20 Common Foods With the Most Antioxidants

20 Common Foods With the Most Antioxidants

Editor's Note: USDA scientists analyzed antioxidant levels in more than 100 different foods, including fruits and vegetables. Each food was measured for antioxidant concentration as well as antioxidant capacity per serving size. Cranberries, blueberries, and blackberries ranked highest among the fruits studied. Beans, artichokes, and Russet potatoes were tops among the vegetables. Pecans, walnuts, and hazelnuts ranked highest in the nut category.
USDA chemist Ronald L. Prior says the total antioxidant capacity of the foods does not necessarily reflect their health benefit. Benefits depend on how the food's antioxidants are absorbed and utilized in the body. Still, this chart should help consumers trying to add more antioxidants to their daily diet.

Rank
Food item
Serving size
Total antioxidant capacity per serving size
1
Small Red Bean (dried)
Half cup
13,727
2
Wild blueberry
1 cup
13,427
3
Red kidney bean (dried)
Half cup
13,259
4
Pinto bean
Half cup
11,864
5
Blueberry (cultivated)
1 cup
9,019
6
Cranberry
1 cup (whole)
8,983
7
Artichoke (cooked)
1 cup (hearts)
7,904
8
Blackberry
1 cup
7,701
9
Prune
Half cup
7,291
10
Raspberry
1 cup
6,058
11
Strawberry
1 cup
5,938
12
Red Delicious apple
1 whole
5,900
13
Granny Smith apple
1 whole
5,381
14
Pecan
1 ounce
5,095
15
Sweet cherry
1 cup
4,873
16
Black plum
1 whole
4,844
17
Russet potato (cooked)
1 whole
4,649
18
Black bean (dried)
Half cup
4,181
19
Plum
1 whole
4,118
20
Gala apple
1 whole
3,903

WebMD Public Information from the United States Department of Agriculture

SOURCES: The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 9th edition, June 2004. Ronald L. Prior, PhD, chemist and nutritionist, USDA's Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center in Little Rock, Ark.

Leukaemia and Down's Syndrome Linked in Infants Whose Mothers Underwent Fertility Treatments: Presented at AACR

http://www.docguide.com/news/content.nsf/news/852571020057CCF6852572BF00559BA6

Leukaemia and Down's Syndrome Linked in Infants Whose Mothers Underwent Fertility Treatments: Presented at AACR

By Cameron Johnston

LOS ANGELES, CA -- April 16, 2007 -- It is well known that a woman's age increases her risk of her having a child with Down's syndrome. Now, a study presented here at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting suggests that children with Down's syndrome have a greater risk of developing leukaemia if their mother underwent any kind of fertility treatment.

In this study, the risk of leukaemia, specifically acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), was 2.5 times greater (odd ratio = 2.47, 95% CI, 1.02 - 5.97) among children with Down's syndrome whose mothers had tried to conceive for more than a year, according to Susan Puumala, PhD candidate in childhood cancers, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States.

Among mothers who had undergone surgical fertility treatments (including in vitro fertilisation) the odds ratio increased to 2.78, the researcher said in an interview.

Leukaemia occurs in approximately one in 150 children with Down's syndrome and has a severe impact on the children's already fragile health profile, Puumala said. Prior studies have already indicated a moderately elevated risk of developing AML in infants of mothers with prior foetal loss, longer intervals between births and older age, she added.

The link between risk of leukaemia and fertility treatments has not previously been studied in any major way.

Between 1997 and 2002, Puumala and colleagues enrolled 158 children with Down's syndrome who were younger than 20 years and were living in Canada or the U.S. at enrolment and were registered with the Children's Oncology Group, a worldwide organization aimed at studying childhood cancers. Control subjects who did not have leukaemia were selected from the cases' primary care clinic and were frequency matched to cases based on age (n = 173).

The researchers conducted telephone interviews with the mothers of leukaemia/Down's children and with parents of control subjects. The analysis specifically looked at reproductive history, infertility treatments and the risk of any form of leukaemia.

