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Discover
Top Antioxidant Foods
Antioxidants are agents in our body that help to fight off the
destructive effects of free radical molecules that are linked to the development
of heart disease and other ailments.
In addition to antioxidants that are naturally produced by our bodies, there are
also antioxidants that are found in a number of assorted foods and the
more of these foods we eat on a daily basis, the better off we are going to be.
There are certain foods that have
elevated levels of antioxidants than others and these are the types of foods
that we should definitely include in our diet.
If you are interested in finding
out what the best antioxidant foods are and why you should start eating more of
them, the following information may be helpful to you.
Antioxidants in
Dark Chocolate
Chocolate is considered as one of the
top antioxidant foods. That’s right, chocolate is actually good for you.
Well not all types of
chocolate...dark chocolate - that is!
Milk chocolate or the dark chocolate
eaten with milk is a no-no! (Milk was found to interfere with the absorption of
antioxidants from chocolate).
What's So Wonderful About Dark
Chocolate?
 Dark
chocolate is recognized as a potent antioxidant. It is full of antioxidants
because it is made from the cocoa bean, and this is the food with the highest
antioxidant value on the planet.
The cocoa bean is one of the most complex foods because it contains over 300
chemically identifiable compounds, and the cocoa beans are packed with potent
antioxidants known as
flavonoids.
These compounds work to boost
good HDL cholesterol levels in the body, reduce blood pressure, and reduce bad
cholesterol.
You need to realize however that just because dark chocolate is full of
antioxidants, this certainly does not mean that you can eat as much as you want
of it without consequences.
After all, dark chocolate as with
all chocolate is also full of calories, and so if you just sit around and chow
down chocolate you will be getting antioxidants but you will also be consuming a
ton of sugar and calories.
Other Top
Antioxidant Foods
 When
looking for top antioxidant foods, you need to be aware of the foods that are
scoring high in antioxidant analysis called ORAC.
ORAC, is short for Oxygen Radical
Absorbance Capacity, a test tube analysis that measures the total antioxidant
power of foods and other chemical substances.
Two human studies show that
eating vegetables and fruits with high ORAC scores or simply doubling intake of
fruits and vegetables that are naturally high in antioxidants raises the
antioxidant power of the blood between 13 and 25 percent.
(For ORAC values of different fruits
and vegetables, see 2 tables at the end)
For more information visit...
-
Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts
-
http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/main.htm
- The
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (vol. 68, pp. 1081-1087) and the
Journal of Nutrition (vol. 128, pp. 2383-2390) – featured studies on the
antioxidant power of the blood after ingesting high- scoring ORAC foods.
- Or talk to your doctor or nutritionist - they will be able to offer you
more information on antioxidants, what they are and how they work, and what
foods you can find them in. The more of these foods you eat the healthier you
will be.
|
Top-Scoring Fruits
& Vegetables ORAC units per 100 grams
(about 3 ½ ounces) |
|
Fruits |
j |
Vegetables |
j |
|
Prunes |
5770 |
Kale |
1770 |
|
Raisins |
2830 |
Spinach |
1260 |
|
Blueberries |
2400 |
Brussels sprouts |
980 |
|
Blackberries |
2036 |
Alfalfa sprouts |
930 |
|
Strawberries |
1540 |
Broccoli flowers |
890 |
|
Raspberries |
1220 |
Beets |
840 |
|
Plums |
949 |
Red bell pepper |
710 |
|
Oranges |
750 |
Onion |
450 |
|
Red grapes |
739 |
Corn |
400 |
|
Cherries |
670 |
Eggplant |
390 |
|
Kiwi fruit |
602 |
|
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|
Grapefruit, pink |
483 |
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