Antioxidant Foods

For years now, scientists have touted antioxidants as the answer to all sorts of diseases, even aging. From preventing heart disease to slowing down degenerative diseases, to stopping cancer, to reducing blood pressure - you name it and everything points right back to antioxidants.

The human body is incapable of producing its own concentration of antioxidants. For this reason, we depend solely on our diet in order to get the store of antioxidants we need to combat diseases. Antioxidants protect the body from harmful, excess free radicals, sweeping them up before they can cause damage.

These days, when we talk about antioxidants, the first thing that comes to people's minds is "supplements." However, studies on antioxidant supplements are for the most part inconclusive and so far, no one study has come up with the same results during antioxidant supplements tests. No problem though because you can always find antioxidant foods almost anywhere.

The best way to lay an antioxidant-rich foundation that's inhospitable to toxins and free radicals is through a combination of whole foods. With antioxidant supplements still far from the high expectations of the scientific community, you can in the meantime turn to the more reliable source of these helpful compounds, which are antioxidant foods. Below are some examples of antioxidant foods which you can include in your daily diet:

Berries

The provocative allure, the fragile charm, the rich concentration of nutrients. All these spell the one of the most important antioxidant foods - berries. Berries are full of fibers, minerals and vitamins. They are also loaded with healing antioxidants, which of course make them excellent antioxidant foods.

There are several kinds of berries, as you well know, and each kind has a different concentration of antioxidants. In recent studies, purple berries (such as Elderberry and black currant) are considered as the richest antioxidant foods. However, raspberries, cranberries, blueberries, and blackberries are also good antioxidant foods that are rich in proanthocyanidins which help prevent cancer and heart disease.

Broccoli

Another excellent antioxidant foods are green leafy vegetables. Your mom always say, "Eat your broccoli." Believe me, your mom is not out to torture you by making you eat veggies you hate. There is actually a scientific reason to this.

Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables like cabbages, cauliflowers, and Brussels sprouts are great antioxidant foods. They help prevent cancer and ward off heart disease. Cruciferous vegetables contain a compound called "indole-3-carbinol which is an antioxidant that reduces the risk of breast cancer and other estrogen-sensitive cancers, like cancer of the ovaries and the cervix.