| Artichokes Top List of Antioxidant-Rich Foods |
| New study determines antioxidant concentration for commonly eaten foods |
CASTROVILLE, Calif. - February 16, 2007 — A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found artichokes have more antioxidants than all other vegetables and were ranked fourth in antioxidant content out of all food and beverages tested.
Researchers from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the University of Minnesota and the University of Oslo, Norway, used the FRAP (ferric reducing ability of plasma) assay method to measure the antioxidant levels of more than 1,000 food and beverages commonly consumed in the United States.
Antioxidants are bioactive compounds in foods that work in our body to help stop the action of free radicals, protect healthy cells, and contribute to good health, said Dr. Katherine Phillips, research scientist at Virginia Tech and one of the study’s authors. “We were surprised to find that cooked fresh artichokes were very high in antioxidants but also to learn that they were the very highest in antioxidants out of all vegetables we measured.”
The study was conducted independently of any food industry sponsors; the food samples were obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program.
The study confirmed that fruits and vegetables that are high in antioxidants can be identified by their rich coloring, such as deep reds and blues and dark greens. |