There was little evidence of any kind of association for most of the variables studied. However, risk of the child having leukaemia increased according to the length of time it took the mother to become pregnant, and increased even more when the mother underwent any form of fertility treatment.

Women who used fertility treatments other than medical or surgical approaches had the highest risk of all (OR = 3.31, 95% CI = 0.81-13.57). The specific forms of assisted reproduction were not itemised in the questionnaire. Mothers were only asked whether they used medical fertility treatments, surgical treatments, or other treatments.

There was no increased risk if the mother was under the age of 30 years, but risk increased to 1.23 (odds ratio) if she was between the ages of 30 and 34 and it increased to 2.63 if she was over 35 years of age.

The data was adjusted for maternal age, race of the mother and education. The analysis was conducted for all forms of leukaemia and stratified for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (n = 97) and AML (n = 61).

"Although our questionnaire was limited in this area of the enquiry, these results suggest that the risk of AML may be increased in children with Down's syndrome whose mothers used infertility treatments," she said.

Given that mothers who are 35 years of age or older are probably going to receive some form of counselling about the risk of Down's syndrome when they are planning to have a baby, this finding suggests that they should also be advised of the potential risk of leukaemia in the child if they undergo fertility treatment.

This could suggest that more children "who are conceived as a result of assisted reproduction nay be at greater risk for chromosomal and epigenetic defects" that are caused in some way by fertility treatments, but this hypothesis requires much more research, she added.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Children's Cancer Research Fund.


[Presentation title: Reproductive History, Infertility Treatment, and the Risk of Acute Leukaemia in Children With Down Syndrome: A Report From the Children's Oncology Group (COG). Abstract 96]

The FDA wanting to forbid all alternative methods (supplements, vitamins, etc!) - ACT NOW!!

This is really bad news!! The FDA basically wants to put all the same restrictions on alternative methods, as there are on drugs. This would be really bad, since the alternative methods (vitamins, supplements, etc) would have to go through all the same testing and approval as drugs . . . and many may be denied or never given brought back to the consumers. This would be particularly bad for my brother with DS and those with DS who take TNI.

This is a link the the FDA document itself: http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/06d-0480-gld0001.pdf

Here's a link where you can send a letter to the FDA to oppose it here - http://tinyurl.com/2u7ghc - There is more information about this below.

Here's a link to sign a petition against it - http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/373269232?ltl=1176160859#body

ACT NOW: FDA Forbidding All Alternative Health Care

We Have a Problem!

The US FDA is at it again. They have been notorious for decades for their biased attacks and uneven handling of natural, non-drug/surgery/radiation based health options. This time, though, they are playing for keeps.

The goal is simple: through a "Guidance" about the regulation of "CAM" (which they conveniently define as "Complementary and Alternative MEDICINE" the FDA hopes to serve the interests of Big Pharma by eliminating all CAM practices and products. ALL of them.

Here's how this deadly game is played:
1. By using the term "Medicine" rather than "Modality" for CAM practices, the FDA sets the stage so that anyone who is not a licensed physician is breaking the law by using these modalities since they are therefore 'practicing medicine without a license'.
2. By using the term "treatment" rather than "therapy", the FDA limits those who can perform these practices to licensed physicians and, again,anyone who is not a licensed physician is breaking the law by using these modalities since only licensed practitioners can treat. So people using these modalities are therefore 'practicing medicine without a license'.
3. By using the terms "Medicine" and "treatment" instead of "Modalities" and "therapy", all substances, including vitamins, minerals, herbs, co-factors, etc., automatically become untested drugs since they are being used to prevent, treat, mitigate or cure disease states. Such use can only legally take place with FDA approved drugs.

----

Here's How We Protect CAM Practices, Practitioners and Products Numbers. Sheer volume of response. Nothing more and nothing less. NOW is the time to act. Our window of opportunity slams shut on April 30, 2007.

http://tinyurl.com/2u7ghc

That is the link which allows you to send a comment directly to the FDA about their deadly "Guidance". Will it matter? Yes, if millions of people respond. So I am asking you to take this "viral".

