionfacts.org/vide... will vegetables be
more or less effective against different cancer cells?

Jordan (Boston)

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Jack Y. • a year ago 

Watch your spelling! "Anti-" means against, suggesting one
should beware of consuming more veggies. You probable mean
"antE-up".

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Jack Y. • a year ago 

I meant "you probably mean...."

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Ed Jack Y. • a year ago 

I think he was punning off of "anti-oxidants."

!
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-best-bean-2/

Transcript: The Best Bean!


!
Don’t get cocky though. There are many other magic beans out there.
Chickpeas, split peas, lentils, kidney beans, and yellow split peas. This is
what the graph looks like. Two of those in that list belong in the same
antioxidant-packed class as black and pinto beans, but there are three loser
legumes… Now Number 3… are those wonderful dark red kidney beans, but
what’s #2?

Four left to choose from. Three of these are relative losers, but one of them is
the number two most power-packed antioxidant legume on the planet.
Chickpeas, split peas, lentils, or yellow split peas. Anyone sitting want to
shout out any advice for our remaining contestants? Who say’s #2 is
chickpeas? Who says it’s split peas? Who says lentils? Who says yellow split
peas? Let’s see who’s right.

Everyone who said yellow split peas, “peas” sit down. Whoever said green
split peas, also wrong. And finally, whoever said lentils you win! Lentils
number 2; chickpeas number 7! Chickpeas are still super healthy but nothing
compared to these superstars.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger
may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the
audio contributed by Dianne Moore.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Doctor's Note!
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
"Beans, Beans, Good for Your Heart" to learn more about beans' beneficial
effects. If you're worried about the gassiness of beans, check out my
blogpost Clearing the Air. Also, there are 1,449 other subjects covered in the
rest of my videos--please feel free to explore them as well!

For some context, please check out my associated blog post: The Best
Foods: test your nutrition knowledge.

Michael Greger M.D. NF Team • 3 years ago 



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 "Beans, Beans, Good for Your Heart" to learn more
about beans' beneficial effects. If you're worried about the
gassiness of beans, check out my blogpost Clearing the Air. Also,
there are 1,449 other subjects covered in the rest of my videos--
please feel free to explore them as well!

For some context, please check out my associated blog post: The
Best Foods: test your nutrition knowledge.

!



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Alex Michael Greger M.D. • 2 years ago 

Thank you for your wonderful site! Could you please say
whether cooking beans in their soaking water is best, or
dump the water. Thanks!

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Rohit Mehta • 3 years ago 

I'm allergic to every bean (I get the dangerous kind of hives)
except for soy (white, or black), garbanzos, favas, peanuts and
lentils. Could I be allergic to an antioxidant? Is there any way I can
neutralize the allergenic component of these foods and safely eat
vegan bean burritoes?

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Chelsea • 3 years ago 

Rohit: I believe that food allergies occur because of an intolerance
to a specific amino acid (protein). You cannot neutralize this
component of the food, unfortunately. There IS hope for you to
enjoy a vegan burrito! I have used lentils as the bean filling and
even pureed soybeans to get the same texture as the re-fried
pinto beans. Add some veggies and salsa, and you'll still be able
to enjoy the vegan goodness of a burrito!

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VegAtHeart • 3 years ago 

You can increase black bean consumption by making your own
black bean hummus with the following recipe:

Blend 2 cups of cooked black beans, 1/4 cup of tahini, 3 Tbsp
lemon juice, 3 Tbsp olive oil, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp ground
cumin and 1/2 tsp salt. Optionally, add some black pepper/
cayenne to taste and garnish with parsley or cilantro.

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Kpaddles • 3 years ago 

Does this include red lentils as well as green lentils? 

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Bruce • 2 years ago 

The topic states Best - here you are using antioxidants the key for
all you judgements.

I wonder if there are other things which must be considered in the
makeup of these plants which should be considered to judge thier
value in nutrician.

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Han • 2 years ago 

Hi Dr. Greger,

Is there a risk of eating too much beans, particularly soy or black
beans?

I've substituted beans in place of most of the carbohydrates
(bread/rice/oatmeal) in my diet. Per day, I eat 2 cups of dried
beans (soaked/rinsed/pressure cooked):

1 1/2 cup of dried black beans

1/2 cup of dried soybeans

Is there any risk to eating this many beans?

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lovestobevegan • 2 years ago 

Use this guilt-free, nutritious, and delicious dessert to incorporate
the bean with the most antioxidants and the healthiest chocolate
fix http://nutritionfacts.org/vide... into your diet.

Grassless Yard Brownies

– 2 cups cooked^ black beans

– 1 large very ripe banana, mashed

– ½ tbsp vanilla extract

– 1/3 cup cacoa powder

– 1 tbsp date sugar

– pinch cayenne pepper

– pinch sea salt

Mash beans to desired consistency. Mash banana in a separate
bowl and add to beans. Add vanilla and stir to combine. Stir in
cacoa powder, cayenne pepper, and sea salt until thoroughly
mixed. Spread mixture in a glass baking dish and cut into squares.
No baking necessary.

^If using canned beans select those packaged in BPA-free cans
such as Eden Organic brand. http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

Bookmark my new Plant-Based Emporium Facebook page for all
my latest recipes. https://www.facebook.com/Plant...

~Complements of lovestobevegan


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Paul • 2 years ago 

What about adzukis?

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Mark Hazell • a year ago 

Michael, I'm wondering why you're basing the "best bean" based
on antioxidant content? What about other nutrients? Is there any
other type of bean (not listed in the video) that trumps the black
bean?

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bingo2 • a year ago 

It was very hard to understand the best beans vidieo. Which
Beans did you say were the best? in order from best to lest .

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Tommasina NF Team bingo2 • 10 months ago 

Bingo2, I think it's black beans, lentils, red kidney beans,
then pinto beans for the top four in order from best to lest. :)
You're right though, the audio is a bit confusing here!

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bingo2 • a year ago 

I forgot to add to last post. What about the Adzuki Beans. I heard
they are the best .?

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Eskil J. • a year ago 

I know this is an old video but the cited source is no longer
available.

Perhaps this 2010 issue has changed data. I'm not sure.

http://www.orac-info-portal.de...

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Ardna • a year ago 

what about pole beans or string beans?? Are they the same?

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Beano • a year ago 

I think you need to redo the audio on this. I starts in a way that
indicates some of the audio is left off. Also, I think you've really
refined your voice over style and this one is a little slow and Orson
Wellish:)

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Mary L - Mary's Test Kitchen • 10 months ago 

Your link for Sources Cited no longer works. Here is the Database
for the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity released in 2010:

http://www.orac-info-portal.de...

:-)

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Tommasina NF Team Mary L - Mary's Test Kitchen • 10 months ago 

Mary L - Mary's Test Kitchen thank you so much for
pointing that out! I just updated the link. :)

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ifyoucareenough • 9 months ago 

Huh, I'm confused. Anyone want to make it clearer? I didn't quite
get the order

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JacquieRN NF Team ifyoucareenough • 9 months ago 

It does a time or 2 to catch the order, starting from best =
black beans, lentils, red kidney beans, pinto beans, yellow/
green split peas and chickpeas (garbanzo beans).

In case you are in the hunt for more bean information try
here:

http://nutritionfacts.org/inde...

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ifyoucareenough JacquieRN • 9 months ago 

Thank you. I thought yellow or green split peas were
considered one and the same with lentils? If not, so
what are examples of lentils?

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Tommasina NF Team ifyoucareenough • 9 months ago 

They look similar but they are actually different
beans. Not to advertise for Whole Foods, but I just
found this great chart on their website that
describes the differences between a few different
pulses: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.co... .

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ifyoucareenough Tommasina • 9 months ago 

Thank you Tommasina, I will save that page.
I was thinking that dahl is made of yellow
split peas (because when I make it with curry
it tastes exactly like it) but I just looked up
dahl, and it can be made of a combo of
lentils, peas, and beans. I eat mostly chick
peas, I like them the best. So I guess I
should diversify more with the black beans,
etc. The page you gave is very handy for
how to prepare.

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Toby • 9 months ago 

Hi -- I'm not sure this upload begins at the start of your
presentation -- I watched it a few times.

In any case, there's another lentil - used in Indian cooking -- urad
dal or black gram. Indians consider it to be especially nutritious.
I've never cared for its consistency but it would be worth looking
into and letting us know about it. It might rate even higher than the
red lentil.

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Jerry Taylor • 8 months ago 

everybody gets too literal... eat beans, all beans. Eat veggies, all
veggies, eat fruit, all fruit, eat grains, all grains... nuts, seeds. Keep
a varied and colorful kitchen

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Jerry Taylor • 8 months ago 

if you can't eat something than don't eat it... eat something else

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Max22 • 5 months ago 

I eat green split peas for fiber, nothing beats them on that. (except
guar gum, but that's not a food, is it?)

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Anna Templeton • 3 months ago 

In the past, I have heard that soy (in general), is not good for us.
What has changed? I am so confused!

Thank you.

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Thea NF Team Anna Templeton • 3 months ago 

Anna: In my opinion, nothing has changed. Here's my
understanding of this story: At some point, there were some
initial animal studies that suggested soy *might* be bad for
humans. But those studies were not done with traditional soy
foods, but with highly processed isolated soy protein. That's
like saying that beets are bad for you, while only testing
sugar made from beets. There may have also been some
very small number of human studies that also showed a
negative effect of soy, but then again - those were done with
isolated soy protein, not traditional soy foods like: edamame,
tofu, tempeh, and soy milk.

On the other hand, we have seen many studies on humans
based on traditional soy foods that show a very positive
health effect of soy. You can learn about some of those
studies on this site:

http://nutritionfacts.org/?s=s...

