Experience Unlimited
Yoga, Pilates, and
Meditation
Videos Online
MYO Newsletter - FREE!
Subscribe to our FREE
Health and Wellness Newsletter
full of inspirational articles on Yoga, Nutrition, Meditation, Healthy Recipes, Natural Body Care, and more....
In the summer, getting your antioxidants is easy since they are aplenty in the fresh fruit and vegetables available to us at every local store. Plant-derived antioxidants correct a potentially harmful free radical reaction within our bodies and bring things back into balance. They are just one more reason why getting fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet is very important.
But what exactly are free radicals and what do antioxidants specifically do? The answer to these questions requires a short chemistry lesson. A compound is a substance made up of different elements, such as hydrogen and carbon, and each element has an outer ring of electrons. Our body contains many different compounds: enzymes and hormones to name just two, and these compounds perform important bodily functions.
Free radicals are compounds that are formed during natural chemical reactions in the body. When a compound loses an electron during a process called oxidation, the compound becomes a free radical and is unstable. These free radicals require a new electron to stabilize them, and they often end up zipping around the body searching for electrons. Often they will steal an electron from another substance, creating a new free radical, which must in turn, scavenge an electron from another source. This cascading reaction can actually cause a cell to collapse. The free radical process is known to cause inflammation and has been linked to many serious diseases such as arteriosclerosis and cancer. Some scientists even believe that the aging process could be slowed, if we could only manage the amount of free radicals in the body.
Here’s where antioxidants come in. They just happen to have an extra electron to donate and so they are able to stabilize the free radical and remain stable themselves. These antioxidants often come in the form of vitamin complexes, such as vitamins A, C and E. Eating foods that are high in these antioxidant vitamins means that you are giving your body the tools to fight free radical damage in the body.
Many companies now claim that their food contains “the highest level of antioxidants”. Fruits like Amazon berries, pomegranates, mangosteen and even chocolate are being touted for their healthy antioxidant levels. These foods do contain high levels of antioxidants, but so do many other fruits and vegetables. Foods such as broccoli, plums and red cabbage, that have no companies to promote them, are also very high in antioxidants.
Of course, whenever we talk about getting nutrients from foods, we assume that our bodies are able to digest and process these nutrients properly. For example, someone with good digestion will get more antioxidant vitamins from half a cup of broccoli, than if a person with poor digestion were to eat 2 cups of blueberries.
It’s important to note that the antioxidant levels in foods don’t last too long after processing, nor do they last long after being ingested because the body utilizes them up instantly, so we need a constant supply of them. Therefore it’s best to eat local fresh produce several times per day to maintain an antioxidant-rich diet, especially dark-hued fruits and veggies. The best sources of antioxidants are brightly-colored foods such as:
Berries: wild blueberries, cranberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries
Small red beans (think Japanese and Chinese cooking)
Red kidney beans
Leafy green and cruciferous vegetables: such as red cabbage, spinach and kale
Artichokes
Green tea
Dried prunes
Russet potatoes
Also found in cold water fish oils, nuts, seeds and whole grains
It’s a good time to work in the nutrition field since there is now a lot of science to justify what we’ve always known is good for us: eating an array of fresh, colorful produce daily, as well as fish, seeds, nuts and whole grains. So fill your plate with these foods each day. If you also take care to chew your food and stay calm and relaxed while eating for good digestion, you will be on the right path to great health.
Caroline Rechia is a
Registered Holistic Nutritionist (RHN) and chocolate maker. Her blog, C
is for Cookie can be found here: http://carolinescookies.blogspot.com
Not Medical Care
MYO is not a substitute for medical care, and offers no health warranties or guarantees of any kind. The information provided on these pages is not meant to be a substitute for medical advice from your doctor or health care provider. Users of MYO are advised that health advice is often subject to updating and refining due to medical research and developments. MYO is committed to bringing you the most up to date information, however, we make no guarantee that the information herein is the most recent on any particular subject. You are encouraged to consult with your health care provider with any questions or concerns you may have regarding any health condition that you may have before starting any Yoga, Pilates or exercise program or making changes to your diet.