Here is what you need to do NOW if you value your freedom:

1. Click on the link below and add your name to the letter. When you click "Send" it will be electronically delivered to the FDA docket site and posted.

2. Write a brief note (or copy the information in this email) including this link ,http://tinyurl.com/2u7ghc , and mail it to every one you can. In your email please:

a. Include everyone you know and tell them that their freedom to choose their own health modalities and options is under serious attack.
b. Send the same email to the the companies which make the vitamins, minerals and herbs you use and ask them to send it out to their entire mailing list.
c. Impress upon the people you contact that we are facing a virulent and highly organized assault on ALL natural products and procedures because they do not feed the pharmaceutical coffers and that their help is crucial.
d. Include a link to the Natural Solutions Foundation website (www.HealthFreedomUSA.org ). Ask them to become familiar with the site in order to lend their support to the health freedom battle which threatens their right to make their own health choices.

NOW! If you have ever thought about taking action to protect your health freedom, NOW is the time to do it.

If you have never thought about taking action, now is the time to think about it and do it.In my opinion, this is a full blown assault on your rights and mine to opt for strategies which use natural options and procedures.

5,000,000

That's our goal. Two weeks, five million comments to the FDA, all asserting our fundamental right to control our own health.

Can we do it? It's up to you. Here's the link: http://tinyurl.com/2u7ghc

The future of natural health and health freedom is literally in our hands!
Yours in health and freedom,
Rima E. Laibow, MDMedical DirectorNatural Solutions Foundation

Their Smarter Than We Realize Sometimes!

There was some recent discussion on the ES list that kids with DS are alot smarter than we realize sometimes, so I thought I'd share a little story about my brother (DS - currently 26mths old):


My brother (w/ DS), on his second birthday was holding my hand and him and I were walking out of the living room. My 16 year old sister was talking about their birthday and kind of jokingly said "but, he doesn't know what we're talking about!". He stopped, looked back at her with a goofy little smurk and said perfectly clear "I do!" and then kept walking. It was too cute!!

Bit more info on IL-6

Here's a couple links with a bit more information about IL-6.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_phase_response

http://arbl.cvmbs.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/endocrine/index.html

IL-6 & Inflammatory Conditions in DS

There was some talk on the ES list a year and a half ago or so about IL-6 and how it may be part of the issue with all the increased inflammatory problems present in DS. I was looking at new research in DS and happened to run across a study which showed that IL-6 does play a role in the inflammation issues associated with DS. I thought this was rather interesting. I've emailed to see if I can get the full text of this abstract, as the "free full text" link on PubMed doesn't go to anything.

Plasma nerve growth factor (NGF) and inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and MCP-1) in young and adult subjects with Down syndrome: an interesting pathway.

Institute of General Pathology, Laboratory of Clinical Pathology, Medical Faculty, University of Milan, Italy. mmcorsi@unimi.it

OBJECTIVES: Down's syndrome (DS) is the most frequent chromosomal aberration in men and it is invariably associated with mental retardation. MATERIAL AND
METHODS: Plasma levels of nerve growth factor (NGF), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) from non demented DS subjects of three different age-cohorts (2-14 years; 20-50 yrs; >60 yrs) and healthy controls were measured. No clinical and sub-clinical inflammation was apparent in DS patients. RESULTS: Plasma levels of NGF were higher in children, adult and old DS subjects than in controls. However, a significant age-related decrease of NGF levels was present in DS subjects. Serum levels of IL-6 and MCP-1 were also increased in DS children and adults, but not in older DS patients. CONCLUSIONS: High levels of circulating NGF might protect DS from clinical complications of atherosclerosis. However, the striking decrement of peripheral NGF levels with advancing age may predispose DS to clinical manifestation of dementia after adulthood.
PMID: 17187019 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Oxidative Stress Prenatally

This is a really interesting abstract, I think. This shows that oxidative stress is present early in pregnancies. And, it says this study "supports the idea of testing whether prenatal antioxidant therapy may prevent or delay the onset of oxidative stress diseases in the DS population." I hope antioxidant therapy prenatally will become the norm . . .