So, why all the bad press about soy? I think there are
multiple reasons. Here are some of what I guess are the big
ones: 

>>> 1) sensational story telling by the media is fun and
profitable for them. They don't care if they ultimately hurt
people's health with their poor "news" reporting. News is
business in America. (I can't speak for anywhere else.) The
media is notorious for spreading misinformation about
nutritional studies. 

>>> 2) Conspiracy theory: I haven't checked it out myself,
but I have read that some of the negative publicity about soy
was funded by various meat industries. Whole soy foods
could be seen as competition for meat. 

>>> 3) Non-organic soy in America is almost guaranteed to
be GMO. Those people who think most GMO as practiced
today is likely to produce negative health outcomes end up
equating soy with negative health outcomes. But note that
organic soy would not be GMO...

Hope that helps.

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Anna Templeton • 3 months ago 

Thank you Thea. This is very helpful, clear information.

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sue • 2 months ago 

i wish they included kala chana (black/brown looking chick pea? i
dont know the english name :() its my favourite!

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sue • 2 months ago 

what exactly is lentil? what do i look for? i thought it was the same
as yellow split.

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Thea NF Team sue • 2 months ago 

Sue: If you have a good health store near by, or even a good
Fred Meyers, there should be a nice bulk section. And in the
bulk section will be bins labeled as lentils. That will give you
an idea of what they are. They are a type of legume. Some
lentils make great soups, just like yellow split peas, but I
believe lentils and split peas are two different things.

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http://nutritionfacts.org/video/superfood-bargains-2/

Transcript: Superfood Bargains!


!
But three even better bargains to go.

Winning the bronze for best bargain: Cloves. And the Silver to cinnamon.
Wait until you hear the gold, though. It’s going to blow your mind. Busting off
the charts as the number one antioxidant bargain in the world? Purple
cabbage--red cabbage. Cheap as dirt, like 30 cents a pound, and packed
with antioxidants—look at that color. And it lasts forever. Next time you go
shopping, buy a red cabbage, put it in the crisper, and slice off shreds to put
in as many things as you can thing of—great crunch for salad, throw into
soups, stir-fries, whatever. And then when you run out you go buy another
red cabbage. And if I’m ever over at your house, don’t think I won’t check
the crisper… In terms of eating healthy on a budget red cabbage cannot be
beat by any food on the planet Earth. Bar none. Period. Done.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger
may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the
audio contributed by Dianne Moore.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

!
Rotkohl

Zimt

Nelken (die 3 hier mit Abstand am besten auf pro $ basis)

—-

Acai

Artischocken

Cranberries

Gojiberries

Apfel

Pekannuss

!
!
Doctor's Note!
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!

For more context, check out my associated 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

!
Elyn • 3 years ago 

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

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Toxins Elyn • 3 years ago 

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/vide...

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!

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Bruce Toxins • 2 years ago 

Well, that's strange, I thought that juicing was the
opposite-- as a glass of juice was equivalent to a lb of
produce.

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sf_jeff Bruce • 3 months ago 

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.

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Carol FitzGerald Toxins • 2 years ago 

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.

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rob Carol FitzGerald • a year ago 

I use whole raw almonds (1 part to 4 parts water),
it's cheaper buying almond milk and saves a step
over making it.

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Harriet Sugar Miller Toxins • a year ago 

Toxins, Tell us: Is that also true of sauerkraut juice?

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Toxins NF Team Harriet Sugar Miller • a year ago 

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. 

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Balázs Farkas-Jenser Toxins • 5 months ago 

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?

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sf_jeff Balázs Farkas-Jenser • 4 months ago 

I think that he recommends blending
over juicing, so I would guess the big
loss is from throwing away the solids.

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Crystal Niedzwiadek • 3 years ago 

Any tips on how to add more cloves to our diet? I'm assuming that
people are using ground cloves somehow?

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Toxins Crystal Niedzwiadek • 3 years ago 

Hello Crystal!

A great way to get cloves into your diet is to start drinking
decaf chai tea.

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

Ginger snap flavored Larabars also contain cloves. You can
also throw some cloves into soups.

Hope this helps!

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Crystal Niedzwiadek Toxins • 3 years ago 

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!

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Tobias Brown Crystal Niedzwiadek • a year ago 

Consider using chai made with roobios tea, which
is low or no caffeiine.

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chris Toxins • 2 years ago 

lara bars are GMO BACKING BASTARDS

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Melanie chris • 2 years ago 

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-lab...

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jazzfeed Melanie • a year ago 

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.

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HereHere jazzfeed • a year ago 

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.

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Michael • 2 years ago 

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.

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Diane Krstulovich Michael • 2 years ago 

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.

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Melanie Diane Krstulovich • 2 years ago 

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.

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Melanie Michael • 2 years ago 

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.

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LG King • 2 years ago 

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.

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Don Forrester MD NF Team LG King • 2 years ago 

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/vide... to help
understand this complicated issue.

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Ann C. • 2 years ago 

Dr. Greger, which one would have more antioxidents acai berries
or amla powder?

Thanks,

Ann - Milton, ON

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peseta11 Ann C. • 3 months ago 

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.

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sf_jeff Ann C. • 3 months ago 

I think you can find his opinion on amla in the "Pink
smoothie" video or similar.

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Dragan • a year ago 

Dr: Greger

Do you recommend using ceramic coated nonstick cookware?
Thank you

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HereHere Dragan • a year ago 

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.

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Toxins NF Team HereHere • a year ago 

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.

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HereHere Toxins • a year ago 

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.

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Toxins NF Team HereHere • a year ago 

Funny you say that, I tried making E2
pancakes yesterday and it was very difficult
with my pan. Your very right.

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JBdisqusblip HereHere • 5 months ago 

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.

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Brite HereHere • 4 months ago 

Cast Iron works fine for crepes. 


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Harry Dragan • a year ago 

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.

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clowrimore • a year ago 

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.

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danomanion • a year ago 

Cabbage last forever? I thought I only had 3-4 days after I sliced
into this yummy veg!

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caroline • 8 months ago 

can i use McCormick ground cinnamon to be mix with honey? is
this the right cinnamon? thanks

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caroline • 8 months ago 

how i wish i could get an answer

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ShroudedSciuridae • 8 months ago 

How does purple cabbage compare to the first superfood I heard
about, kale?

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peseta11 ShroudedSciuridae • 3 months ago 

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.

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Dave peseta11 • 24 days ago 

Purple cabbage *is* red cabbage.

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Stuart • 8 months ago 

Are there any studies on the benefits of powdered green
superfood drinks?

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Elaine Gardner • 8 days ago 

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!

!
!
!
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/dragons-blood/

Dragon’s Blood

The four most antioxidant-packed natural substances so far tested are


cloves, amla (Indian gooseberries), triphala (a combination of amla, bibhitaki,
and haritaki fruits), and dragon’s blood.

Transcript: Dragon’s Blood!


!
Closing out our exploration of the ground-breaking antioxidant analysis of
thousands of foods, herbs, and spices, crowned by cloves, a hundred times
more antioxidants than blueberries, here for comparison's sake, then amla,
then triphala, which we should probably avoid due to toxic metal
contamination, and then by far the single most antioxidant-packed
substance on the planet earth, "sangre de grado": blood of the dragon -- a
bright red sap that oozes when you slash into the bark of this Amazonian
tree. Leading to amusing article names such as, "Studies on the
Antidiarrhoeal Effect of Dragon's Blood". [Phytotherapy Research 15,
319-322 (2001)].

A couple of the studies have been interesting. I'll mention them briefly just
because this is really more of a medicinal than nutritive product.

There was a study published in the Journal of Inflammation, hoping to get a


handle on osteoarthritis, a very frustrating condition to which modern
medicine has little to offer. When people get knee replacements, what do you
think they do with the old knees? Well, at Case Western they gathered them
all up -- all that human cartilage -- to see if they could decrease the rate of
cartilage loss in a test tube with a drop or two of dragon's blood. And
indeed, in the context of inflammation this cartilage starts breaking down,
but you add some sap extract and you can drop that way down. Now the
study was performed by the owner of the company that -- you guessed it --
sells dragon blood extract, though, so you've got to take the findings with a
grain of salt.

Also apparently effective at getting cancer cells to kill themselves, here are
three lines of human gastrointestinal cancer cells. Add a little bit of that red
maple syrup and you can see the cancer cells wither away as their DNA
breaks up. It may also prevent DNA damage in the first place. Here are corn
seedlings, the control is on the left, and then a little then a lot of a mutagenic
toxin which shrivels the poor things. But you add a little sap to the roots and
the effects of the toxin are blunted.

After all, a single drop of this stuff is equivalent to three apples' worth of
antioxidants. But unfortunately there were other tests not funded by a
company that sells it that showed in certain circumstances dragon's blood
could also cause DNA mutations.

So, the winner: for the most antioxidant-packed, non-contaminated, non-


mutagenic whole food on the planet: the dried Indian gooseberry powder
[amla].

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger
may be referring, watch the above video. This is transcript contributed by
Bruce A. Hamilton.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Doctor's Note!
In honor of the Chinese New Year (of the dragon)! 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. Be sure to check back for the other videos on
amla and don't miss all the videos where we rank foods. And there are 1,449
subjects covered in the rest of my videos–please feel free to explore them!

For some context, please check out my associated blog post, Acai to
Zucchini: antioxidant food rankings.

!
http://nutritionfacts.org/2012/01/25/acai-to-zucchini-antioxidant-food-
rankings/

Acai to Zucchini: antioxidant food rankings!


