The total antioxidant content of more than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide.

BACKGROUND: A plant-based diet protects against chronic oxidative stress-related diseases. Dietary plants contain variable chemical families and amounts of antioxidants. It has been hypothesized that plant antioxidants may contribute to the beneficial health effects of dietary plants. Our objective was to develop a comprehensive food database consisting of the total antioxidant content of typical foods as well as other dietary items such as traditional medicine plants, herbs and spices and dietary supplements. This database is intended for use in a wide range of nutritional research, from in vitro and cell and animal studies, to clinical trials and nutritional epidemiological studies. METHODS: We procured samples from countries worldwide and assayed the samples for their total antioxidant content using a modified version of the FRAP assay. Results and sample information (such as country of origin, product and/or brand name) were registered for each individual food sample and constitute the Antioxidant Food Table. RESULTS: The results demonstrate that there are several thousand-fold differences in antioxidant content of foods. Spices, herbs and supplements include the most antioxidant rich products in our study, some exceptionally high. Berries, fruits, nuts, chocolate, vegetables and products thereof constitute common foods and beverages with high antioxidant values. CONCLUSIONS: This database is to our best knowledge the most comprehensive Antioxidant Food Database published and it shows that plant-based foods introduce significantly more antioxidants into human diet than non-plant foods. Because of the large variations observed between otherwise comparable food samples the study emphasizes the importance of using a comprehensive database combined with a detailed system for food registration in clinical and epidemiological studies. The present antioxidant database is therefore an essential research tool to further elucidate the potential health effects of phytochemical antioxidants in diet.

Validity of maternal recall of preschool diet after 43 years.

Validation of early childhood diet recalls by surrogate responders decades later has not been possible because of a lack of diet records from the distant past. Between 1948 and 1970, parents of children participating in the Fels Longitudinal Study (Kettering, Ohio) completed a 7-day diet record for their children every year from birth to age 18 years. In 2005-2006, all surviving women (n = 59) with a child aged 3-5 years when diet records had been collected were asked to complete a 42-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) pertaining to 1 of their children's diets at age 3-5 years. One or more diet records were available for 48 children. The authors calculated Spearman correlation coefficients for correlations between food, food-group, and nutrient intakes from the diet records and the FFQ and deattenuated them to account for the effects of within-person variation in the diet records on the association. For foods, the median deattenuated correlation coefficient was 0.19 (range, -0.31 to 0.85); moderate-to-high correlations were found for some specific foods. Correlations for food groups were slightly higher (median, 0.27; range, -0.14 to 0.85). Correlations for nutrient intakes were consistently low (median, 0.06; range, -0.35 to 0.27). Overall, the FFQ did not validly reflect overall preschool diet when completed by mothers 4 decades later.

Validity of adolescent diet recall 48 years later.

Few studies have evaluated the validity of adolescent diet recall after many decades. Between 1943 and 1970, yearly diet records were completed by parents of adolescents participating in an ongoing US study. In 2005-2006, study participants who had been 13-18 years of age when the diet records were collected were asked to complete a food frequency questionnaire regarding their adolescent diet. Food frequency questionnaires and diet records were available for 72 participants. The authors calculated Spearman correlation coefficients between food, food group, and nutrient intakes from the diet records and food frequency questionnaire and deattenuated them to account for the effects of within-person variation measured in the diet records on the association. The median deattenuated correlation for foods was 0.30, ranging from -0.53 for a beef, pork, or lamb sandwich to 0.99 for diet soda. The median deattenuated correlation for food groups was 0.31 (range: -0.48 for breads to 0.70 for hot beverages); for nutrient intakes, it was 0.25 (range: -0.08 for iron to 0.82 for vitamin B(12)). Some dietary factors were reasonably recalled 3-6 decades later. However, this food frequency questionnaire did not validly measure overall adolescent diet when completed by middle-aged and older adults on average 48 years after adolescence.