Let’s travel to a small island in the southwestern Indian Ocean for a moment. The country is called Mauritius. Scientists at the local university there (the University of Mauritius) have completed a study that identifies the top five herbs and spices when it comes to healing power.
The research team analyzed 10 common culinary herbs and spices from Mauritius to determine their total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant and antiglycation properties.
When an herb or spice displays strong antiglycation properties, it can act as a powerful protective force inside your body. Let’s look at this process in a little more detail.
Glycation happens when sugar molecules inside your body are changed into advanced glycation endproducts, or AGEs for short. Some AGEs are harmless, but others are more reactive than the sugars they are derived from. These reactive AGEs have been linked to many age-related chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and deafness. So anything that puts the brakes on glycation is obviously going to be very beneficial to your health.
LEARN MORE: Foods that fight free-radical damage.
Here are the top five herbs and spices that the researchers found were best at free-radical scavenging and preventing glycation:
• Allium sativum (garlic) had the highest TPC
• Allium cepa L. (onion) showed the highest free-radical scavenging capacity at 72%
• Zingiber officinale (ginger) had the most potent antioxidant power
• Thymus vulgaris (thyme); and
• Petroselinum crispum (parsley) had the most potent antiglycation activity.
If you add some garlic, onions, ginger, parsley and thyme to your weekly meals, you’ll be well on your way to protecting yourself against many of the serious diseases that plague older adults.
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Sources for Today’s Articles:
Try These Top Five African Healing Herbs and Spices
Ramkissoon, J.S., et al., “Relationship between total phenolic content, antioxidant potential, and antiglycation abilities of common culinary herbs and spices,” J Med Food. December 2012; 15(12): 1116–23.