Written by: Michael Greger M.D. on January 25th, 2012

like
!
tweet
Tweeter

+1
!
In honor of Chinese New Year (of the dragon), today’s NutritionFacts.org
video-of-the-day Dragon’s Blood wraps up a ten-part series based on a
groundbreaking study that measured the total Antioxidant Content of 3,139
foods, beverages, herbs, and spices.

Antioxidant Power of Plant Foods Versus Animal Foods presents the best
bird’s eye view. Researchers separated out plant from animal products to
help deal with the overwhelming volume of data (138 pages worth) and see
what this amazing body of work has to say about what we should eat in
general.

For more specifics, see Best Berries, which compares hundreds of berries to
common fruits, and Better Than Green Tea?, which contrasts the antioxidant
power of popular rival beverages. Better Than Goji Berries and Dried Apples
Versus Cholesterol pick out the best dried fruits and Antioxidants in a Pinch
and A Better Breakfast can help one visualize the effects of adding just tiny
amounts of antioxidant-packed foods to our daily diets.

For some background on the role of antioxidants in disease prevention,


Mitochondrial Theory of Aging offers a quick primer. Some questions,
however, may remain:

• If antioxidants are so good for you, why not just take antioxidant
supplements? Find out why in Lutein, Lycopene, and Selenium Pills, Is
Vitamin D the New Vitamin E?, and Produce, Not Pills.

• Are there diminishing returns when it comes to whole food


antioxidants? Find out in Maxing Out on Antioxidants.

• What effect does cooking have? You might be surprised: Best Cooking
Method.

• How fast can the oxidative stresses of life deplete our body and how
long does it take us to restore our antioxidant levels? Find out in
Antioxidant Level Dynamics, where researchers use an argon laser to
measure human antioxidant levels in real time.

Just because a food can quench an oxidation reaction in a test tube, does
that necessarily mean it will do the same in our cells? Find out in tomorrow’s
video-of-the-day.  Is it really worth going out of our way to make higher
antioxidant choices? Isn’t it enough just to eat lots of fruits and vegetables—
does it really matter which ones? Find out on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday.
In other words—stay tuned to NutritionFacts.org! Keep up with my daily
videos by subscribing to the RSS feed, following on facebook or twitter, or
just checking back every morning around 8am Eastern.

In health,

- Michael Greger, M.D.

Image credit: geishaboy500 / Flickr

Tags: aging, animal foods, animal products, antioxidants, apples, argon


laser, berries, boiling, breakfast, cholesterol, cooking, Dragon's blood,
fruit, goji berries, Green tea, lutein, lycopene, microwaving,
mitochondria, oxidation, pills, plant foods, produce, raw, selenium,
steaming, stress, supplements, vegetables, vitamin D, vitamin E

!
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/maxing-out-on-antioxidants/

Transcript: Maxing Out on Antioxidants!


!
These phytonutrients are wonderful, but is there a concern that our bodies
can only absorb a certain amount of antioxidants at one time, so we should
kind of spread out our fruit and vegetable consumption. Like the law of
diminishing returns—maybe you absorb all the phytonutrients in that first
cup of strawberries, but if you eat two cups at one sitting, maybe absorption
kind of plateaus, so maybe it’s better to eat one cup now and the second in
a few hours. We finally have some data: is that fact, or fiction? 

Fiction. Here’s about one, two, and four cup strawberry “treatments” and the
more you eat, the more you benefit, with no end in sight.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger
may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the
audio contributed by veganmontreal.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

!
Doctor's Note!
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
theother 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!

For some context, please check out my associated blog posts: Acai to


Zucchini: antioxidant food rankings and Strawberries Can Reverse Cancer
Progression

Michael Greger M.D. NF Team • 3 years ago 



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!

For some context, please check out my associated blog post,
Acai to Zucchini: antioxidant food rankings.

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hsroex • 3 years ago 

I found an interesting article on strawberries and it is
overwhelming to see how many different nutrients and
phytochemicals are present in just a strawberry, even a decent
amount of fiber. 

http://www.nutritionjrnl.com/a...

Enjoy the berry and the article :)

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Toxins NF Team hsroex • 2 years ago 

 Thanks for the great link!

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Guest • 2 years ago 

I've found some articles online citing this study, I think, from
Kansas State. The articles claim this study says that too many
antioxidants can be a BAD thing. Thoughts?

http://ep.physoc.org/content/9...

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Toxins NF Team Guest • 2 years ago 

Keep in mind this study was done with rats, not humans and
the antioxidants were supplemented, and not obtained
through food. As of now, we know that humans need as
much antioxidants as one can consume through diet and
there are only benefits that come along with a high
antioxidant diet.

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Guest Toxins • 2 years ago 

Thanks!

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GilbowH Guest • 2 years ago 

I am curious of any negative effect of  Red Drink
Powder sold by Trader Joe's. It is a concentration
of 51 dried fruits, seeds, berries etc. No
supplements or chemicals added. It has many
times the anti-oxidants score that is found on
ORAC. I have not been able to determine who the
producer is. Does anyone have any info on this ?

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pprender • 2 years ago 

Could you please comment on the recent statement by James
Watson (DNA discoverer) that antioxidants can actually cause
cancer.

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Michael Greger M.D. NF Team pprender • 2 years ago 

The full-text of Jim Watson's article can be found here. As
you can see, he's talking about "antioxidative nutritional
supplements," something I've also warned about in videos
such as Antioxidant Vitamin Supplements, Some Dietary
Supplements May Be More Than a Waste of Money, Is
Vitamin D the New Vitamin E?, and Update on Vitamin E.
Whenever possible we should get our nutrients from
produce, not pills.

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Derrek • a year ago 

Can you eat too many fruits in a day or at a time? I heard eating
large amounts of fruit causes your liver to store some as fat. Is this
true? I just didn't want to eat too many fruits at one time if it had
negative effects. 

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Toxins NF Team Derrek • a year ago 

The fibers in fruit allow fructose to be slowly drawn to the
liver so it is not overwhelmed all at once. Eating a lot of fruit
is not a concern.

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Derrek • a year ago 

I get a yeast smell and don't eat hardly any processed food. Just
fruits and veggies. Should I lay off the fruit or what else would you
recommend as I'm vegan and eat lots of veggies? I also have
dandruff. Any advice?

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Lawrence Woodhams Derrek • 12 days ago 

I have the same problem for the last year. I think it started
when I bought a used car that was from the pacific
northwest. It had a funny sweet yeasty moldy smell, crushed
potato chips on the floor and mold on the ceiling. I used my
ozone generator to kill everything living in it but I drove it
home first and breathed that nasty spore into my sinuses. I
use Hydrogen peroxide at about .75 (less than 1) percent as
an irrigation (with nelli med irrigation bottle, and their saline
packet), every day or so to knock down the smell. It never
completely goes away though.

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breffni • 5 months ago 

Dr. Greger, please comment on this latest article of the possible
adverse effects of too much antioxidants http://www.nejm.org/doi/
full/1...

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Eric Salisbury • a month ago 

Well that is wonderful news! :)

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http://nutritionfacts.org/video/antioxidant-rich-foods-with-every-meal

Transcript: Antioxidant Rich Foods With Every Meal!


!
The postprandial state is a pro-oxidant state, meaning that after each meal free
radicals are produced as your body assimilates the food, and so you can't just
have that bowl of berries in the morning to meet your minimum daily antioxidant
needs and call it a day. Each and every meal should contain high antioxidant
foods, which, if you remember, means plants. Antioxidant rich foods originate from
the plant kingdom. This is due to the thousands of different natural antioxidant
compounds natural found in plant foods.

For example, consuming fruits, which are high in phenolic phytonutrients,


increases the antioxidant capacity of the blood, and when they are consumed with
the standard American diet high fat and refined carbohydrate ‘pro-oxidant and pro-
inflammatory’ meals, they may help counterbalance their negative effects. Given
the content and availability of fat and sugars in the Western diet, regular
consumption of phenolic-rich foods, particularly in conjunction with meals,
appears to be a prudent strategy to maintain oxidative balance and health.

And of all fruits, berries may be the best source. So for example here's the spike in
oxidation caused by a Mediterranean meal of pasta, tomato sauce, olive oil, and
fried fish. Obviously not enough tomatoes. Add a glass of red wine, which contains
berry phytonutrients from grapes, and we can bring down the level of oxidation,
but not blunt it completely. So the meal needs even more plants.

In this study they gave people standard breakfast items, resulting in lots of
oxidized cholesterol in their blood stream 1,2,3,4,5,6 hours after the meal. But all it
took was a cup of strawberries with that same breakfast to at least keep the meal
from contributing to further oxidation. Note though, without the strawberries, look
where you'll be at lunchtime. Let's say you ate a standard American breakfast at 6
am, then 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 o’clock, noon. If we didn’t eat that cup of strawberries with
breakfast, by the time lunch rolls around we'd already be starting out in the a
hyper-oxidized state and could just make things worse. Since western eating
patterns include eating multiple meals a day, including snacks, one can only
speculate on the level of biological unrest.

But, at least if you had some berries for breakfast you're starting out at baseline for
lunch. This acute protection is likely due to the antioxidant effects of the
strawberry phytonutrients.

Even better than baseline, how about your meal actually improving our antioxidant
status? Here's measuring the antioxidant level of one's bloodstream after a crappy
meal, it drops, using up your antioxidant stores, but eat a big bunch of red grapes
with the meal and the antioxidant level of our bloodstream goes up, your body is in
positive antioxidant balance for a few hours. Same thing after enough blueberries.
And imagine if in these ensuing hours before your next meal you were sipping
green tea, or hibiscus? You’d have this nice antioxidant surplus all day long.

