Antioxidants act like the cleaner in your body, neutralizing free radicals that damage cells and promote disease. They’re found in vegetables, fruits, nuts, fungi, and whole grains – foods which contain plenty of these important anti-inflammatory nutrients!
Tomatoes, artichokes and berries offer high concentrations of antioxidants. Cooking red peppers and berries may enhance their nutritional value further.
1. Leafy Green Vegetables
Antioxidants help your body ward off free radical damage that can lead to disease and premature aging, including flavonoids and phenols dietary compounds that don’t belong in vitamins or minerals’ category. Furthermore, antioxidants may lower risks for health conditions like cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Leafy greens, such as kale, spinach and Swiss chard, are an incredible source of antioxidants. Enjoy them raw in salads or cooked in soups or omelets to boost the nutritional benefits. Besides this they also contain lutein and zeaxanthin that may help prevent macular degeneration.
Add these leafy vegetables to a smoothie bowl or sprinkle on your morning oatmeal as an easy and delicious breakfast choice. They can also be added to soups, stir frys and stews, eaten as side dishes alongside eggs or eaten alone as breakfast items. When cooked properly, certain leafy greens such as tomatoes and carrots release more lycopene for absorption by your body – adding even more health benefits!
2. Fruits
These deliciously plump fruits atop our trees offer more than just eye candy; they’re packed full of antioxidants like vitamins C, phenolic acids and anthocyanins that provide valuable health benefits.
Brassica vegetables like cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts and Swiss chard provide ample vitamin C and phenolic acids, providing vitality to our health and vitality.
Pears, plums and cherries are packed with antioxidants – from vitamin C, ellagic acid and gallic acid to flavonoids such as apigenin and quercetin – that provide health-supportive benefits. According to research published in Food Bioactives Journal.
3. Nuts
Addition of antioxidant-rich foods can help protect you from potential damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals, produced during normal bodily processes or from exposure to UV light (from sun or artificial tanning machines), pollution, cigarette smoke or exercise.
Antioxidants are plant chemicals that help slow or stop oxidation by neutralizing free radicals. Antioxidants have also proven vital in fighting inflammation and several chronic illnesses, including cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Berries such as blueberries and cranberries are among the richest sources of antioxidants, while brassica vegetables like kale, broccoli and cabbage also contain significant amounts.
Nuts and seeds are rich sources of antioxidants when consumed raw, such as walnuts and pecans that contain phytosterols that have strong antioxidative effects; seeds such as sunflower and sesame seeds provide vital Vitamin E and selenium-rich meals.
4. Seeds
Tomato, avocado and berry seeds contain high concentrations of antioxidants. Furthermore, their seeds play an essential role in propagating their plants as reproductive bodies – they make new seeds! Seeds can be divided into flowering (angiosperm) plants with fruit covering their seeds; nonflowering or naked-seeded (like conifers and ginkgos) varieties or nonflowering angiosperm varieties with naked seeds such as conifers and ginkgos).
Seeds are an abundant source of essential vitamins and minerals, particularly protein, fiber, unsaturated fatty acids, phytochemicals and phenolic compounds such as flavonoids, lycopenes and carotenoids.
Antioxidants are natural substances that help cells resist or slow damage by neutralizing free radicals, unstable molecules that can increase oxidative stress and lead to chronic illness. Eating foods rich in antioxidants increases blood levels of these chemicals and thus decreases cancer risks; certain plants and fruits such as berries, nuts, and vegetables contain especially high concentrations.
