Java Offers Dose of Antioxidants

"It's not that the antioxidant content of coffee is that high, but it's the one thing that so many of us do every day," said University of Scranton researcher Joe Vinson, whose work was mainly funded by the American Cocoa Research Institute.

We might be slack in eating our veggies and fruits, but Americans still are consuming antioxidants by drinking coffee.

A new study finds that java is the leading source of antioxidants in the U.S. diet.

"Coffee wins the antioxidant race. Nothing else we eat or drink comes close," said Joe Vinson, a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania and leader of the study.

Vinson, who reported the findings Sunday before the national meeting of the American Chemical Society, said even for a two-cup-a-day guy such as himself, "I had no clue that we, as a country, drank so much coffee -- more than 8 ounces a day for every man, woman and child."

The researchers analyzed the antioxidant content of more than 100 different foods, including vegetables, fruits, nuts, spices, oilsand common beverages. They projected those scores to what the average American is consuming based on U.S. Department of Agriculture surveys.

"It's not that the antioxidant content of coffee is that high, but it's the one thing that so many of us do every day," said Vinson, whose work was mainly funded by the American Cocoa Research Institute.

At nearly 1,300 milligrams of antioxidants consumed a day, java easily topped other popular sources such as milk, chocolate or cranberries. Tea and bananas round out the top three antioxidant providers in America.

The team found that dates have the highest antioxidant punch based on serving size, but "Americans just don't eat that many dates," Vinson said.

© 2005 The Augusta Chronicle.
© 2005 Sci-Tech Today.