What, according to the researchers, are the practical implications? These data
provide an interesting perspective for advising individuals on food choice when
consuming a moderate- to high-fat meal is unavoidable. Unavoidable? So what, if
you're like locked in a fast food joint or something? Well, then they suggest
chasing whatever you’re forced to eat with some berries. Reminds me of those
studies on smokers I talked about suggesting whose who smoke should eat lots of
kale and broccoli to reduce the oxidative damage to their DNA. Uh, they could
also, just not smoke.

In a single day, the systemic stress of all the fat in your blood and redox imbalance
(being in a mild pro-oxidant state after meals) may seem trivial. Over time,
however, these daily insults can lead to complicated atherosclerosis, contributing
to the hundreds of thousands of deaths a year.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may
be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio
contributed by Ariel Levitsky.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org.

!
Doctor's Note!
Here’s that kale video: Smoking Versus Kale Juice. You can also get DNA
Protection from Broccoli.

What do antioxidants have to do with heart disease? See The Power of NO.

I strive to eat berries every day and so should everyone else. See Best Berries for
the best fresh and Better Than Goji Berries for the best dried. If you’re still not
convinced check out the amazing findings in Strawberries versus Esophageal
Cancer and Black Raspberries versus Oral Cancer. Are organic berries preferable?
See Cancer Fighting Berries.

Instead of hibiscus you can sip whole cranberries. See Pink Juice with Green
Foam. If you are going to do wine, red is preferable (Breast Cancer Risk: Red Wine
vs. White Wine).

This is the third of a 3-part video series on practical tips to achieve optimum
“redox” (free radical versus antioxidant) balance. In Minimum Recommended Daily
Allowance of Antioxidants I tried to explain the why and how much and in How to
Reach the Antioxidant RDA I got into the nitty gritty of meal planning and
described how just reaching the minimum may not be sufficient.

If you haven't yet, you can subscribe to my videos for free by clicking here.

!
DGH • a year ago 

Off-topic, Dr Greger, but is there any data to suggest that what we
feed our children can cause malignancy later on in their adult
lives? I understand that childhood is the critical time for pro vs
anti-cancer nutrition, but I have been unable to find the
evidence.....

Thanks for your help.

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Merio DGH • a year ago 

i think that you got to look out in the field of nutrigenomics/
epigenetics... IMHO probably the maternal environment
could play a key role to avoid possible genotoxic effect on
the baby... want to write more, but out of time... best
regards...

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Darryl NF Team DGH • a year ago 

High childhood milk consumption has been associated with
adult colorectal cancer, and adolescent fat consumption with
premenopausal breast cancer.

Some diets may prevent malignancy later in life. The benefit
of soy phytoestrogens in breast cancer prevention may be
limited to consumption during puberty and just before.
There's a brief discussion in "5. Timing is Everything" of this
Nature editorial and in this Cornell brief.

As Merio noted, early epigenetic programming by diet is a
fascinating field.

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DGH Darryl • a year ago 

That's very helpful. Thank you very much.

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Christo Okulian DGH • a year ago 

True to Merio and Darryl. DH: in some aspect of
health, we learn from study video within this
website that cancer/tumor is one of the disease
that accumulative within our aging. if someone
gets cancer detection now it means the cancer
have been growing "rapidly" (because of bad life
style and diet so the body failed to fight back
effectively the cancer) started from 5-10 years
ago.

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Rachel DGH • a year ago 

Dr. Fuhrman talks a lot about this and has an entire book that
draws together the evidence linking childhood diet to cancer
and other health problems in adulthood. http://
www.drfuhrman.com/ask/a...

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John S • a year ago 

It seems like many of us should be growing berries and leafy
greens, because they are expensive in stores and they last longer
on the bush than when picked. Many leafy greens are weeds that
were originally brought here as nutritious vegetables, such as
dandelion, garlic mustard, sow thistle, plantain leaf, shot weed
(cress) and burnet salad. Nutritionists when checking them almost
always find them more nutritious than store bought vegetables.
Easy to grow? They are weeds! People are trying to kill them.

John S

PDX OR

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Val John S • 2 months ago 

John S, ever heard of the "dollar weed" or pennywort??? A
pervasive "weed" here in Florida...I ADORE it ...it is totally
edible and quite beneficial as long as it hasn't been sprayed
with herbicides! I love it when they grow alongside of my
arugula! EAT the WEEDS , folks!

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marge • a year ago 

I recently saw your video on milk negating the antioxidant value of
berries down to zero. Does your research still validate this view? If
so, how much time must pass between drinking milk or soy milk
and eating berries to get the full benefit of both? Is it also true for
the other milks such as almond milk?

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Darryl NF Team marge • a year ago 

See pages S78-80 ("Matrix effects") of this review of berry
flavonoids and phenolics. Some studies have shown
reduced absorption with milk, others no effect. Its suggested
that milk has a greater impact with moderate flavonoid
(regular) food than with some high flavonoid extracts used in
research.

It appears no research has been done with non-almond
polyphenols and almond milk. Another paper found addition
of cream delayed, but did not reduce, absorption of
strawberry flavonoids, and this may have some applicability
to almond milk, which like cream adds additional fat but
lesser amounts of protein.


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Catherine J Frompovich • a year ago 

Great information, except I would add that the strawberries be
organically grown since most commercial strawberry growers in
the USA can spray with methyl bromide, chloropicrin, and Telone
(1,3-D), which have their own pro-oxidative consequences
metabolically, especially in the liver and the immune system.

One other aspect that ought to be considered with regard to this
information is the effect(s) of genetically modified crops in the diet,
even though they are plants, have on the human organism, since
GMO crops are sprayed with inordinate amounts of the chemical
glyphosate. Please see this http://www.enveurope.com/conte...
Shouldn't we be eating LESS chemically-laden plant foods than
more, if we want to maintain optimum health, longer-lasting
telomeres, and less pro-oxidative stress?

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Broccoli Catherine J Frompovich • a year ago 

Thanks for the info....

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Darryl NF Team Catherine J Frompovich • a year ago 

Mutagenesis pioneer Bruce Ames believes we're far more
likely to develop cancer from micronutrient deficiencies in
folate, niacin, B6, B12, C, E, iron, zinc, and selenium, than
from dietary pesticide exposure (synthetic, natural source, or
the 99.9% intrinsic to plants).

While more sustainable low-input agriculture is possible,
most organic produce at supermarkets is still grown in
factory farm monocultures, substituting organic certified
chemicals for synthetic ones. Organic approved crop
protection chemicals are clearly safer than the persistent
synthetic compounds once used, but current "soft"
synthetics require fewer applications, and in some cases are
less toxic or persistent (1, 2, 3, 4).

It seems benefits from organic agriculture arise not from
greater nutrient content or consumer safety, but rather from
potentially reduced energy inputs and improved soil quality,
important goals for making the agriculture system more
sustainable.

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DGH Darryl • a year ago 

So you'd recommend against organic for the time
being, as minimization of "less toxic chemical
applications" cannot be guaranteed? Or am I mistaking
the overall implication? Certainly non-organic is far
cheaper!

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Darryl NF Team DGH • a year ago 

I just wanted to counter Catherine's statement
that non-organic vegetables are harmful. A lack of
organic options (not everyone lives near a health
food store) is not a good reason to avoid eating
plenty of vegetables, as the health benefits of
conventional produce appear to far outweigh any
risks. I largely agree with Christie Wilcox on the
comparative merits (1, 2). Sustainable, low-
chemical input agriculture is possible and
desirable, but the marketing category "organic"
will never be as informative as meeting your local
farmer.

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moomoo • a year ago 

Any thoughts on this recent study of heavy metals found in
brewed tea? 

http://www.hindawi.com/journal...

I love the antioxidants, but I've been long-brewing (at both cold
and hot temps) my tea for years. Now I wonder if I need to curb
my tea habit (or at least change my brewing time). No info on how
much metal leeches into cold-brewed tea.

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Darryl NF Team moomoo • a year ago 

When I looked into this, the main concern appeared to be
the manganese (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). Manganese is an essential
element, so there's no danger from low exposures, but
there's overlap between estimated safe levels and lowest
observable adverse effect levels. While a number of studies
have found adverse neurological (developmental and aging)
effects from rather low levels of manganese in drinking water,
there's been no research into the effects of other dietary
manganese, including tea.

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moomoo Darryl • a year ago 

I am more concerned about the high levels of lead and
aluminum.

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DGH Darryl • a year ago 

I was asking more about the personal cost-benefit
analysis of consuming organic produce - do you think
the benefits of improved health actually exceed the
steep costs of organic produce (in Canada, it seems
the organic produce is incredibly expensive, perhaps
because most of it is imported from down south).
Looking forward to your comments...

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Darryl NF Team DGH • a year ago 

I regularly purchase some organic produce (a
prewashed baby kale/chard/spinach mix is a
salad mainstay), but not exclusively. Recognized
nutrient content is similar, and I think most worries
about current generation crop chemicals or GMOs
are a distraction.

One can grow much more healthy produce.
Antioxidant phenol content is largely increased
through insect herbivory and abiotic stresses,
both of which would make conventional or
organic produce unmarketable. The insect bitten
leaf from a home garden may be the healthiest.

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DGH Darryl • a year ago 

I was not at all aware that synthetic
pesticides/herbicides/fungicides/insecticides
were quickly biodegradable.

I was however aware that there are many
native carcinogens and pesticides found in
plants; hence I have always been skeptical
about organic agribusiness claims of
"chemical-free" agriculture.

On balance, from what you've written, it
does not make much sense to purchase
organic produce, even for vegans who
consume an extremely large amount of
produce.

