Look Better, Feel Better Eat Antioxidants
- November 20th, 2010 10:03 pmm PST
- By RJ Laffins Chico Health and Wellness
What in the world are antioxidants and why are we hearing so much about them?
Plan and simple, antioxidants protect our bodies from the damage caused by free radicals.
Every living being on planet earth is subject to free radical damage. It’s the process that makes your sliced apple turn brown.
If that apple was dipped in lemon juice, a low grade antioxidant, you’d see that the apple wouldn’t turn brown by free radical damage.
We are exposed to free radicals and oxidative stress on a daily basis from the air that we breath, the water that we drink, the hormones, steroids and antibiotics in our meat supply, the herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers in our produce. Even the stress of a daily drive, or a demanding boss or financial worries can introduce more free radicals than our immune system can handle.
The more these free radicals go unchecked, the more we age and the more we’re subject to disease.
The Experts at the National Institute for Health say “…most of the degenerative diseases that afflict humanity have their origin in deleterious free radical reactions. These diseases include atherosclerosis, cancer, inflammatory joint disease, asthma, diabetes, senile dementia and degenerative eye disease. The process of biological aging might also have a free radical basis.”
Antioxidants help defend your body against negative effects from free radicals, thereby slowing the aging process and helping us be disease-free and live longer. Antioxidants also reduce inflammation, a common antagonist of pain and disease in the body.
A study in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry stated that “during chronic inflammatory conditions, combined with the absence of sufficient dietary antioxidants, the oxidative damage is accelerated, causing further dysregulation involving inflammatory reactions that contribute to many degenerative diseases and aging.”
In addition, the study stated, “A growing body of research is focused on nutritional and pharmaceutical prevention of chronic inflammatory conditions, as these have been associated with obesity, immune dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, declining cognitive function, and cancer.”
The research strongly suggests that eating foods high in antioxidants is an important factor in preventing disease and reducing the effects, and appearance, of aging.
Foods highest in antioxidant capabilities are in order of ORAC (antioxidant effectiveness) with commonly known antioxidant foods highlighted:
Spices, cloves, ground 314,446
Sumac, bran, raw 312,400
Spices, cinnamon, ground 267,536
Sorghum, bran, hi-tannin 240,000
Spices, oregano, dried 200,129
Spices, turmeric, ground 159,277
Acai berry- 102,700 – Acai is especially effective against peroxyl and superoxide free radicals, however, only Acai freeze-dried within a few hours of harvesting retains it’s high antioxidant properties. There is currently only one source of high-antioxidant Acai commercially available: MonaVie, which contains whole acai berry puree (freeze-dried at the source) and 18 other beneficial fruits, as well as anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, and other flavonoids. Sorghum, bran, black 100,800
Sumac, grain, raw 86,800
Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened 80,933
Spices, cumin seed 76,800
Maqui berry, concentrated powder 75,000 - a purple berry from the Patagonia region of South America. Also known as Chilean Wineberry, Macal, Maquei, Queldrón, Ach, Koelon, and Clon. One of the 19 fruits in MonaVie.
Baking chocolate, unsweetened, squares 49,926
Spices, curry powder 48,504
Sorghum, grain, hi-tannin 45,400
Chocolate, dutched powder 40,200
Maqui berry, juice 40,000 Sage, fresh 32,004 Also in MonaVie.
Goji berries 25,300 - also known as Wolfberry, Ningxia berries, barbary matrimony vine and bocksdorn. One of the fruits in MonaVie.
Flax hull lignans 19,600
Candies, semisweet chocolate 18,053
Nuts, pecans 17,940
Spices, paprika 17,919
Chokeberry, raw 16,062 - also known as Aronia – one of the 19 fruits in MonaVie.
Elderberries, raw 14,697
Sorghum, grain, red 14,000
Peppermint, fresh 13,978
Oregano, fresh 13,970
Nuts, walnuts, English 13,541
Nuts, hazelnuts or filberts 9,645
Cranberries, raw 9,584
more foods
RJ Laffins
Internet Marketing Coach
530.321.9519
