One of my favorite words – ANTIOXIDANTS! This simple word makes me smile. These powerful chemicals are known to reduce the risk of a wide array of ailments and the more research they do, the more benefits they find! We’ve even seen the sales of blueberries, cranberries, tropical fruits and other related products increase dramatically in the past few years due to their antioxidant properties. Up until now, the antioxidant power of a food or supplement was mostly measured in ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity). But a recent study took it to the next level by measuring the antioxidants bioactivity inside the cell; otherwise know as cellular antioxidant activity (CAA). This is really interesting because the concept goes back to the basics; we may eat the best food and take good supplements, but we don’t know how well it's absorbed inside the cell. In the study, they analyzed red and green grapes, wild blueberries, cranberries and apples. Again, blueberries came out on top! We will have to keep an eye on this new analysis technique, but meanwhile keep on eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables!
 You could also consider taking antioxidant supplements, but the problem with that is the lack of antioxidant variety. If you take a supplement that only contains one or several isolated antioxidants, you’re missing out on thousands of others. Every year researchers isolate new antioxidants from different food sources.
For example, people take lycopene and lutein capsules for prostate or vision health, but they're missing out on all the other antioxidants that are available in a variety of fruits and vegetables. You could get hundreds of different antioxidants plus lycopene and lutein (not to mention all the vitamins, minerals and fiber) by eating corn, tomatoes, kiwi, broccoli, watermelon, grapefruit, tomato, peach and so on.
Bottom line - eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables will provide you with a larger protection blanket, and while you fill up on those you’re not eating “the other unhealthy stuff”! - Josee Labels: Antioxidants, fruits and vegetables, Health, Josee
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