Foods that contain antioxidants have an amazing ability to fight against cardiovascular diseases, cancer, aging and a lot more! Here’s a list of foods rich in antioxidants that will keep you young and away from various diseases!

Medical experts opine that the amount of antioxidants in your body is directly proportional to the number of years you will live. So what exactly are antioxidants?

Antioxidants are actually substances which help the free radicals (an atom or group of atoms) in your body to neutralize by stabilizing their chemical structure. They are also said to slow down aging and prevent heart diseases.

Antioxidants neutralize the free radicals. These free radicals are the unstable particles produced during the normal metabolism process of the body or from pollution, smoking, etc.

What are the sources of antioxidants?

Antioxidants can be found in:

Fruits: Berries are richest in antioxidants. Strawberries, raspberries, cranberries etc. are the best sources of antioxidants. Also, fruits which are rich in vitamin C such as guava, papaya and oranges have higher amount of antioxidants.

Vegetables: Carrots and tomatoes have carotenoids and lycopene respectively. These antioxidants help in healing damaged skin. Other vegetables like broccoli, capsicums, beans, artichokes, cauliflower, green leafy vegetables etc. also are good source of antioxidants.

Nuts: Nuts and seeds contain vitamin E, selenium etc. which is a good source of antioxidants. Walnuts, sunflower seeds, almonds, cashews, peanuts etc. have good amount of antioxidants but are also high in fat. So it is advisable to be careful while indulging in nuts.

Tea and coffee: Coffee is a rich source of antioxidants and so is tea, both black and green. Most important thing is to remember that you benefit only you consume these in controlled proportions.

Benefits of food with antioxidants

Fights aging: The best and natural way to fight aging is to load yourself with antioxidants. Having said that, this does not guarantee that your skin would not age, eventually it will, but antioxidants heal damaged skin and make it glow. They slow down the aging process.

Fights cancer: Cancer of course has no cure, but we are talking about prevention. It has been found that beta-carotene, which is an antioxidant found in carrots helps in preventing lung cancer. Also tomato products, which contains lycopene helps in preventing prostate cancer.

Prevents heart disease:

There is no scientific evidence to prove that antioxidant supplements help in preventing heart diseases. But consuming foods that containing antioxidants helps in fighting against cardiovascular diseases.

Boosting immunity: Vitamin C has been known to reduce the severity of cold. As most fruits contain vitamin C, simply boost your immunity by having any fruit of your choice.

BDST: 1704 HRS, JAN 28, 2015