Tracie Thoms - Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation

ing greater attention to the antioxidant
levels in common dietary sources.
Raymond Thomas, lead author of
the study and an avid cook, decided to
study sauces one day as he was preparing
a meal for himself. “I was cooking
with a lemon-garlic sauce and a jerk
sauce, and I started wondering which
has the highest antioxidant content,”
says Thomas, a biology and psychology
postdoctoral fellow at the University
of Western Ontario. Thomas surmised
that if herbs and spices pack an antioxidant
punch, then sauces with herbs and
spices as a main ingredient would deliver
a good dose, despite the loss of some nutritional
value though manufacture and
packaging. When he discovered that no
one else had studied antioxidant levels
in an ingredient sitting in most kitchen
cabinets, he embarked on the research.
The study, co-authored by Mark
Bernards and Christopher Guglielmo,
tested seven popular brands of marinades
and sauces, including jerk sauce,
garlic and herb, honey garlic, roasted
red pepper, lemon pepper garlic, sesame
ginger teriyaki and green seasoning.
Researchers found that all of the
brands delivered some antioxidant effect,
but Thomas, who hails from Jamaica,
was pleasantly surprised that
jerk seasoning, the most famous of Jamaican
spices, actually contained the
highest amount of antioxidants. Grace
Jerk Sauce and Renee’s Sesame Ginger
Teriyaki outperformed the other
brands by a significant margin due to
large amounts of scotch bonnet peppers,
allspice, sesame and ginger, which
all have proven antioxidant properties.
Marinating and cooking with the
sauce actually reduced antioxidant levels
by 40% to 70%. “We recommend
that for the best benefit, people should
add the sauces at the end of the cooking
process or even eat them raw as a salad
dressing where appropriate,” Thomas
says. Yet, even with the reduction during
Scotch bonnet peppers
the cooking process, Thomas says, “It’s
better to marinate than not to marinate
to get the [antioxidant] contribution.”
After publishing his study in the
Journal of Food Composition and Analysis,
Thomas says he received a phone
call from a company that made a
pomegranate-based marinade, asking
if he had included the sauce in his
study. Pomegranates contain significant
quantities of antioxidants. “There
certainly might be other sauces out
there that might have higher content
than what we tested,” Thomas says. He
recommends that people choose marinades
that have herbs, spices, vegetables
and fruits as the main ingredient
for a simple and effective way to add
antioxidants to your diet.
Of course, the study leads one to
wonder whether these antioxidant benefits
can offset the negative health effects
of fatty content in certain meats or
the carcinogenic effects of compounds
produced during the high-temperature
cooking of meat. However, eating good
foods to counteract bad ones is usually
not a good idea. It’s better to stick to
good foods and avoid bad ones. Thomas
plans to further study various meats and
cooking methods to determine their effects
on antioxidants. Until then, folks
can enjoy a barbecue picnic, that muchloved
ritual of summer. Just slather on
barbecue sauce and rest assured that
you’ve done yourself a little good. ■
A Drink to Think About
A drink called Souvenaid may prove a powerful brew for improving
memory and thinking skills for Alzheimer’s patients. The drink, a medical
food to be taken under the guidance of a physician, is currently being
tested as a supplemental therapy for those with mild to moderate
Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
The concoction contains uridine, choline, and the omega-3 fatty acid
DHA. Uridine is used in the genetic coding for RNA; choline forms part
of acetylcholine, which plays a role in memory formation; and DHA is
found in certain fish and fish oils. In combination, the molecules may
help restore synapses, which would help delay the development of
Alzheimer’s symptoms.
In a study of 225 AD patients, researchers gave some of the
participants 4 ounces of Souvenaid daily and others a placebo for 12
weeks. During the study, researchers saw significant improvement
among those taking Souvenaid in a verbal recall task, in which
participants were asked to remember what they had been told earlier.
The study is being expanded to 500 patients through 40 medical
centers nationwide. A control group will receive a placebo while other
patients will drink 4 ounces of Souvenaid daily for 24 weeks. Further
studies may be needed to compare the drink to other over-the-counter
supplements such as fish oil, and also to determine how to improve
memory skills other than verbal recall. If the study proves successful,
Danone (Dannon in the U.S.) could make Souvenaid commercially
available as early as next year.
summer 2010 www.ALZinfo.org 23