Nutritional News
Antioxidants
Volu me
Eating a healthy well-balanced diet
provides your body with everything it
needs to function properly and experts
agree that eating fresh whole foods are
the best way to achieve this. Another
important factor to understanding the
basics of nutrition is antioxidants.
Antioxidants are naturally found in whole
foods such as beans, berries, nuts and
other assorted fresh fruits and
vegetables. Antioxidants are the
vitamins and minerals as well as enzymes
(proteins in your body that assist in
chemical reactions). Antioxidants
protect your body’s cells from damage,
which occurs naturally when you are
exposed to things like pollution, tobacco
smoke etc. Cell damage can lead to
common diseases like heart disease and
diabetes.
While there is no universal standard for measuring the
antioxidant value in food, USDA researchers at Tufts
University developed a laboratory test which is now an
accepted measure of antioxidant “power”, called the
ORAC scale (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity). The
ORAC score is generally expressed per serving size and
experts generally agree that you need a minimum of
3000 ORAC units per day.
USDA chemist Ronald L. Prior says the total antioxidant
capacity of the foods does not necessarily reflect their
health benefit. Benefits depend on how the foods
antioxidants are absorbed and utilized in the body
.
Rank
Item
Serving
Size
Total
antioxidant
capacity per
serving
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Dried red bean
Wild blue berry
Red Kidney Bean
Pinto Bean
Cultivated Blue Berry
Cranberry
Cooked Artichoke
Blackberry
Prune
Raspberry
½ cup
½ cup
½ cup
1cup
1cup
1 cup
1 cup
1 cup
½ cup
1 cup
13,727
13,427
13,259
11,864
9,019
8,983
7,904
7,701
7,729
6,058
An apple turning brown or a cut on your
skin becoming inflamed are examples of
oxidation. Oxidative stress occurs when
the production of harmful molecules
called free radicals is beyond the
protective capability of the antioxidant
defenses.
Free radicals are a natural by-product
of energy metabolism (generated by
things like ultraviolet rays, tobacco
smoke and air pollution) they lack a
full complement of electrons, which
makes them unstable so they simply
steal electrons form other molecules,
damaging those molecules in the
process. Antioxidants are substances
that are capable of counteracting the
damaging but normal effects of
oxidization. It’s important to recognize
that the term “antioxidant” reflects a
chemical property rather than a
specific nutritional property. Each of
the nutrients that have antioxidant
properties also has numerous other
aspects and should be considered
individually. For example a recently
published article in the journal of
Cardio Vascular Research from the
University of Cardiff found that Vitamin
C, which is a well-known antioxidant,
can also have “pro-oxidant” effects1.
Free radicals are well-known to cause
cellular damage but they can be
helpful too. When your immune
system cells fight intruders, the oxygen
they use, spins off an army of free
radicals that destroys viruses, bacteria,
and damaged body cells in an
oxidative burst. Vitamin C can then
disarm the free radicals.
There are many products on store
shelves and articles touting those
antioxidants can slow aging, fend off
diseased, improve vision or even fight
off the common cold. Manufacturers
commonly add antioxidants to food
products such as vegetable oils and
prepared foods in order to prevent or
delay their deterioration from the
action of air. Keep in mind that the
body functions well when natural
whole foods are allowed the
opportunity to do their job.
1
5│I ssue
6
│
Ap ril ,
2015
Fun Food Facts!
The only fruit that has its
seeds on the outer skin is a
strawberry
Lettuce is one vegetable
that is never sold frozen,
canned, processed or
cooked
Did You Know?
Vitamin E is the most abundant fat
soluble antioxidant known to man.
Vitamin E has a long chain of
reactions per chemical, which
means that a single vitamin can
react several times to neutralize
free radicals and still remain stable.
Vitamin C is the most abundant
water-soluble antioxidant known to
man.
This chemical works in cellular
fluids of the body. It has special
characteristics that allow it to fight
pollution, excessive sunlight,
cigarette smoke and other toxic
invaders.
http://cardiovascres.oxfordjournals.org/content/84/2/218.full
Resources
Eat Right Ontario
CBC
Web MD
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