The Powerful Result Of Antioxidants On Your Fitness Share
Mar 20th, 2010 by Sharon E Robinson
Our bodies necessitate oxygen to exist yet the use of oxygen in our bodies causes oxidative impairment. When our bodies use oxygen, free radicals are created. A free radical is a molecule that is missing one or more electrons. These molecules are vastly volatile and can cause a immense amount of injury. Antioxidants are a class of nutrients found in food that are known to prevent or slow down the effects of oxidative injury in our bodies.
An antioxidant will stabilize a free radical and thwart further impairment by donating the absent electron. Many of the foods found in nature are very high in antioxidants and including these foods can help us thwart diseases like cardiovascular disease and cancers and many of the tribulations normally allied with aging by strengthening our own immune systems.
Berries are some of the maximum antioxidant foods in the world. Blueberries, blackberries, cranberries and grapes and cherries are all tremendously high in antioxidants. Food is measured for antioxidant aptitude by what is called the ORAC or Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity scale. All of the berries have a very high ORAC level but the tangible food that has the highest ORAC level is the acai berry. There are a few items that rank above the acai berry on the ORAC scale such as ground cloves and ground cinnamon but none are essentially foods but rather spices and such. The acai berry surpasses every other concrete food.
Other fruits that are high on the ORAC scale consist of citrus fruits, such as oranges, grapefruits, lemons and limes and most of the more tropical fruits like kiwi, mango and papaya. Apples, pears, plums, apricots and peaches are also first-rate sources of antioxidants.
Most vegetables are particularly high in antioxidants. Spinach, Swiss chard, kale and other greens are tremendous, and the cruciferous veggies such as cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower.
Pumpkins are very high in beta-carotene, which is a substance that converts to vitamin A in our bodies. Beta-carotene is a very valuable nutrient but it can be unsafe, especially for smokers, to take beta-carotene in supplement form. The top way to get this crucial nutrient is through the diet. Most orange foods, like pumpkin, carrots, sweet potatoes and squash provide an ample amount.
The most excellent means to get your antioxidants is through consumption of a multihued diet. It is the intensely colored foods from nature that provide the most antioxidants. Rich purples and reds from the berries, oranges from the pumpkins and carrots, and greens from the spinach, kale and cruciferous vegetables and reds from tomatoes and watermelon. Any whole food that is a deep color is probably laden with fundamental antioxidants.
Research continues on antioxidants but it is showing progressively more advantages for our healthiness. Improved immune function can thwart disease like cancers and heart disease and also inhibit common ailments linked with aging such as macular degeneration and Alzheimer’s disease.
