Herbs: Eat your way to good health

New research reveals a new way to get all the antioxidants you need without loading up on fruits and vegetables or popping a lot of pills. In fact, you can get even more antioxidants this new way - just by adding more flavour to the foods you love.

According to a recent study, many of the herbs used in cooking have more antioxidant power than fruits and vegetables. MUCH more, in fact.

Spice up your meals - and defeat free radicals at the same time! The study, which was conducted at the US Department of Agricultures Agricultural Research Centre, measured the phenolic content and antioxidant activity of 27 culinary herbs and 12 medicinal herbs under laboratory conditions.

The medicinal herbs faired well; familiar names like periwinkle, gingko biloba, garden sage, St. Johns Wort, valerian, and sweet Annie all showed significant antioxidant content.

But the fresh culinary herbs blew them away. And guess which was the leader of the pack? Plain old oregano.

Just take a look at this: oregano was found to have 42 times more antioxidants than apples, 30 times more than potatoes, 12 times more than oranges, and four times more than blueberries! That means that one tablespoon of fresh oregano has the same free-radical fighting power as one medium-sized apple.

Overall, oregano had 3 to 20 times more antioxidant content than the other herbs tested. But there were other good sources; for example, dill, thyme, rosemary, and peppermint all ranked high.

Common oregano is botanically known as Origanum vulgare, Greek for joy of the mountains, and it can be found growing wild on mountainsides of Greece and other Mediterranean countries where it is a herb of choice. Oregano is also known as wild marjoram.

How can you benefit from the antioxidant power of fresh herbs?
Many of us have been using dried herbs in cooking for years. But, according to the studys authors, fresh herbs are the best choice, as some of the antioxidant concentration is lost in processing. Fresh herbs may not be as familiar, but you can adapt to them in no time. If you prefer not to grow your own, most supermarkets now carry a wide variety of fresh herbs, and its easy to work them into familiar recipes.

As a general rule, if a recipe calls for one teaspoon of a dried herb, you can substitute one tablespoon of chopped fresh herb in its place for the same taste. Fresh herbs should stay good in your refrigerator for up to five days if stored properly; cooking experts recommend wrapping them in a damp paper towel and sealing in an airtight plastic bag.

Of course, you still need to eat your fruits and veggies; these foods offer a wide range of other beneficial phytochemicals, plus vitamins, minerals, and fibre that are essential to good health. But now we know that fresh herbs can help add even more antioxidant power into our lives - while adding great taste, too.

A healthy option
I dont know about you, but every time my partner reaches for the salt shaker it gets my back up.  He piles salt on everything (even before tasting it) regardless of how much I have used in the cooking process. 
Naturally I am concerned for his health as it is well documented that long-term overindulgence in salt is dangerous, putting stress on the kidneys as it is their role to remove excess salt from the blood.

So if you love your salt, you might try using sea salt or this tasty guilt-free herb alternative.

INGREDIENTS:

 1 Tbsp ground cayenne pepper
 1 Tbsp garlic powder
 1 Tbsp onion powder
 1 tsp dried basil
 1 tsp dried oregano
 1 tsp dried thyme
 1 tsp dried parsley flakes
 1 tsp ground mace
 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
 1 tsp dried sage
 1 tsp dried marjoram
 1 tsp ground dried grated lemon peel

PREPARATION:
Combine cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, basil, oregano, thyme, parsley flakes, mace, black pepper, sage, marjoram, and lemon peel.

Mix well. Place in a glass airtight container and store in a cool, dark place up to four months. Use on all types of savoury foods.
Its a perfect condiment for barbeques this summer.