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Darryl NF Team DGH • a year ago 

Crop protection chemicals (whether
synthetic or natural sourced) are all
toxic, but ones in current use don't
persist in the environment and food
chain like the "Dirty Dozen" or "Nasty
Nine", now banned under the
Stockholm Convention on Persistent
Organic Pollutants. For example,
imidan and glyphosate (Roundup)
spontaneously degrade in water and
soil. The harm that was done during the
era of persistent organic pollutant
pesticides is exemplified by their
continued presence, even in organically
grown crops - around 1 part per billion
in root vegetables, 80% removed with
washing and peeling (1, 2, 3).

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Thea NF Team Darryl • a year ago 

Darryl:

Have you seen this
NutritionFacts.org video?:

http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

During 2 weeks of eating organic,
the pesticides in the kids' urine
dropped off dramatically. Of
course, one could argue that the
pesticides normally found in the
kids' urine are no problem. But I
can't imagine how it would be
harmless.

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Darryl NF Team Thea • a year ago 

From the EPA decision on
chlorpyrifos (the
predominant
organophosphate found in
that study):

• occupational exposure is a
concern, with high (eg
accidental) doses
overstimulating the nervous
system causing nausea,
dizziness and confusion.

• dietary exposures are
lower than 0.01% of the
lowest adverse effect
chronic dosage from animal
studies.

And from this review,
chlorpyrifos is not
carcinogenic, and doesn't
appear to affect human
neurodevelopment (when
measured by urinary
metabolites). As for
enviromental effects, while
chlorpyrifos considered
moderately toxic when fed
to animals, it binds soil
tightly, doesn't runoff easily
or enter plant roots, and
degrades in soil under field
conditions with a half-life of
33 to 56 days.

For comparison, currently
approved (in the U.S.)
organic pesticides pyrethins
have lower acute toxicity but
appears carcinogenic, while
rotenone is linked to
Parkinson's in farm workers.
We should wash our organic
veggies, too.

Not all organophosphates
are as apparently innocuous
in the diet as chlorpyrifos (I'd
worry more about termite
control applications), nor are
all chemicals approved for
organic agriculture as
problematic as the pyrethins
or rotenone. All I can say is a
priori judgements based on
marketing labels aren't so
simple.

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Thea NF Team Darryl • a year
ago 

Darryl: All good points.
I believe I understand
what you are saying
and agree to a point. I
certainly "fear" eggs far
more than I would fear
a conventionally grown
say mellon. However, I
wouldn't dismiss your
first bullet. For me,
that's important too.

Also, while I think I
understand your point,
I think that going
organic is likely to give
overall advantages. In
other words, I would
guess that stacking up
a random sampling of
organic produce
against a random
sampling of
"conventional" produce
would show the
organic to be less toxic
over all. I don't know
that. I just believe it.

So for me, buying
organic when I can
does this: 1) sends a
message to the
capitalists that I care
about food safety and
the environment
(regardless of whether
they have actually
made it safer by
growing organic or
not)--hopefully leading
to better decisions by
those people in the
future, 2) helped the
farmers who actually
work with my food, 3)
possibly helped my
health.

That's really the best I
can do at this point in
my life. I'm not
interested in being a
farmer myself or
lobbying or grilling
local farmers, etc.

Thanks for your
thoughts.

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Marie S moomoo • a year ago 

I'm already concerned about tea because it's high fluoride
content may be slowly poisoning me and interfering with
iodine absorption and utilization. Thanks for posting the final
nail.

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nc54 Marie S • a year ago 

white tea is low in flouride

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jack • a year ago 

Seems to me that much of this topic is still speculative. Most of
the results come from measuring antioxidant effects in a piece of
laboratory equipment, a machine rather then the effects in the
human body. It could be that antioxidants have no real effect in
the human body, or if they do, it's because of other properties
they have other than being antioxidant. Just the same, I find
myself eating lots of berries, beans, greens, mushrooms, garlic,
onions, broccoli, yams, apples and other vegetables and fruits.

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Nancy • a year ago 

All the conflicting dietary advicde from different people with
different points of view can get very confusing! What is your
reacttion to those who claim that fruits and vegetables should not
be combined at the same meal beczause it imp[edes digestion
and absorbtions

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Petra • a year ago 

Hello Dr. Greger, I love your videos, educational and funny!

I am wondering about antioxidant rich foods, you mentioned
berries like strawberries and blueberries are very high in
antioxidants. But I was wondering about the pesticide load on
them, from all I know strawberries are sprayed with hundreds of
chemicals and I suppose the same goes for blueberries. Buying
organic is out of the question for me, considering the price of the
berries. I used to pick blackberries and freeze them for the winter,
will do that again. Those are never sprayed on, they are actual a
bad weed around here. 

Thanks again for all the info you are giving us!

Petra

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Thea NF Team Petra • a year ago 

Petra: I think I know where you live! Northwest America?
That's where I live and blackberries are considered a weed
here. (And they are in the sense of how they grow and take
over.)

As for your question: Dr. Greger has a great blog post where
he puts pesticide consumption into perspective. :

"A new study calculated that if half the U.S. population ate
just one more serving of conventional fruits and vegetables,
20,000 cases of cancer could be prevented. At the same
time the added pesticide consumption could cause up to 10
extra cancer cases. So by eating conventional produce we
may get a tiny bump in cancer risk, but that’s more than
compensated by the dramatic drop in risk that accompanies
whole food plant consumption. Even if all we had to eat was
the most contaminated produce the benefits would far
outweigh any risks."

from: http://nutritionfacts.org/2013...

I translate this bit of info into: Eat organic when you can, but
don't stress about it when you can't.

Happily, there is a way to take this advice a step further to
minimize your risks without completely depleting the
pocketbook. Every year, the Environmental Working Group
actually measures pesticide levels in fruits and veggies--after
those fruits and veggies have been prepared in the way
people would normally eat them. (For example, peeling a
banana or washing first.) If you scroll down on the following
page, you will see a list for the "Dirty Dozen" and the "Clean
Fifteen".

http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/su...

I bring your attention to these lists because I think they are
very helpful for people who can't afford to eat organic for
everything. You could use these lists to help you decide
when it is worth putting down money for organic and when it
might be safer to buy non-organic.

One more thought for you: I would say that eating in the
season is a good idea. So if you want to eat berries year-
round (also a good idea), I personally would eat frozen
berries rather than the fresh that is available in the middle of
winter. Why? Because it is my understanding that frozen
berries are picked when they are grown naturally and still
have most of their nutrients and then are flash frozen,
retaining those nutrients. Fresh this time of year I would think
would have to travel long distances...

I hope this helps!

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ak017 • a year ago 

Grading food just by antioxidant content is reductionism and

may be misleading. Onion, garlic and flax – not high on the charts,
especially

when accounted for their serving size, are nevertheless healthy.

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Cyndy • a year ago 

Red Tea. How does Rooibos tea stack up with the others for
antioxidant benefit? It's my favorite!

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Paul Cyndy • a year ago 

Great question, I wondered the same thing myself. This is the
perfect video for us: http://nutritionfacts.org/vide...

Red tea appears to be top-tier for anti-oxidants but the best
one is pretty surprising and I've never tried it (yet!) myself.

Here are more videos on red tea if the first video didn't
completely satisfy your thirst: http://nutritionfacts.org/topi...

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Tobias Brown • 10 months ago 

What foods in an excellent plant-based whole foods diet delivery
the highest oxidative stress load? And I mean for those of us who
don't use oils.

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Karl • 3 months ago 

Ok, add some amla to green tea and then you'll get that great
taste you get when you drink commercial brand like "honest T". I
swear that's what they add anyway. All they say for ingredients is
"natural flavor to balance acidity." For the green tea steep it in
warm water... like 130 degrees farenheight. Wait about 10 minutes
and squeeze the heck out of the tea bags. Use stevia with the
amla and ice it.

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Peep Matts • 2 months ago 

i am regularily stuck in a plane - since 24 years...so it is easy not
to get the right food, especially if you are a vegan. i will drink
hibiscus tea now, because green tea i can only drink after my
break.

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Natalie Mckee • 2 months ago 

Hi I take jp capsules which have high antioxidents in them. Do
they count?

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joe • 12 days ago 

is there a list of the top antioxidant foods. say the top 20?

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unf13 • 6 days ago 

I wonder can we make use of frozen berries? Do the preserve all
the antioxidants?

!
!
!
!
Antioxidantien schützen unsere Zellen
zentrum der Gesundheit Sie befinden sich hier: interessante Artikel »
Gesundheit
!
(Zentrum der Gesundheit) - Freie Radikale stehen am Anfang vieler
Gesundheitsbeschwerden. Sie greifen unsere Zellen an und können
diese funktionsuntüchtig machen. Je mehr Zellen eines Organs auf
diese Weise geschädigt werden, umso schlechter geht es dem
betreffenden Organ. Krankheiten treten auf. Die Zellschäden durch
freie Radikale können auch zu Entartungen der Zelle führen. Krebs
ist die Folge. Antioxidantien können die Zellen vor freien Radikalen
schützen. Welche Antioxidantien besonders zuverlässig schützen
und in welchen Lebensmitteln sie enthalten sind, lesen Sie jetzt!

! ©
Serghei Velusceac - Fotolia.com
!
Freie Radikale attackieren Zellen
Freie Radikale sind sauerstoffhaltige Moleküle, die gefährlich instabil sind, weil
ihnen in ihrer chemischen Struktur ein Elektron fehlt. Sie sind unvollständig. Also
suchen sie nach einem passenden Elektron, um wieder vollständig zu werden.
Bei dieser Suche nach einem geeigneten Bindungspartner gehen freie Radikale sehr
rücksichtslos und vor allem sehr eilig vor. Wenn ein freies Radikal entsteht, so
dauert es rekordverdächtige 10-11 Sekunden (0,00000000001 Sekunden), bis es ein
beliebiges Opfer attackiert.

