Whenever there’s a discussion about health and nutrition, antioxidants are popular topics because of their varied health benefits. Antioxidants help get rid of free radicals in our bodies. These free radicals are usually referred to as reactive species, such as reactive oxygen or reactive nitrogen, because they react and bind with other compounds in our body.
However, these reactions and bindings are not part of our regular bodily processes, so when they do happen, they’re bound to cause diseases. Antioxidants basically prevent these reactive species from causing damage to our body. Through this action, antioxidants improve cell maintenance, contribute to DNA repair, and increase longevity.
It is only natural that we would want to eat foods that are high in antioxidant content. However, when we search the internet for foods that have high levels of antioxidants, we normally just see foods that are grown or available in the North America region. For instance, for berries, one would think that blueberries are the ones with the highest antioxidant content because that’s what we always see on the internet.
But did you know that blueberries cultivated in the US only have 1.65-2.79 antioxidant content in millimoles per 100 grams? And would you believe that there is a berry found in India that actually has 261.53 antioxidant content in millimoles per 100 grams?
In 2010, researchers developed the Antioxidant Food Database which lists more than 3,100 spices, beverages, foods, herbs, and supplements from all over the globe and their antioxidant contents. If you really want to know what are the best natural source of antioxidants, take a look at this global list of antioxidant super-rich foods. (Note: Antioxidant content is measured in millimoles per 100 grams.)
Spices And Herbs
Although you would normally use spices and herbs sparingly, this is one food category with some of the highest antioxidant content.
| Herbs and Spices | Antioxidant Content |
| Dried ground clove | 465.32 |
| Dried whole clove | 327.77 |
| Dried bearberry leaves | 182.1 |
| Dried peppermint leaves | 160.82 |
| Dried meadowsweet | 154.05 |
| Dried rose flower | 153.9 |
| Dried wild marjoram leaves | 142.86 |
| Dried green mint leaves | 142.58 |
| Dried ground cinnamon | 139.89 |
| Dried Alpine lady’s‐mantle leaves | 130.36 |
| Dried lemon balm leaves | 125.33 |
| Dried woodland geranium | 113.27 |
| Dried Purple Loosestrife flower and leaves | 111.04 |
| Dried red wortleberries leaves | 102.07 |
| Dried ground allspice | 101.52 |
Herbal Or Traditional Plant Medicines
Most of the herbal medicines or supplements listed here are either from India, Japan, or Mexico. Take a look at the first item on the list, the Peruvian sangre de grado with an unbelievable antioxidant content of almost 3,000 mmol/100grams. The sangre de grado is actually a tree, and the herbal medicine with the same name is made from the bark and sap of the tree.
| Herbal Or Traditional Plant Medicines | Antioxidant Content |
| Sangre de grado (Croton lechleri) liquid solution from Iquitos, Peru | 2,897.11 |
| Triphala, powder in capsule by The Himalaya Herbal Health Care, India | 706.25 |
| Amalaki (Amla), powder in capsule by The Himalaya Herbal Health Care, India | 301.14 |
| Arjuna, powder in capsule by The Himalaya Herbal Health Care | 146.95 |
| Cinnamomi Cortex by Tsumura Pharmaceutical Company, Japan | 120.18 |
| Goshuyutou powder from Japan | 132.58 |
| Scutellariae Radix by Tsumura Pharmaceutical Company, Japan | 111.33 |
| Neem Guard, powder in capsule from India | 89.23 |
| Tepezcohuite from Mexico | 64.58 |
| Cimicifugae Rhizoma by Tsumura Pharmaceutical Company, Japan | 64.31 |
| Paeoniae Radix by Tsumura Pharmaceutical Company, Japan | 55.13 |
| Eucalipto from Mexico | 47.3 |
| Cascara Sagrada from Mexico | 47.15 |
| Un Compuesto from Mexico | 40.89 |
| Tulasi powder in capsule by The Himalaya Herbal Health Care, India | 39.67 |
Berries And Berry Products
Although berries and berry products common in the US were included in the Antioxidant Food Database, unfortunately, they pale in comparison to these exotic and not-so-familiar berries from different parts of the world. Watch out for amla berries from India, it’s already starting to gain popularity as a superfood.
| Berries And Berry Products | Antioxidant Content |
| Dried Amla berries from India | 261.53 |
| Dried whole dog rose from Helios, Norway | 78.09 |
| Dog roseshell flour from Risenta, Finland | 75.84 |
| Dog rose powder from Chile | 54.3 |
| Dried wild bilberries from Norway | 48.32 |
| Dried Loch Ness blackberries from Norway | 37.08 |
| Dog rose from Norway | 34.49 |
| Dried cultivated red whortleberries fromNorway | 32.28 |
| Amla, syrup from canned Indian Gooseberries | 29.7 |
| Dog rose powder from Sun Vita A/S, Denmark | 28.49 |
| Dried zereshk from Iran | 27.3 |
| Dog rose powder from Norway | 20.82 |
| Dried rowanberries from Norway | 19.13 |
| Dog rose from Spain | 14.16 |
| Wild black chokeberries from Norway | 13.48 |
Fruit And Fruit Juices
For fruits, pomegranates top the list when it comes to antioxidant content, which explains why there are so many health benefits related to pomegranates such as lower risk of cardiovascular diseases and lower risks of prostate and breast cancers.
| Fruit And Fruit Juices | Antioxidant Content |
| Pomegranate yellow pith from Spain | 55.52 |
| Fruit from the African Baobab tree from Malawi | 10.84 |
| Pomegranate arils and carpellar membrane from Norway | 9.05 |
| Dried pomegranate arils from India | 7.28 |
| Whole pomegranate from Spain | 6.54 |
| Tasmanian dried apples from Australia | 6.07 |
| Dried pomegranate from Norway | 5.51 |
| Dried apricots from New Zealand | 4.67 |
| Dried sweet cherries from USA | 4.06 |
| Lemon skin from ecologically grown lemon from South Africa | 4 |
| Prunes from El Dorado | 3.7 |
| Black kalamata olives with stone from Regina | 3.25 |
| Dried plums from USA | 3.24 |
| Dried apricots from Norway | 3.23 |
| Black kalamata olives with stone from Iliada, Greece | 3.13 |
Vegetables
We usually think of broccoli or spinach when we think of vegetables that are rich in antioxidants. Unfortunately, compared to the vegetables in this list, broccoli just can’t catch up in terms of antioxidant content.
| Vegetables | Antioxidant Content |
| Crushed dry Leaves from the African Baobab tree from Mali | 48.07 |
| Dried Moringa Stenopetala leaves and stem from Ethiopia | 11.9 |
| Canned artichoke from Spain | 4.76 |
| Dry okra/gumbo from Mali | 4.24 |
| Red curly kale from Sweden | 4.09 |
| Sheep polypore mushroom from Norway | 3.85 |
| Sundried tomatoes in canola oil from Australia | 3.59 |
| Cooked blue cauliflower from Norway | 3.52 |
| Curly kale from Sweden | 2.68 |
| Cooked red cabbage from USA | 2.15 |
| Sundried tomatoes in oil from Norway | 1.95 |
| Orange bellpepper from Norway | 1.94 |
| Red bellpepper from Norway | 1.81 |
| Yellow bellpepper from Norway | 1.79 |
| Cooked red pepper from USA |
1.64 |
