Antioxidant Foods
Reduce Cell Damage

You look younger and have more energy
with antioxidant foods in your diet.

Plant-based food sources become known as antioxidant agents because of their power to reduce cell damage. Cell damage you cannot stop. Cell damage caused by a metabolic oxidation process that naturally occurs in life.

• Body metabolism uses cells to store and release energy.
• Natural metabolism causes cells to experience oxidation.
• Oxidation can create molecules with unpaired oxygen electrons, called free radicals.

These free radical molecules can damage healthy cells and body tissue.

That is when foods containing antioxidant nutrients become most important to a healthy eating plan.

Cell damage shows in your body — skin spots and wrinkles, inflammation, tumors, chronic disease.
Foods with antioxidant nutrients help to protect cells from damage and minimize these effects.

Antioxidant Nutrition

Thousands of nutrient compounds provide antioxidant effects. The more easily recognized (and well promoted) antioxidant-related nutrients include vitamins like E and C, flavonoids, lipic acid, and carotenoids (alpha- and beta-carotene).

A healthy fiber diet leads to good health for a great many reasons. One of the best reasons, is antioxidants.

Food Sources

Fiber-rich, plant-based foods.
Dense nutrition with great antioxidants.

To find foods with the most antioxidant benefits, the USDA studied oxygen absorbance (the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity or ORAC study). Many of the foods that ranked highest are herbs and spices — easy-to-add antioxidants for any meal plan.

However, the most antioxidant benefit in a typical serving can be found in berries and fruits, and nuts candy!

Antioxidant compounds seem to be most potent in fresh whole foods, especially foods high in vitamin C and vitamin E.

Look for antioxidant nutrients in food like:

• Fruits and Berries
• Leafy green and root vegetables
• Legumes, Peas, and Beans