Aggressiv entreisst es dem nächstbesten intakten Molekül (z. B. Molekülen der


Zellmembran, Proteinen oder der DNA) das von ihm benötigte Elektron. Dieser
Elektronen-Raub wird Oxidation genannt. Da Oxidationen – sobald sie das
erträgliche Ausmass übersteigen - den Körper belasten, spricht man von oxidativem
Stress.

Freie Radikale und ihre Folgen für den


Organismus
Dem bestohlenen Molekül fehlt nun seinerseits ein Elektron. So wird es nun selbst
ebenfalls zum freien Radikal und begibt sich auf die Suche nach einem Opfer, dem
es ein Elektron rauben könnte. Auf diese Weise wird eine gefährliche Kettenreaktion
in Gang gesetzt. Hohe Konzentrationen von freien Radikalen können folglich
zahllose Kettenreaktionen auslösen, was letztendlich zu einem hohen Mass an
oxidativem Stress und somit zu den folgenden massiven Schäden im Körper führen
kann:

• Eingeschränkte Zellfunktionen oder Zelltod durch Membranschäden


• DNA-Schäden mit der Folge einer unkontrollierten Zellteilung (Entstehung
von Krebs)
• Inaktivierung von Enzymen
• Verminderte Bildung körpereigener Eiweisse
• Zerstörung von Rezeptoren an der Zelloberfläche: Rezeptoren sind
spezifische Proteine an der Zelloberfläche, in die – nach dem Schlüssel-
Schloss-Prinzip – passende Hormone, Enzyme oder andere Stoffe andocken
können. Durch dieses Andocken wird ein bestimmtes Signal an die Zelle
übermittelt. Zellen besitzen zum Beispiel Rezeptoren für das Hormon Insulin.


Wenn Insulin an diese Rezeptoren bindet, bekommt die Zelle das Signal zur
Glucose-Aufnahme. Das Schlüssel-Schloss-Prinzip ist hierbei wie eine Art
Code, der sicherstellen soll, dass nur bestimmte Substanzen an den
entsprechenden Rezeptor binden können und auch nur "autorisierte" Stoffe
in die Zellen transportiert werden. Substanzen (z. B. Toxine), die keinen
"Schlüssel" besitzen, bleibt der Zutritt in die Zellen verwehrt. Freie Radikale
können Rezeptoren zerstören und somit die Signalübermittlung verhindern.
Sind beispielsweise die Rezeptoren für Insulin zerstört, erhält die betreffende
Zelle keine Glucose, also keinen Brennstoff mehr und stirbt.
Schäden durch freie Radikale
Müde Haut, Krampfadern und Bluthochdruck
Konkret äussern sich diese Schäden durch freie Radikale beispielsweise in einer
faltigen und grauen Haut, der jede Spannkraft fehlt, in Venenschwäche und
Krampfadern, da freie Radikale auch Blutgefässe schädigen. Letzteres kann sich
ausserdem in Bluthochdruck und anderen Herz-Kreislauf-Problemen äussern.

Augenprobleme
Werden die feinen Gefässe der Augen beeinträchtigt, kommt es dort zu
Degenerationserscheinungen und einer reduzierten Sehkraft.

Schlaganfall und Demenz


Greifen die freien Radikale die Gefässe des Gehirns an, kann das über kurz oder
lang zu einem Schlaganfall führen. Sind die Nerven im Gehirn Ziel der Attacken,
dann verschlechtert dies die mentale Aufmerksamkeit und kann Demenz
begünstigen.

Gelenkbeschwerden
Freie Radikale können das Kollagen im Knorpelgewebe angreifen und dessen
molekulare Struktur beeinträchtigen, was zu Gelenkbeschwerden wie Arthritis
führen kann.

Krebs
Wird die DNA der Zellen von freien Radikalen beschädigt, dann kann es zur sog.
Entartung der Zelle kommen. Wenn jetzt die körpereigenen Mechanismen, die diese
fehlgeleitete Zelle aus dem Verkehr ziehen sollten, versagen, kann sich diese Zelle
vermehren und ein Tumor entwickelt sich: Krebs.

Diese kleine Auswahl an den möglichen zerstörerischen Wirkungen von freien


Radikalen zeigt, dass es kein einziges Beschwerdebild geben wird, an dessen
Entstehung freie Radikale NICHT beteiligt wären.

Antioxidantien – Helfer in höchster Not


Nur ein Antioxidant (auch Radikalfänger genannt) kann die Kettenreaktionen der
freien Radikale unterbrechen und auf diese Weise Zellschäden abwenden.

Bevor die freien Radikale also ein Elektron aus einer Zellmembran oder von einem
wichtigen Körperprotein an sich reissen, springen die Antioxidantien ein und geben
dem freien Radikal freiwillig eines ihrer Elektronen ab. Antioxidantien geben ihre
Elektronen also sehr viel leichter ab, als das eine Zellmembran oder eine DNA tut.

Auf diese Weise bleiben die Körperzellen geschützt, wenn ausreichend


Antioxidantien vorhanden sind.

Ein Antioxidant sorgt auf zweierlei Wegen dafür, dass die Zellen des Körpers vor
Angriffen der freien Radikale verschont bleiben:

• Antioxidantien geben freiwillig Elektronen ab, um Zellen zu schützen.


• Antioxidantien werden selbst nie zu einem freien Radikal bzw. werden –
nachdem sie ein Elektron abgegeben haben - sofort wieder in ihre
antioxidative Form gebracht und sorgen auf diese Weise für ein abruptes
Ende der gefährlichen Kettenreaktion. Wenn beispielsweise der Antioxidant
Vitamin E ein Radikal inaktiviert hat, wird er kurzfristig selbst zum freien
Radikal, dem sog. Vitamin-E-Radikal. Dieses aber kann niemals negative
Auswirkungen haben, da es sofort wieder von Vitamin C in seine
ursprüngliche Form gebracht wird, damit es erneut als Antioxidant fungieren
kann. Diese Regeneration des Vitamin-E-Radikals ist eine der wichtigsten
Aufgaben des Vitamin C.
Freie Radikale in der Urzeit
Freie Radikale haben einen schlechten Ruf und es scheint, als müssten wir uns auf
nichts mehr konzentrieren als darauf, sie auszumerzen.

In Wirklichkeit jedoch gibt es freie Radikale so lange (oder länger) wie es Leben auf
der Erde gibt. Tier und Pflanze hatten längst eine Menge Radikalfänger-Strategien
entwickelt, als sich unsere Vorfahren noch brüllend von Ast zu Ast zu schwangen.
Damals bestand noch nicht die Notwendigkeit, sich aktiv und bewusst um freie
Radikale zu kümmern.

• Erstens existierten seinerzeit nicht annähernd so viele Risikofaktoren, die zur


Entstehung einer derart ungebührlichen Menge freier Radikale führen
könnten wie heute (zu den Risikofaktoren siehe weiter unten),
• zweitens war die Lebensweise deutlich gesünder (weniger Dauerstress,
ausgewogene Bewegung, mehr Sonnenlicht etc.) und
• drittens lieferte die Ernährung eine sehr grosse Anzahl an Antioxidantien, so
dass ein möglicher Freie-Radikale-Überschuss im Nu erledigt war.
Freie Radikale in der Neuzeit
Heute ist die Situation eine ganz andere. Menschen rauchen, trinken Alkohol, essen
Junk Food, leben in Ballungszentren mit hohem Verkehrsaufkommen und
entsprechend hoher Abgasbelastung, sind – so wie es scheint – alle 25 Jahre einem
radioaktiven Super-Gau ausgesetzt und nehmen gegen jedes noch so kleine Ziepen
Medikamente ein.

Vorsichtigen Schätzungen zufolge soll jede einzelne unserer 100 Billionen


Körperzellen jeden Tag mittlerweile von mehreren Tausend freien Radikalen
attackiert werden. Es sind also grosse Mengen Antioxidantien nötig, um das
"radikale" Heer in seine Schranken zu verweisen.

Leider sind wir heute jedoch nicht nur immer mehr freien Radikalen ausgesetzt,
sondern frönen gleichzeitig einer Ernährungsweise, die immer weniger
Antioxidantien enthält und den Körper aufgrund ihrer Schädlichkeit noch mit
zusätzlichen freien Radikalen belastet.

Antioxidantien in der Nahrung


Während die moderne Ernährung auf der Basis von Getreide, Milch und Fleisch die
Nährstoffe, Proteine, Kohlenhydrate und Fette in Hülle und Fülle liefert, sind
Antioxidantien dort nur dünn gesät. Die Menschen werden also immer draller,
gleichzeitig aber auch immer kränker.

Was fehlt, ist eine reiche Auswahl an vielen verschiedenen Gemüse- und
Keimlingen, Früchten und an Wildpflanzen, an naturbelassenen Ölen und Fetten
sowie an Ölsaaten und Nüssen. Alle diese Lebensmittel sind optimale und
reichhaltige Quellen wertvoller Antioxidantien. Eine Ernährung auf Grundlage
von BIO-Lebensmitteln schützt daher vor Krankheit und vorzeitiger Alterung.

Freie Radikale können auch hilfreich sein


Freie Radikale sind jedoch nicht immer und unbedingt schlecht. Wie so oft macht
auch hier die Menge den Unterschied zwischen gut und böse.

