Yesterday, we featured Antioxidant supplements: cancer prevention fairy tale or fact? posting on an opinion piece Dr. Lisa Melton wrote concluding that something is lost in the extraction process of antioxidants into supplement form that prevents antioxidant supplements from offering much in the way of health value. That antioxidant-rich foods offer a health benefit is not in question, and continuing research indicates that what you choose to eat can give your body a boost to better health.

While the researchers sort out the antioxidant supplement debate, and before your next trip to the grocery store, UPI issued a press release today announcing the results of a newly published study that ranks the concentrated antioxidant value per serving of 1,113 foods and beverages.

Topping the list? Per serving -- one cup of blackberries, eight-ounce serving of Welch's 100 percent Grape Juice, one cup of Ocean Mist artichoke hearts, one-ounce of walnuts and one cup of strawberries. Interesting to note, according to the researchers from the University of Oslo, Norway, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and the University of Minnesota, the top five outranked the traditionally considered powerhouses of antioxidant foods and beverages including blueberries, red wine, chocolate, coffee and tea. Stiil powerhouse antioxidant foods in their own right -- just did not make the top five in this study.

I am well aware that the artichoke is a cancer prevention food -- rich in cancer-fighting nutrients like vitamin C, folate, and magnesium. That it is virtually fat-free and offers plenty of fiber. And that the artichoke leaves contain cynarin, a compound proving to be beneficial for liver health, and silymarin, a compound with powerful anitoxidant properties.

But the artichoke intimidates me with its pointy-tipped leaves and fuzzy middle. It has always been, in my mind, a strange and exotic multi-layered green orb. While I have a fondness for artichoke, I have given into my fears and purchased the trusted marinated artichoke hearts prepared by somebody else and sold at the grocers for any artichoke in my diet.

Sarah J. Gim, of our sister blog Slashfood, has taken the fear out of artichoke preparation. In fact, it is so simple I now feel profoundly silly about avoiding the artichoke in its most natural form. In Spring in season: roasted artichokes, Sarah explains step-by-step how to prepare and roast an artichoke. She calls it the slaying of the spiny dragon. If you have been secretly, or not so secretly, intimidated by a vegetable that has been revered since ancient times for its many wonderful properties, Sarah can show you how easy it is to prepare an artichoke properly and with confidence.

In 2003, a study was published in the International Journal of Cancer which reported that eating pizza, one of the typical foods on the Mediterranean diet menu, was linked to lower rates of stomach and colon cancers. Conversely, pizza crust is made with refined carbohydrates, and refined carbs have been linked to higher rates of colorectal cancer. But the researchers suggested that the other ingredients that go into the making of pizza, like olive oil and tomatoes, offset the adverse influence refined carbohydrates present to cancer prevention. And researchers pointed out, when talking about pizza, they are referring to the authentically Italian pizza, with a thin crust and touch of olive oil. The toppings include generous amounts of pizza sauce made with cooked tomatoes, olive oil, herbs and spices. When it comes to the cheese, use sparingly, not generously, or consider substituting an animal-free soya alternative to cheese. Interested in creating a cancer prevention pizza? Following is a list of some toppings known for their power to prevent cancer: