Each day of our lives, our bodies are busy rebuilding themselves. A result of proven research shows a healthy diet consisting of a variety of your whole foods is a great defender and protector of our bodies cells. Might sound crazy, but our cells are continuously dieing and others are created to take their place. When this works the way its designed to, this is what keeps your body functioning well and healthy everyday. Almost continuously, our DNA is attacked or even damaged from attack of the "free radicals,"which leads to a negative lifestyle, since faulty DNA disturbs the reproduction of our cells. The new cells then don't work properly, which results in the aging of your body, or in the worst case it might even cause a degenerative disease to set in.
I assume at this point you know that the food you eat has a great impact on these processes? Eating plenty of foods high in antioxidants such as those found in your whole foods can help to protect your DNA and ensure correct cell reproduction. By eating the right foods, you can slow down the aging process of your body and lower your risk of getting a disease such as cancer or heart trouble .
So, what should we try to eat more of? The US department of Agriculture gives the answer. You need foods with the highest content of antioxidants. The foods that are the highest on the scale are almost exclusively fruit and vegetables. Oh yeah lets not forget the beans:)!These foods are the nutrient-rich but low-calorie foods that are best for your body and health.
These are the top 10 antioxidant rich foods:
- dried small red beans (look similar to kidney beans, just smaller)
- wild blueberries
- red kidney beans
- pinto beans
- cultivated blueberries
- cranberries
- cooked artichokes
- blackberries
- prunes
- raspberries
Other foods with high antioxidant content are strawberries, various types of apples (Red delicious, Granny Smith, Gala), pecan nuts, sweet cherries, black plums, cooked russet potatoes, dried black beans and plums.
How to get the most out of antioxidant rich foods
To get the maximum health benefit of antioxidants, you should eat antioxidant rich foods every single day. Find out more on how to include your whole foods daily. Now, don't simply try to eat heaps of dried small red beans every day, just because they have the highest antioxidant content of all foods. Be sure to eat a variety of the foods mentioned above, since each of them contains other important nutrients as well. The best way of getting enough of all nutrients into your body is to always eat a wide variety of healthy foods.
The way you prepare your foods also has a great impact on their antioxidants capacity as well. Most foods lose some of their antioxidant power when you process them, except tomatoes: Their antioxidant capacity is believe it or not enhanced when you cook them. In general it is better to consume fresh foods instead of cooked or frozen ones, which is for sure easy with fruit.
It's not to say that cooked or frozen is all bad. Sometimes, you simply don't have a choice - maybe you don't have time and canned or frozen is quicker. After all, a blueberry pie or homemade raspberry jam will still be healthier than no fruit at all. But try to als
o fit some fresh foods in every day. Fruit can be an excellent snack or dessert, for example, and they are great for lunch boxes, too.
Conclusion
If you make antioxidant rich foods part of your daily diet, this can drastically help you and your family prevent early aging and diseases. Don't forget to eat lots of fruits, vegetables oh yeah, don't forget the beans, which are the foods with the highest antioxidant content. Prefer fresh foods over processed ones to get the maximum health benefit, and if you do have to process foods, choose a method that retains as many nutrients as possible, and cook foods as short as possible.
