Eman Refaat / Jihan Hussein / Sherien El-Daly
Many plants, including some of the commonly consumed herbs and spices in our daily food, can be safely and effectively used to prevent and/or treat some health concerns. In the recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the role of diet in human health. Epidemiological studies have shown that high fruit and vegetable consumption have health benefits in the prevention of chronic diseases, such as atherosclerosis and cancer, cardiovascular, cataract, diabetes, coronary heart diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases as well as inflammation and problems caused by cell and aging. Antioxidants may reduce the risks of these diseases and improve general health. Most of antioxidant capacity of fruit or vegetable may derive from compounds such as flavonoids, isoflavones, flavones, anthocyanins, catechins and isocatechins rather than from vitamins C, E or β-carotene. Many of these phytochemicals may help to protect cells against the oxidative damage caused by free radicals.