So produziert unser Körper nämlich bei ganz alltäglichen Aktionen selbst sehr viele
freie Radikale:

Bei der Zellatmung


Unsere Zellen brauchen ständig Sauerstoff zur Energieproduktion. Als
Nebenprodukt entstehen dabei auch freie Radikale - umso mehr, je höher die
Energieproduktion im Körper ist. Die Energieproduktion verändert sich je nach
Bedarf. So steigt sie beispielsweise in Stresssituationen, im Sport oder bei
Krankheit. Folglich lassen u. a. diese drei Faktoren die Zahl der freien Radikale
natürlicherweise anwachsen.
Bei Immunreaktionen
Freie Radikale entstehen überdies nicht nur als Nebenprodukt mancher
Körperfunktionen. Sie werden von unserem Organismus – genauer gesagt von
unserem Immunsystem - zu einem ganz bestimmten Zweck produziert. Freie
Radikale können nämlich nicht nur gesunde Körperstrukturen angreifen, sondern
sind in der Lage, ganz gezielt Krankheitserreger wie aggressive Bakterien oder
Viren zu zerstören oder akute Entzündungsprozesse einzudämmen. Hier sind freie
Radikale also erwünscht und nützlich.

Welche äusseren Einflüsse lassen im Körper


freie Radikale entstehen?
Folgende Faktoren jedoch erhöhen die Zahl der freien Radikale im Organismus um
ein Vielfaches der erwünschten und nützlichen Menge, so dass der menschliche
Körper der Neuzeit unter einem Dauerbeschuss mit freien Radikalen zu leiden hat:

• Chemikalien und Lösungsmittel


• Luftverschmutzung durch Verkehr, Industrie und Haushalte
• Schädliche Lebensmittel z. B. industriell verarbeitete Fette oder Zucker
• Lebensmittelzusatzstoffe wie Konservierungsstoffe, Farbstoffe, Aromen, etc.
• Rückstände von Pflanzenschutzmitteln (Herbizide, Fungizide und Pestizide) in
Lebensmitteln
• Radioaktive und elektromagnetische Strahlung
• Übertriebene Sonnenbäder
• Zigarettenrauch: Bis zu 1.000.000.000.000.000 (= 1000 Billionen) freie
Radikale sollen bei einem einzigen Zug im Körper des Rauchers entstehen.
Lesen Sie auch: Wie werde ich zum Nichtraucher
• Alkohol
• Medikamente und Drogen
• Körperpflegeprodukte aus synthetischen Rohstoffen uvm.
Schützen Sie sich mit Antioxidantien
Für den modernen Menschen, der ständig von all diesen Einflüssen umgeben ist,
ergibt sich folglich die dringende Notwendigkeit, sich aktiv vor freien Radikalen zu
schützen, indem er für einen gleich bleibend hohen Antioxidantien-Status sorgt.

Antioxidantienreiche Lebensmittelgruppen
Zum Teil kann der Organismus selbst Antioxidantien in Form von Enzymen
herstellen. Der weitaus grössere Teil an Antioxidantien wird jedoch mit der Nahrung
aufgenommen. Weiter oben wurden bereits die besonders antioxidantienreichen
Lebensmittelgruppen erwähnt. Hier noch einmal eine Übersicht:
• Gemüse
• Salate
• Kräuter
• Früchte
• Sprossen, z. B. Linsensprossen, Sonnenblumenkernsprossen,
Brokkolisprossen, Gerstenprossen, Weizensprossen etc.
• Wildpflanzen, z. B. Löwenzahn, Vogelmiere, Melde, Giersch etc.
• Ölsaaten und Nüsse
• Naturbelassene Öle und Fette
Lesen Sie auch: Bio-Lebensmittel – Mehr Antioxidantien, weniger Giftstoffe

Welche Antioxidantien gibt es?


Was kommt Ihnen beim Wort "Antioxidantien" als erstes in den Sinn? Vitamin C?
Vitamin C ist ein Antioxidant. Das stimmt. Doch ist seine antioxidative Wirkung
nicht annähernd so überwältigend, wie man aufgrund seines Rufes glauben könnte.

Ein Apfel etwa enthält 10 Milligramm Vitamin C, aber seine antioxidative Wirkung
ist um ein Vielfaches grösser. Sie ist so gross, dass in ihm – käme die antioxidative
Wirkung allein vom Vitamin C – 2.250 Milligramm Vitamin C enthalten sein
müssten, was aber nicht der Fall ist.

Also sind im Apfel offenbar noch eine Menge anderer Stoffe enthalten, die sehr viel
stärkere antioxidative Wirkung haben als das Vitamin C. Zu dieser stark wirksamen
Truppe gehören beispielsweise die Enzyme und die zu den sekundären
Pflanzenstoffen gehörenden Polyphenole (z. B. Flavonoide, Anthocyane, Isoflavone
etc.)

Die fünf grossen Gruppen der wirksamsten


Antioxidantien sind
• Vitamine
• Mineralien
• Spurenelemente
• Enzyme
• Sekundäre Pflanzenstoffe (auch bioaktive Pflanzenstoffe oder
Phytochemikalien genannt), die ursprünglich deshalb von einer Pflanze oder
Frucht gebildet wurden, um diese Pflanze oder Frucht vor Pilzbefall, vor
Insekten oder vor UV-Bestrahlung zu schützen. Andere antioxidativ wirksame
sekundäre Pflanzenstoffe sind die Farbstoffe der Pflanze, die Blüten, Blätter
oder Früchte färben. Im menschlichen Organismus können diese pflanzlichen
Antioxidantien dabei helfen, gesund und munter zu bleiben.
Die TOP TEN der Antioxidantien
Nachfolgend die bekanntesten und/oder wirkungsvollsten Antioxidantien

1. Vitamin E und Vitamin C


Zur Vitamin-E-Familie gehören neben dem bekannten alpha-Tocopherol (in
Pflanzenölen wie z. B. Weizenkeimöl) auch die sog. Tocotrienole, die eine bis zu 40-
fach stärkere antioxidative Wirkung als alpha-Tocopherol haben sollen (zumindest
in-vitro).

Tocotrienole kommen besonders in rotem Palmöl, aber auch in Kokosöl vor.

Vitamin C – als eines der bekanntesten Antioxidantien – kann die freien Radikale
leicht abfangen und neutralisieren.

Vitamin C findet sich natürlich in vielen Früchten und Gemüsearten, wie z. B.


Zitrusfrüchte und Paprika.

Besonders vitamin-C-reich sind hingegen die folgenden Früchte:

Die Hagebutte, der Sanddorn und die Acerolakirsche, die es auch als ganzheitliches
Nahrungsergänzungsmittel in Pulverform gibt.

2. Spurenelemente wie Selen, Eisen und Zink


Spurenelemente wie Selen, Eisen und Zink wirken erst dann antioxidativ, wenn sie
als Bestandteile von Enzymen agieren können.

Das selenhaltige Enzym Glutathionperoxidase zum Beispiel ist ein wesentlicher


Faktor des körpereigenen Abwehrsystems gegen freie Radikale und schützt
insbesondere die Zellwände.

3. OPC aus dem Traubenkern


OPC aus z. B. Traubenkernen oder der Haut und den Schalen von Früchten (OPC ist
die Abkürzung für Oligomere Proanthocyanidine): OPC besteht aus sekundären
Pflanzenstoffen aus der grossen Gruppe der Flavonoide.

Das antioxidative Potential von OPC ist knapp 20 mal grösser als jenes von Vitamin
C und 50 mal grösser als jenes von Vitamin E.
OPC verstärkt ausserdem die antioxidative Kraft von Vitaminen und umgekehrt.
Beide – OPC und Vitamine – wirken also synergetisch und heizen sich gegenseitig
im Kampf gegen die freien Radikale zu immer neuen Höchstleistungen an.

4. Anthocyane aus der Aroniabeere


Anthocyane gehören ebenfalls zu den Flavonoiden und stellen hier die Untergruppe
der blauen oder violettfarbenen natürlichen Farbstoffe in Pflanzen dar, z. B. in
Beeren, in vielen Blüten, in der Schale von Auberginen, blauen Trauben, Kirschen
etc.

Die Aroniabeere ist jedoch die Frucht mit einem der höchsten Anthocyangehalte.

Die tiefblaue Beere kann sehr einfach in die tägliche Ernährung integriert werden.

Dabei ist es nicht so wichtig, ob Sie nun jeden Tag ein Gläschen Aroniasaft trinken
oder die (eingeweichten) getrockneten Aroniabeeren in Müsli, Joghurt oder
Smoothies rühren – Hauptsache, Sie nutzen die Kraft der Aroniabeere regelmässig.

Ideal ist auch eine Aronia-Kur über 3 Monate, z. B. in den Wintermonaten, um vor
Infektionen geschützt zu bleiben oder im Sommer (am besten gemeinsam mit einer
Astaxanthin-Kur), um Ihre Haut von innen heraus vor den möglicherweise
negativen Auswirkungen zu hoher Sonnenbestrahlung zu schützen.

5. Glutathion und SOD


Glutathion ist ein sog. Tripeptid (d. h. es besteht aus drei Aminosäuren) und gilt als
eines der stärksten bekannten (auch körpereigenen) Antioxidantien und als ein
beliebtes Anti-Aging-Mittel.

Abgesehen davon, dass es freie Radikale ausschalten und DNA-Reparatur-Prozesse


einleiten kann, hat Glutathion die Aufgabe, Vitamin C – wenn dieses bereits ein
freies Radikal inaktiviert hat und nicht mehr als Antioxidans agieren kann – wieder
in seine antioxidative und damit aktive Form zu verwandeln.

