You’ve probably seen the labels on the grocery store shelves proudly proclaiming that they’re high in antioxidants. Let’s Talk About Antioxidants!
That sounds good, but what does it mean?
Antioxidants are necessary for your body to stay balanced and neutralize an excess of free radicals.
You’ll find them in many whole foods, but it’s good to know which ones will give you the greatest returns.
Antioxidants do everything from lowering inflammation to helping prevent some serious diseases like heart disease.
An antioxidant functions by offering an electron to a free radical and making it stable enough to be transported to an enzyme which combines two stabilized free radicals together to neutralize both.
As you study to become a holistic nutritionist, you’ll find out all about how antioxidants work, and how to use them to help your clients achieve optimal health.
But whether you’re here today to find out more about The Edison Institute Of Nutrition’s online diploma in holistic nutrition program or you’re hoping to improve your own health, we’re here to help.
Let’s find out more about antioxidants.
What Are Antioxidants?
Your body contains and produces a wide variety of compounds, and antioxidants are among those compounds.
Antioxidants are defenders, and they’re defending your body from possibly harmful molecules called free radicals.
One of your strongest defenses, antioxidants will help your body defend against diseases such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
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You can even boost your antioxidant reserves with certain foods – more on this later.
What Are Free Radicals?
So if antioxidants are defending your body against free radicals, free radicals must be pretty scary.
What are these molecules and why are they a threat?
Free radicals are continuously forming in your body, and actually provide support for important functions that are keys to your good health.
For example, leukocytes use free radicals to kill invading bacteria and virus infected cells.
What’s important to know about free radicals is that they require balance.
Without a balance between the free radicals and antioxidants in your body, you could experience something called oxidative stress.
So what are they?
Think back to chemistry class – remember atoms?
They’re molecules made up of protons and electrons, the number of which dictates what type of atom it is.
Hydrogen atoms have one proton and one electron, for example.
Carbon has six of each, oxygen has eight of each, and so on.
Atoms are supposed to have an even number of protons and electrons to remain stable.
Electrons orbit the atom’s nucleus, which is where the protons live.
If an atom doesn’t have enough electrons, however, it may bond with another atom, using its electrons to complete the collection.
These are free radicals.
They’re unstable because they’re highly reactive.
Oxygen molecules in particular can be an issue in this way.
What Is Oxidative Stress?
You may have heard of oxidative stress, which is what happens when free radicals accumulate or outnumber antioxidants.
When an electron is unpaired, another atom or molecule can then easily bond with it, causing a chemical reaction.
Because they interact so readily, free radicals can easily damage healthy molecules.
This damage is called oxidative stress.
If your body experiences prolonged exposure to oxidative stress, your DNA and other molecules may be damaged.
This could even lead to cell death, and if your body experiences enough damage to its DNA your risk of cancer increases.
Oxidative stress may also contribute to the aging process.
If you experience prolonged oxidative stress, you might be at greater risk of developing heart disease and even certain types of cancer.
But this is where antioxidants come into play.
Antioxidants can donate an extra electron to a free radical, which stabilizes it.
But they can do this without becoming unstable themselves.
Where To Get Antioxidants In Your Diet?
The good news is you can help prevent oxidative stress by making sure you supplement your body’s natural antioxidants with ones in food.
All life forms like plants and animals develop their own defenses against free radicals, so antioxidants are found in all whole foods derived from animals and plants.
Even antioxidants that are considered non essential can boost your health in general.
When checking for antioxidants, we’re looking for the ferric reducing ability of plasma, or FRAP value, in each food.
This measures the amount of antioxidants in a food and indicates how well it will balance free radicals.
There’s a long list of different antioxidants, and some of them might sound familiar to you.
They include:
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Beta carotene, which your body converts into vitamin A
- Selenium
- Manganese
- Glutathione
- Coenzyme Q10
- Curcumin, an active ingredient in turmeric
- Melatonin
- N‑Acetylcysteine
- Capsaicin, a compound that makes food spicy
- Arginine, a conditionally essential amino acid
- Lysine, an essential amino acid
- Histidine, another essential amino acid
- And many others
You’ll notice the above are quite the mixed bag.
Some are vitamins, some are minerals, some are amino acids, and some are other substances altogether – there’s even a hormone in the list, melatonin.
So, how do you know where to get all these antioxidants?
Here are some of the foods to include in your diet:
1. Blueberries
A few studies have found that blueberries may contain the highest amount of antioxidants in all popularly consumed food.
Blueberries are dense with vitamins and nutrients.
Antioxidants specific to blueberries (like anthocyanins) have been found to reduce risk factors for certain diseases, namely heart disease.
Blueberries are also considered a brain boosting super food, so if you’re having trouble focusing, it can help there as well.
2. Artichokes
Artichokes have an antioxidant called chlorogenic acid.
Chlorogenic acid is known for its anti inflammatory qualities, which have been found to reduce risk of certain types of heart disease and cancers.
Boiled or steamed artichokes have an especially high amount of antioxidants– these methods of cooking actually increase the amount of antioxidants found in this delicious veggie.
3. Dark Chocolate
Who doesn’t want to hear that there are actually benefits to eating chocolate?
Dark chocolate has an even greater FRAP analysis than blueberries per serving size.
Dark chocolate may even raise levels of “good” cholesterol and prevent “bad” cholesterol from oxidizing.
Do you know what substance the body produces as an antioxidant of last resort if it has an insufficient intake of dietary antioxidants and antioxidant enzyme cofactors?
Cholesterol.
4. Beans
Everyone’s favorite legume, the bean, is one of the best vegetable sources of antioxidants that you can find.
Some beans like pinto beans have an antioxidant called kaempferol, which can reduce chronic inflammation.
Inexpensive and healthy with fibre and nutrients, beans are a great source to consider for your antioxidant needs.
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5. Kale
Known to be one of the most nutritious leafy greens, kale is full of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, and of course, antioxidants.
Some varieties of kale like redbor have even higher amounts of these compounds.
Kale is high in calcium, too, so you know you’re contributing to your bone health while also fighting off those pesky free radicals.
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6. Other Sources Of Antioxidants
This is, of course, not an exhaustive list of foods with antioxidants.
You can find them in other colorful fruits and vegetables, like beets and raspberries.
Superfoods like goji berries are also high in antioxidants, including lycium barbarum which is not found in many other sources.
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Strawberries and pecans are also bountiful sources for your daily antioxidant needs.
Kale is part of a family of vegetables called cruciferous vegetables, which are all descended from the mustard plant, believe it or not.
These include broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, rutabaga, and of course, mustard.
You even get some antioxidants when you drink coffee.
Contact The Edison Institute Of Nutrition Today
Do you have a passion for holistic health?
Are you interested in helping others by addressing the root cause of their illnesses?
If so, consider a new career in holistic nutrition.
At The Edison Institute Of Nutrition, we offer an online diploma in holistic nutrition which will give you everything you need to get started in your new career.