Early oxidative stress in amniotic fluid of pregnancies with Down syndrome.

Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Reproductive Medicine, University of Siena, Policlinico Le Scotte, V.le Bracci 36, 53100 Siena, Italy.

OBJECTIVE: Some evidence suggests that oxidative stress, due to an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants, occurs in babies with Down syndrome (DS). This study tests the hypothesis that oxidative stress occurs early in DS pregnancies. DESIGN AND METHODS: Isoprostanes (IPs), a new marker of free radical-catalyzed lipid peroxidation, were measured in amniotic fluid from pregnancies with normal, growth restricted and DS fetuses, diagnosed by karyotype analysis of amniotic cells cultured. RESULTS: A nine-fold increase in IP concentrations was found in amniotic fluid of pregnancies with DS fetuses. This increase (595.15; 542.96-631.64 pg/ml, median; 95% CI), was greater than in pregnancies with fetal growth-restricted fetuses (155; 130.57-172.23 pg/ml, median; 95% CI) and normal fetuses (67; 49.82-98.38 pg/ml, median; 95% CI; p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The study reveals that oxidative stress occurs early in pregnancy and supports the idea of testing whether prenatal antioxidant therapy may prevent or delay the onset of oxidative stress diseases in the DS population.
PMID: 17208212 [PubMed - in process]

"Down Syndrome Drugs" published in JAMA by Hampton T.

There was research published in the JAMA by Tracy Hampton, Ph.d entitled "Down Syndrome Drugs." This is all I can get on JAMA, without buying the full text -

--
Down Syndrome Drugs
Tracy Hampton, PhD
JAMA. 2007;297:1423.
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Blocking an inhibitory neurotransmitter can improve performance of several memory tasks in a mouse model of Down syndrome, according to new research from Stanford University, in Palo Alto, Calif (Fernandez F et al. Nat Neurosci. doi:10.1038/nn1860 [published online February 25, 2007]).
The Down syndrome mouse shows some of the features of the human disorder, including deficits in memory for facts and events as well as excessive neuronal inhibition in the dentate gyrus region of the brain, an effect mediated by the neurotransmitter GABA.
After 2 weeks of treatment with pentylenetetrazole or bilobalide, drugs that inhibit the GABA receptor, the mice showed improved performance in memory tasks. The effect lasted for up to 2 months after drug treatment ended.
According to the authors, the results point to overinhibition, in at least some brain regions, as one possible mechanism that reduces cognitive performance in the mouse model of . . .
---
If someone knows of a way to get ahold of the full text of this article and/or a way to contact Tracy Hampton, that'd be great. If I find anymore info, I will post it.

Something I wish more people would understand about the RDA!

I am taking an online course from UC Berkeley on Human Nutrition. In the lecture today, I wanted to note something which the professor said.

She was talking about the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance), which can be seen at Nutrition.gov. In reading what the RDA is for, she says "The average daily amount of a nutrient considered adequate to meet the known nutrient needs of practically all healthy people." She goes on to say that there are 3 caveats which need to be taken into consideration to know exactly what the RDA is for. They are as follows:

1) known nutrient needs: "We don't know all nutrient needs"
2) practically all: "This is not guaranteeing it will meet everyone's needs."
3) healthy people: "Does not cover the needs of people who have diseases, who have cancer, who have genetic abnormalities."

The above is something I wish everyone would realize. I hear all too often that the amounts of TNI do not meet (i.e. exceed) the RDA levels. If people would just understand the above, that the RDA is for healthy people and is not for people with genetic abnormalities, I believe it would clear alot of stuff that people say against TNI.

Ginkgo Biloba & DS

A mother of a child with DS is starting a group just for those who are using Ginkgo Biloba for their children. The group link is http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/DS-GB/ and the forum link is http://p068.ezboard.com/bdownsyndromeginkgobilobaparentstrial. She asks that you introduce yourself after you join.