Antioxidants have become popular in the last 10 years because of research that shows its benefits. If watch advertisements on TV for very long at all you will hear about them and how good they are for you. But what exactly are they and how do they impact our health? Antioxidants are food compounds that seek out free radicals in the body and neutralize them. Free radicals cause premature aging and lead to the onset of diseases like cancer among others. When antioxidants find these free radicals in the body the give up an electron and actually neutralize it. They are true scavengers! Want to see the effect of free radical damage in everyday life?

Cut open an apple and leave out in open air for a couple of hours. You'll begin to see the flesh begin to turn brown... that is free radical damage or oxidation. Another example is rust on a car. Again, free radical damage. There are some activities that we need to stay away from to decrease free radicals like smoking, drinking too much and too much stress. All of these lead to premature aging and disease. But what foods can we eat that are rich in antioxidants? Here are a few.

Here are some foods that are rich in antioxidants:

Berries

Berries contain powerful antioxidants called polyphenols. Blueberries, cranberries, raspberries and blackberries all contain antioxidants but new studies are suggesting that blueberries may contain the highest amount of antioxidants. (Red wine is rich in polyphenols which is one of the benefits of drinking it)

Cherries & Apples

Both are high in Quercitin, an anti-inflammatory nutrient and antioxidant that provides cell protection.

Vine Ripened Vegetables

Beans, artichoke hearts and russet potatoes. All three are great sources of antioxidants but if you can buy vine ripened vegetables in general you will be getting a great mixture of antioxidants, vitamins and other phytochemicals that are very important to health. The farmer's market is a great place to find good "vine ripened" food during the growing season... many of the big box stores don't carry vine ripened fruits and veggies.

Because of the pressure on commercial farmers to produce quickly, green harvesting has become prevalent in our society. Also, the wide spread use of pesticides and genetic alterations to our food have lead to decreased nutritional value. Our foods have been decreasing in nutrients for at least 20 years. Most folks know this simply by doing a taste test...foods just don't taste as good as they used to. A vine ripened tomato tastes much different than one that is commercially grown, picked green and then gassed to "ripen" it. Many important phytonutrients are not delivered from the vine into the fruit until the last few days before it is ripe. Supplementation is key for health and that includes supplementing with a good antioxidant.