Hello everyone!
In today’s health and wellness , you hear a lot about antioxidants being good for you. You go into a smoothie shop and read the ingredients for the Morning Sunrise smoothie . It says it is “loaded with antioxidants”. Sure you’ll go ahead and order it since it seems like it’s probably the best thing for your body.
But what exactly is an anti-oxidant!?
Well first of all, what does “anti” mean? Anti usually means to act against something. To counter-act. Do the opposite. “Oxidize” is the process of interacting with oxygen or to combine with oxygen. Look up oxidize or oxidation under Google or a dictionary.
Therefore, antioxidant means to counter act against the oxidation process.
Here’s an example:
You open a banana or cut an apple. You leave it open for awhile and the color of the fruits begin to turn brown. That is the result of oxidation. That is basically what the skin is for; which is, to protect the fruit from being oxidized. When something is oxidized, damage occurs.
Taken from Wikepedia:
“An antioxidant is a molecule capable of inhibiting the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals. In turn, these radicals can start chain reactions that damage cells. Antioxidants terminate these chain reactions by removing free radical intermediates, and inhibit other oxidation reactions.”
So when you hear that there are antioxidants in your food or vitamins, the antioxidants will help you fight against/prevent damage from free radicals.
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“Free radicals, also known simply as radicals, are organic molecules responsible for aging, tissue damage, and possibly some diseases. These molecules are very unstable, therefore they look to bond with other molecules, destroying their vigor and perpetuating the detrimental process. Antioxidants, present in many foods, are molecules that prevent free radicals from harming healthy tissue.” Here is a list that Adam, founder of SuperFood Snacks, put together to get an understanding of the levels of some foods that are considered high in antioxidants. Cranberries —————————-8,272 Blueberries ————————- 5,660 Blackberries ———————— 5,374 Rasberries ———————– 4,609 Almonds ———————- 4,053 Red Wine ——————– 3,373 Incan Berry ——————- 3,032 Goji Berries —————— 2,994 Apples —————– 2,775 Pomegranate Juice —————- 2,440 Oranges ————— 1,651 Spinach ————– 1,379 Green Tea ————- 1,140 These results are based on 91 grams of each food. |
That’s it for now everyone!!
My challenge for you is: Look in your kitchen to see what kinds of fruits and veggies that you have that are considered high in antioxidants? You will be surprised at what you find! =D
See ya later!!
Loving you all,
Cindy
Resources:
Cindy Manit 