Monday, October 5, 2015

Antioxidant Overview and 3 ways to Increase Your Daily Antioxidant Intake


Yesterday we shared a wonderfully fall inspired recipe that is rich in antioxidants. For today, lets look over a few ways that you can easily increase your daily antioxidant intake-but first lets also review what antioxidants do and the benefits your body reaps when you have ensure a plentiful intake.

What is an antioxidant?
Antioxidants are both a naturally and man-made chemical compound which can donate electrons and counter act free radicals. Now what does this all really mean?

  • Free Radicals are associated with serious illnesses such as cancer and heart disease-therefore antioxidants are an important line of defense against these
  • Antioxidants help repair damaged cells
Of course, considering the complex nature of antioxidants there are far more characteristics to them than what we have listed above and we encourage you to do a little further research into this.

11 Common Foods Fueled with Antioxidants
  1. Small Red Bean
  2. Wild Blueberries
  3. Cranberry
  4. Artichoke
  5. Black Plum
  6. Gala Apple
  7. Prune 
  8. Raspberry
  9. Granny Smith Apple
  10. Pecan 
  11. Pinto Bean
3 Easy Ways to Increase Your Antioxidant Intake
  • Be aware of how you prepare your food. The actual process in which we use to prepare our food everyday can have significant effects on the food's nutrients. According to MindBodyGreen, here are a few techniques that will help maintain your foods nutrients:
    • Don’t peel
    • Minimize chopping
    • Don’t soak in water pre-cooking
    • Cook quickly at a high heat rather than slowly on a lower heat
    • Don’t cook in copper pots (this reduces the amount of vitamin C)
    • Frozen veggies are good sources of antioxidants
    • Steaming helps retain nutrients
  • A Colorful Plate. Antioxidants provide color to food therefore ensuring a variety of colors on your plate will go a long way.
  • Snack with a healthy mind. It is extremely easy to grab and snack on whatever is around you at the time--this can become even more of a challenge when you are constantly going back and forth for doctors appointments and treatment days--that is why it is important to snack healthy and take time ahead to prepare. Any of the foods listed above would be great antioxidant fueled snacks for the go

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