Die Superoxid-Dismutase hingegen ist ein Enzym, das – gemeinsam mit der
Glutathionperoxidase – zum Kern des körpereigenen Abwehr- und
Entgiftungssystems gehört und ein äusserst starkes Antioxidans ist. SOD kann vom
Körper findet sich z. B. im Gerstengras.
6. Allicin aus Knoblauch
Knoblauch, Lauch, Zwiebeln gehört zu den schwefelhaltigen sekundären
Pflanzenstoffen, den sog. Sulfiden und ist bekannt für seine gefässschützende
Wirkung, um Arteriosklerose und damit Herzinfarkt und Schlaganfall vorzubeugen.

7. Carotinoide
Carotinoide bezeichnen rote oder orangefarbene Pflanzenfarbstoffe, die jedoch
auch in grünem Gemüse vorkommen können. Zu den Carotinoiden gehören:

Beta-Carotin
Beta-Carotin schützt die Zellmembrane und die Blutgefässe, so dass es dort nicht
zu arteriosklerotischen Cholesterin-Ablagerungen kommen kann. Spitzenreiter in
Sachen Beta-Carotin ist der Grünkohl, dicht gefolgt von Karotten, Wirsing, Dill und
Feldsalat

Lutein und Zeaxanthin


Diese beiden Carotinoide kommen im menschlichen Körper besonders in der
Netzhaut sowie im Gelben Fleck des Auges vor.

Der Gelbe Fleck ist jene Stelle in der Netzhautmitte, an der die höchste Sehschärfe
erreicht wird. Beide Carotinoide arbeiten im Auge u. a. als Antioxidantien und
neutralisieren freie Radikale, die durch das eintreffende Licht erzeugt werden.
Lutein und Zeaxanthin können vom Körper nicht hergestellt werden, müssen also in
Form von Früchten und Gemüse verspeist werden. Je mehr Lutein und Zeaxanthin
in der Ernährung enthalten sind, umso besser scheinen die Augen vor
altersbedingten Augenkrankheiten wie Makuladegeneration und Grauer Star
geschützt zu sein.

Auch die Sehschärfe hängt von der Versorgung mit diesen beiden Carotinoiden ab.
Je mehr Lutein und Zeaxanthin verspeist werden, umso besser sieht man. Die
beiden Carotinoide sind besonders in Spinat und Kohl enthalten, aber auch in vielen
anderen Gemüse- und Obstsorten.

Lycopin
Lycopin finden wir besonders in Tomaten, rosa Grapefruit und Papaya. Lycopin ist
jenes Antioxidans dem schützende und heilende Wirkung bei Prostatakrebs
nachgesagt wird.

Astaxanthin
Wussten Sie, dass Sie sich umso länger gefahrlos in der Sonne aufhalten können, je
besser Sie mit Antioxidantien versorgt sind? Sonnenschutzmittel enthalten in den
meisten Fällen gesundheitsschädliche Chemikalien sowie Rohstoffe, die die Haut
mehr belasten als ihr nützen.

Des Weiteren verhindern sie die Vitamin-D-Produktion in der Haut – und das, wo
ein Grossteil der Bevölkerung unter einem chronischen Vitamin-D-Mangel leidet, der
die Anfälligkeit für äusserst ernsthafte Krankheiten wie z. B. Krebs oder Multiple
Sklerose deutlich erhöhen kann.

Eine sehr viel bessere Lösung, um die Haut vor Sonnenbrand und Hautkrebs zu
schützen, ist dagegen die adäquate Versorgung des Körpers mit einer
antioxidantienreichen Ernährung. Denn wenn die Zellen des Körpers von einer
ganzen Armee aus Antioxidantien beschützt werden, haben freie Radikale, die
durch die Sonneneinstrahlung entstehen, keine Chance mehr, die Zellen zu
schädigen. Es kommt – die langsame Gewöhnung der Haut an die Sonne
selbstverständlich vorausgesetzt – weder zu Sonnenbrand noch zu Hautkrebs.

Nicht die Sonne ist hier also der Bösewicht, sondern Junk Food in Verbindung mit
"Stubenhockerei" und einer daraufhin plötzlichen und unvorbereiteten
Sonnenexposition. Das in bestimmten Algen oder auch in manchen (rosafarbenen)
Fischarten und Meeresfrüchten vorkommende Antioxidans Astaxanthin hat einen
besonders schützenden Einfluss auf die Haut und gilt als "natürliches
Sonnenschutzmittel", wenn es rechtzeitig (mindestens vier Wochen) vor dem
Sommer oder Urlaub eingenommen wird – idealerweise kombiniert mit einer
Aronia-Kur (siehe 4.).

8. Flavonoide
Diese Stoffe gehören zu den Flavonoiden und befinden sich in nahezu allen
Gemüse- und Früchtearten. In grossen Mengen jedoch sind sie in Zitrusfrüchten, in
Opuntien (den Früchten des Feigenkaktusses), in Petersilie, in Zwiebeln, Sellerie,
Paprika, aber auch in Grüntee und Kakao (letzterer z. B. in milchfreier Bio-
Bitterschokolade oder in einer Schokoladen-Mandelmilch, Rezept finden Sie hier.)

Isoflavone – die bekannten Phytoöstrogene – gehören ebenfalls zur grossen


Gruppe der Flavonoiden. Sie sind besonders in Leinsaat und Sojaprodukten, aber
auch in Linsen, Hanf und Haferflocken zu finden.

9. Phenolsäuren aus Granatapfel


Ganz besonders antioxidativ wirksam erwies sich die Phenolsäure namens
Ellagsäure im Granatapfel.

Ebenfalls bedeutende Mengen an Phenolsäuren finden sich im Zistrosentee oder in


Beerenobst, Kirschen, Trauben, Kohlarten, Lauch, Blattsalaten, Ananas, Paprika,
Karotten, Tomaten, Linsen, Gerste und Nüssen.

Weiterführende Informationen zur Wirkung von Granatäpfeln, insbesondere bei


Pilzinfektionen finden Sie hier.

10. Sulforaphan aus Brokkoli


Sulforaphan hat sich in Studien wirksam gegen Krebs und Arthritis erwiesen. Der
Stoff kommt in Kreuzblütengewächsen wie Brokkoli (besonders in dessen
Keimlingen), Blumenkohl, Rosenkohl, Radieschen, Weisskohl, Rotkohl, Kohlrabi,
Meerrettich, Rucola, Kresse und Senf vor und ist am charakteristischen scharfen
Geschmack dieser Gemüse beteiligt.

Sulforaphan ist ein antioxidativ wirksamer Stoff, der nicht selbst Elektronen abgibt
und dadurch inaktiviert werden würde, sondern stattdessen körpereigene
Entgiftungsenzyme in der Leber aktiviert. Diese Enzyme neutralisieren (u. a.
krebserregende) freie Radikale, so dass diese keine Zellschäden mehr verursachen
können. Hier erfahren Sie mehr über "Brokkoli gegen Krebs".

Ihre Ausbildung zum ganzheitlichen


Ernährungsberater?
Ihnen gefällt das Ernährungskonzept des Zentrums der Gesundheit? Sie möchten
gerne detailliert wissen, wie Sie für sich und Ihre Familie eine rundum gesunde
Ernährung gestalten können? Oder möchten Sie vielleicht Ihrem Berufsleben eine
neue Perspektive geben und auch andere Menschen zu Themen rund um eine
ganzheitliche Gesundheit beraten können?

Die Akademie der Naturheilkunde bildet Menschen wie Sie – die gesunde
Ernährung und ein gesundes Leben lieben – in 12 bis 18 Monaten zum Fachberater
für holistische Gesundheit aus. Wenn Sie mehr über das Fernstudium an der
Akademie der Naturheilkunde wissen möchten, dann erfahren Sie auf der Webseite
alle Details sowie Feedbacks von aktuellen und ehemaligen TeilnehmerInnen:

Quellen:
• Khan NI, Naz L, Yasmeen G. (2006). "Obesity: an independent risk factor for
systemic oxidative stress." Pak J Pharm Sci. 19(1):62-5.[Quelle als PDF]
• Science Daily (2011). "Chocolate Is a Super Fruit: Rich Source of
Antioxidants" [Quelle als PDF]
• Brozmanová J. (2011). "Selenium and cancer: from prevention to treatment"
Klin Onkol. 24(3):171-9. [Quelle als PDF]
• Antioxidantien Definition [Quelle als PDF]
• Steve Graff (2011). "Jefferson researchers provide genetic evidence that
antioxidants can help treat cancer" EurekaAlert [Quelle als PDF]
• Serafini M., Testa MF., Villaño D., Pecorari M., van Wieren K., Azzini E.,
Brambilla A., Maiani G. (2008). "Antioxidant activity of blueberry fruit is
impaired by association with milk." Free Radic Biol Med. 15;46(6):769-74
[Quelle als PDF]
• Camera E., Mastrofrancesco A., Fabbri C., Daubrawa F., Picardo M., Sies H.,
Stahl W. (2009). "Astaxanthin, canthaxanthin and β-carotene differently
affect UVA-induced oxidative damage and expression of oxidative stress-
responsive enzymes." Exp Dermatol. 18(3):222-31. [Quelle als PDF]
• Prof. Dr. med. Richard Béliveau, Dr. med. Denis Gingras, Hanna van Laak:
"Krebszellen mögen keine Himbeeren. Nahrungsmittel gegen Krebs", RM-
Buch-und-Medien-Vertrieb, 2008.
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Lesen Sie mehr unter: http://www.zentrum-der-gesundheit.de/antioxidantien-
ia.html#ixzz3M0Y533uC
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