Spices & dried herbs

Turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, pepper… the densest antioxidant shelf in the kitchen.

Why?: Gram for gram, no other food category concentrates as many polyphenols — and most reach the colon, where the microbiota transforms them.
Tip: The turmeric + black pepper pairing is no myth: piperine multiplies the absorption of curcumin.
Counting: A spice ticks this category when a normal pinch is in the same order of magnitude as the target dose (5 g): a spoonful of cumin, cinnamon or paprika, yes. Saffron is the exception — you use 0.05 to 0.1 g, a hundred times less — and it is therefore counted in Other polyphenols, a category whose dose is deliberately left open. It keeps crediting its plant: the diversity counter has no volume threshold. Dried herbs are counted here and not with fresh herbs: drying makes them lose their volatile terpenes and concentrates their non-volatile polyphenols — gram for gram, dried oregano plays the same role as a spice.
The app's landmark: A serving of about 5 g, every 3 days.

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