Taking a walk through your neighborhood grocer, you are sure to notice that just about everything seems to be labeled “antioxidant.” Everything from tea to vegetables and even chocolate and wine are suppose to be “rich in antioxidants.” Apparently, they do everything from improving skin to battling cancer. But really, what is antioxidant and why should I care if my bottle of wine has any?

Is this just another marketing ploy to get me to purchase tea that taste like feet all in the name of good health?

According to The American Heritage Science dictionary an antioxidant is: “A chemical compound or substance that inhibits oxidation. Certain vitamins, such as vitamin E, are antioxidants and may protect body cells from damage caused by the oxidative effects of free radicals.” http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=antioxidant

Okay now we are getting somewhere. So what is a free radical and why don’t we want them oxidizing in our body?

Referencing The American Heritage Science Dictionary, a free radical is: “An atom or group of atoms that has at least one unpaired electron and is therefore unstable and highly reactive. In animal tissues, free radicals can damage cells and are believed to accelerate the progression of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and age-related diseases.” http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/free%20radical

So free radicals are a group of atoms that have at least one electron that is  not paired which makes it unstable. Because of its unstable state these free radicals can damage cells and cause cancer to accelerate. The antioxidants  protect the body from these crazy free radicals running ramped through out systems by preventing them from oxidizing. Now this is starting to make  perfect sense. I see why everything in the grocery store is labeled as being  rich in antioxidants, it’s a huge money making market.

Obviously, antioxidants can help people be much healthier and protect against cancer. There does seem to be a mix of evidence as to how much they actually do help protect against cancer but at this point, every little bit helps.  http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/common/standard/transform.jsp?requestURI=/healthatoz/Atoz/hl/nutr/vita/alert03032005.jsp

However, I am quiet skeptical that everything that is labeled as having antioxidants, actually does contain these cancer fighting helpers. 

So what foods contain the highest amounts of antioxidants naturally?

According to an article by Harvard Health Publication the foods highest in antioxidants are as follows:

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cancer/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100152031

These are all things that are part of healthy, balanced diet.

While antioxidants may not cure all of our ailments, it is obvious that they do help.   So the next time you are cruising the aisles of the local market, before you  purchase that strange looking brew that claims to have antioxidants, remember  that you can get more of these free radical fighting helpers by eating lots of  fruits and vegetables.

You don’t need to purchase any special elixir, just pay better attention to  what you are eating everyday.

“antioxidant.” The American Heritage® Science Dictionary.  Houghton Mifflin Company. 06 Jul. 2008. Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/antioxidant.

“free radical.” The American Heritage® Science Dictionary.  Houghton Mifflin Company. 06 Jul. 2008. Dictionary.com  http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/free
  radical

Most people are aware that eating garlic can help in the fight against heart disease and perhaps even cancer. But it may also help in losing weight! Scientists working at a research institute in Israel, the Weizmann Institute of Science, have found a compound in garlic that may significantly help in the battle to lose weight.

The four-person team have found that a compound called allicin is produced when garlic is crushed. Normally, this is nature’s way for the garlic plant to protect itself from insects, parasites, fungus, and bacteria – the allicin simply kills or repels the bacteria, fungus or insects. In fact, allicin has proved to be highly potent in killing many forms of bacteria!

Allicicn, the overwhelming odour of crushed garlic that everyone is familiar with, is produced when a compound in garlic called allin is broken down by a garlic enzyme called allinase. By simply crushing garlic a chemical reaction occurs between the enzyme allinase and the compound allin to produce allicin.

The scientific team led by Dr Mirelman fed two groups of rats a high sugar diet; a diet of mainly fruit sugar. One group obviously gained weight, however, the other group were also fed allicin – the highly potent compound found in garlic – and this group did NOT gain any weight, even though they consumed the same amount of sugar This suggests that allicin – the compound found in garlic - was somehow stopping the rats from gaining extra weight. The exact reason why it prevented weight gain in the rats is unknown.

But, garlic is known to reduce blood fat levels. So the possible reason for the rats not gaining weight is that allicin binds with or dissolves blood fat, thus lowering or limiting the level of body fat.

Although similar studies have yet to be performed on humans, it’s suspected that garlic may have the same effect on humans as it did rats because garlic behaves in the same way on blood fat levels.

Read more about this study here.

Breast cancer affects as many as 1 in 7 women in America, and kills over 50,000 every year. In the UK, 1 in 9 women develop breast cancer and over 13,000 die every year. So any way of reducing these appalling death figures would be a welcome boon for women and health authorities around the world.

Thirty nine post-menopausal women with recently diagnosed breast cancer and awaiting surgery were studied. The women were given either a muffin that contained 25 grams of ground flaxseed, or a plain (placebo) muffin that contained no flaxseed. The study was conducted over a 39-day period.

After the study, all breast-cancer tumours were removed from the women and analysed. It was found that the growth of tumours from the women who had been eating the flaxseed muffins was significantly reduced compared to the women eating the plain muffins. This is the first time it has been proved in humans that flaxseed can significantly restrict the growth of breast tumours!

The suspected reason why flaxseed was found to be so effective against breast cancer tumors is because it contains a significant amount of a compound called lignan. Lignan is known to regulate estrogen levels. High levels of estrogen have been linked to breast, uterus and cervical cancer.

Read more about the study here.

A study concluded in 2004 suggests that children fed a poor diet are more likely to be irritable, swear, argue, and generally develop an anti-social attitude.

Professor Adrian Raine from the University of Southern California (USC) co-authored a study based on the development of more than 1000 children from Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean just off the coast of South Africa.

The researchers analysed data over a 14-year-plus period which included factors such as social background, education and health, and they concluded that the more under-nourished the children, the greater the risk of anti-social behavior in later years.

Therefore, Professor Raine pointed out that parents could help prevent their children developing anti-social and aggressive bevavior by ensuring they receive a nutritional diet.

Read more about the study here.

The exact reason why diets like Atkins (high protein) promote weight loss is not well understood. But there are many anecdotal stories to support the idea that eating plenty of meat can result in losing weight.

Previous research has suggested there is link between significant protein consumption and reduced hunger pains. Indeed, Gilles Mithieux of Lyon University in France, head researcher of a new study, states that, “It is well known that protein feeding decreases hunger sensation and subsequent food intake in animals and humans.”

Researchers from the French research body INSERM, made the surprising discovery that diets high in protein spark glucose production in the small intestine. The study involving rats, demonstrated that significant protein consumption increased gene activity that leads to greater glucose production in the animals’ intestines.

The extra glucose was detected by the liver glucose-sensor which, in turn, triggered parts of the brain that reduced hunger pains and hence food intake. The underlying reasons why protein triggers glucose production still remains unknown, but researchers suspect that eating meat activates a chemical inside intestinal cells which prompts specific genes to produce glucose.

This research supports the idea that adding quality protein to your diet may help you lose weight.

Read more about the study here.

In 2002 a study was conducted to test the effect of a common bread preservative on children following many anecdotal reports of child hyperactivity after consuming the bread preservative.

The study was published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.

The behaviour of twenty-seven children on the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital diet, which prohibits food additives, natural salicylates, amines and glutamates, improved significantly.

The children were then given bread containing the preservative calcium propionate (preservative code 282) or bread free of the preservative - placebo. They were allowed to eat four slices per day.
After only 3 days, the behaviour of 52% of children eating the bread with the preservative ‘worsened’ in comparison to the others.

The study authors noted a multitude of symptoms in the children whose behaviour deteriorated including irritability, restlessness, inattention and sleep disturbance. And they concluded, “Minimizing the concentrations [of the preservative] added to processed foods would reduce adverse reactions”.

Calcium propionate (preservative code 282) is very common bread preservative used in many countries worldwide.

Read more about the study here.

Scientists believe they have identified the reason why olive oil has a potentially protective effect on our hearts: Oleocanthal. A derivative of deacetoxy-ligstroside aglycone - oleocanthal - appears to act as a natural anti-inflammatory compound preventing or limiting the effects of various inflammatory chemicals and enzymes that may cause heart disease.

Oleocanthal seems to prevent inflammation in a similar way to aspirin and ibuprofen. This may be the reason for the alleged health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in olive oil.

Read more about the study here.

Most people know that vegetables and fruits are good for us and should be part of our daily diet. But most people don’t know that tomatoes, in particular, can significantly help in the prevention of prostate cancer.

Tomatoes are rich in an antioxidant called lycopene. Lycopene is found in ample amounts in tomatoes, and only trace amounts can be found in certain other fruits and vegetables. Lycopene, like vitamins A,C,E and others, is a powerful antioxidant capable neutralising free radicals that cause cell damage, aging and disease.

