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.”

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

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