What are antioxidants
Antioxidants are disease fighting molecules. Oxidation caused in the body by normal daily function can disrupt normal cell function, causing free radicals which can start a chain reaction.This chain reaction requires antioxidants to be neutralised. Antioxidants can help prevent but also repair this damage, the free radical damage accumulating in the body is thought to be responsible for most diseases, such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, parkinson's and alzheimers.
Fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables, especially the brightly coloured ones have always been considered the rulers as far as antioxidants. Regarding fruits, berries are the highest, followed by apples and your summer fruits such as mangoes, peaches, apricots and melons.
Antioxidant values of fruits
Wild blueberries 13,000
Commercial blueberries & cranberries 9,000
Raspberries & Strawberries 6,000
Apples 4000-6000
Stone fruit 1500-2000
Vegetables 500-1500
You will notice that wild blueberries score higher, this is a good reason to search for wild varieties of fruits and vegetables if possible.
Spices, with their weight in gold
Spices have generally been regarded as aromatic compounds added to food for a bit of flavour and to accentuate a dish, but these are the true crown jewels.
They rank higher than all foods.
Ground cloves 290,000
Oregano 175,000
Rosemary 165,000
Peppermint 160,000
Cinnamon 131,000
Tumeric 127,000
Vanilla 122,000
Cacao 76,000
The verdict
Add spices to as many of your home cooked meals as possible. In fact add them to smoothies, add them to herbal teas or even your water bottle, everything counts and they all soon add up.
Add berries to your fruit salads, smoothies and breakfast cereals.
Don't forget variety
As different foods contain different antioxidants, aim to eat as many different colours to gain a full array of these vital substances. There are literally thousands and no specific one food has them all.
My name is Blair Harvey and I have had the pleasure of working at one of Australia's best Health Retreat's for the past fourteen wonderful years. Over those years I have had the delight of working with a spectacular kitchen team, we all have an immense passion for cooking good healthy food that is unique and tantalizing to your taste buds. Together we have not only developed our skills in cooking wholesome, nourishing and out right delicious foods, but we have been committed to broadening our knowledge of healing with whole foods and exploring the beauty of healthy living. Because of our enthusiasm in the benefits of foods and there healing properties I developed a blog to help us SHARE what we have learnt with the rest of the world.
You will find tasty gems of wisdom on health, food and healing, helping to expand your mind and revitalize your knowledge of healthy eating.