Your Guide To Antioxidants

Although you might think a word starting with “anti” would be negative, you actually can’t get much better than antioxidants when it comes to keeping your body healthy inside and out. Foods high in this chemical compound are considered to be top nutritional choices, often recommended by experts as a way to counteract dangerous free radicals within our bodies. When a typical oxidation process goes bad, antioxidants are there to help your body cope – and the more antioxidants that are present in your system, the better the defense. And if you go beyond the scientific processes, it’s reassuring to know that eating antioxidant-rich foods can just be plain good for your body and your skin.

Yet it can be easy to be confused about what you should be eating in order to get the maximum amount of antioxidants. As with many get-healthy-quick schemes over the years, antioxidants have developed a sort of health halo, and have begun to be added to many processed foods as a nutrition booster. But when it comes to helping bolster your body’s internal workings – as well as your external appearance – adding specific valuable fruits, vegetables, legumes and more could be the key in developing protection against some seriously malicious diseases.

Oxidation and the Dangers of Free Radicals

If you’ve ever watched the flesh of an apple turn brown after it’s been cut and exposed to the air, then you’ve seen oxidation in action. Oxidation occurs when oxygen removes electrons from atoms, thus changing its properties. Although oxidation is a natural occurrence within the human body, it can become corrupted by factors like smoking and UV rays. When this happens, the oxidation process can release free radicals, damaging molecules that can harm the body internally by causing cell death or even mutations that can lead to certain cancers. The Atlantic also notes that free radicals might be behind Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and other illnesses that can ravage our bodily systems.

It’s not just internal damage, either – free radicals can affect the cells on our faces and bodies, causing skin to look much older than it is. Exposure to the sun’s UV rays can also add up, which can result in loss of skin’s collagen and fine lines. If you’re eating a poor diet coupled with a refusal to wear sunscreen, your body will be far more susceptible to an invasion of free radicals.

Introducing Antioxidants and their Benefits

The best way to stop free radicals? By eating antioxidant-rich foods to clean them up. An article at Harvard notes that even though the body’s defence system can protect itself from free radicals, antioxidants add an extra layer of protection: “We aren't defenceless against free radicals. The body, long used to this relentless attack, makes scads of molecules that quench free radicals as surely as water douses fire. We also extract free-radical fighters from food. These defenders are often lumped together as “antioxidants.” They work by generously giving electrons to free radicals without turning into electron-scavenging substances themselves.”

When you ingest something that’s rich in antioxidants, you’re helping to sweep free radicals out of your system before they can cause any harm to your cells or DNA. These foods are typically high in vitamins A, C and E, and some contain high amounts of helpful seleniumand manganese – the “antioxidant minerals” – as well.

Good Sources of Antioxidants

Although you could take supplements to help add antioxidants to your diet, there should be no need to do so if you’re eating a healthy variety of foods. There’s also some debate over whether or not antioxidant supplements may provide too much of a good thing, which is even more of a reason to get all your nutrients from your everyday diet.

Here are a few prime sources for antioxidants that you can add at your next meal or snack:

Blueberries: The sometimes-sweet, sometimes-tart little berry is a big multitasker, doing everything from helping to lower blood sugar to potentially preventing heart disease.WebMD mentions animal studies that have shown blueberries to possibly protect cells from damage, and maybe even prevent cancer. Toss a handful into some yogurt for breakfast, or add to a leafy green salad at dinner. (To stay on the berry topic, raspberries and strawberries are also antioxidant powerhouses, providing phytochemicals that may protect against cancer. Try making a superfruit salad out of the three!)

Green tea: Long the choice of non-coffee drinkers, tea offers a few more benefits than its caffeinated cousin, and green tea especially. Most teas contain an antioxidant compound called catechin, and green tea has a strong dose of the most powerful catechin: epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Although you may see green tea extracts being added to a variety of foods for an antioxidant boost, it’s best to simply brew up a pot of tea yourself and get a healthy, unfiltered dose of EGCG.

Red wine: The term “tannin” may be familiar to wine aficionados, but it’s also a potent antioxidant that might lower cancer risks. Fortunately for those who like to imbibe in a glass of red or white wine, tannins are heavily present in the alcohol, with red wine having an additional antioxidant called resveratrol, which is touted as possibly lowering bad cholesterol and protecting the heart. However, stick to only a few glasses a week – too much of any kind of alcohol can damage your body’s system and actually cause more free radicals to be released.

Nuts: Although stocked with vitamins and protein, nuts were once reviled by health-conscious dieters because of their high fat content. These days, studies have shown that small amount of certain nuts – including Brazil nuts, almonds, and pecans – can help provide antioxidants to the body. Medical Daily notes that walnuts especially have been beneficial in type 2 diabetes treatment, and the ellagic acid they contain is being examined to see if it’s a cancer fighter. Again, as with the wine above, nuts are delicious and nutritious but especially in moderation – just a quarter of a cup a day will do for a portion size.

Eat antioxidant-rich foods to help your body. There might not be a magic bullet to grant immortality or stave off all illnesses, but eating a rainbow of natural foods that are high in antioxidants might be as close as you can get. If you can think of a deeply-colored fruit or vegetable, chances are it’s strong in at least one compound that can help your body’s system fight oxidation’s dangerous free radicals. When you fill up your plate with foods like dark green kale, bright orange carrots, a selenium-rich piece of fish, and a bowl of berries for dessert, you’re helping to keep your body running at top capacity for years to come.

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