It is not known exactly why lycopene helps to prevent prostate cancer, but it’s believed that it works with the immune system to somehow slow down or stop the process that leads to cancer developing in the prostate organ.

Dr Edward Giovannucci of Harvard Medical School and a team of Researchers conducted a study of the dietary intake of 48,000 males. Over a six-year period, they found that the men who ate tomatoes (at least 10 servings per week), had up to a 40% reduced risk of prostate cancer, compared to those who didn’t eat tomatoes.

That means regular male tomato-eaters have a significantly decreased risk of developing prostate cancer! However, lycopene, found mainly in tomatoes, is only absorbed with fats and oils, so there must be some form of fat in the recipe or meal to ensure maximum absorption of lycopene by the body.

Also, Dr Giovannucci said that cooked tomatoes seemed more effective than tomato juice or even eating raw tomatoes. So cooking tomatoes with a quality cooking oil, such as olive oil, may be the best way to reap the cancer-fighting benefits from tomatoes.

Interestingly, it was also found from the study that tomato-based products, as well as tomatoes, proved to be effective as well.

Read more about the study here.

Parents have long suspected that additives in processed foods can affect their children’s behaviour and mood,and possibly contribute to ADHD - attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Such serious concerns have pressurised some manufacturers to create processed foods without any additives.

An interesting experiment on the Trevor McDonald Tonight show (ITV, UK) demonstrated that identical twins fed altered diets behaved differently. Michael and Christopher Parker, aged 5, were put on different diets for two weeks.

Christopher was allowed to eat his normal diet which included fizzy drinks, chocolates, ice cream, flavoured crisps and canned foods. Michael was banned from eating chocolate, artificially coloured sweets, soft drinks, certain canned foods and was allowed to eat fruit and other whole foods and to drink natural juice and water.

After two weeks, Michael became calmer, more assertive and talkative, while his brother remained the same. Aptitude tests before the experiment, devised by Professor Jim Stevenson of Southampton University, showed that the twins had similar concentration and IQ scores. Tests after the experiment demonstrated that Michael’s overall score had increased by 15% in comparison to his brother’s score who was fed his normal diet. Michael’s mum was amazed by his dramatic improvement.

The experiment was broadened to include Michael and Christopher’s classmates in Cheshire. After a fortnight of restricting additives, 57% of parents noticed improvements in their children’s behaviour and sleep patterns, suggesting that food additives may not only contribute but, in some cases, cause ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

This experiment suggests a low or free additive diet improves concentration, mood and even behaviour in some if not many children. However, firm conclusions should not be drawn from such an experiment - the children’s parents could have easily affected the experiment’s outcome and/or the improvement could be down to increased vitamin and mineral intake, or some other factor, but this experiment’s findings are supported by a number of studies!

This experiment was conducted by: www.ITV.com

Tea has been widely used as a beverage in China for thousands of years, and Chinese Emperor Shen Nung is believed to be the discoverer of tea in the 27th century BC. Tea’s medicinal properties have been suspected for centuries, but not until recently have they been proven.

Dr. Junshi Chen from the Chinese Academy of Preventative Medicine in Beijing headed a study of 59 people at risk from developing mouth cancer. A liquid solution of green and black tea was rubbed into the study-group’s pre-cancerous mouth-lesions - the infected or diseased patch of skin or tissue in or around the mouth - over a period of six months. Those treated with the green and black tea mixture showed significant reduction in the cancerous cells around the diseased tissue in their mouths. The others not treated with the tea showed no reduction at all!

Although the reason for the reduction in cancerous cells was not known, tea is known to contain several very powerful antioxidants that help fight cancer and tumour cells. However, more recently, Dr. James Morrie, of Purdue University (Indiana), and his team identified epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg) as the compound in tea that inhibits cancer cell growth.

An enxyme called tNOX plays a key role in the growth of cancerous cells. Another similar enzyme called NOX helps in the growth of normal cells. EGCg (epigallocatechin gallate), found in tea, suppresses the tNOX enzyme so inhibits the growth of cancerous cells, but EGCg has no effect on the NOX enzyme. So tea, as a cancer-busting beverage, is also safe to drink because is does not affect the growth of normal cells.

Read more about the study here.