Antioxidants Rich Foods and What They Can Do for You

Antioxidants, they are the all important things that clean free radicals out of our systems. Free radicals are the nasty things that we get from pollution and pesticides that make us sick and cause diseases like cancer. Most people know that they can get antioxidants from their fruits, but there are many other places you can get them into your system and benefit from all they can do for you.

Whole grain pastas, that specify whole grain wheat as their first ingredient, are a great source of antioxidants. Whole grains are heart healthy too. Unfortunately, if you suffer from an intolerance to gluten, or Celiac disease, then whole grain pastas will not be a good source for your antioxidants, but don't worry, there are many other places you can find them!

Popcorn has four time more antioxidant power than most fruits. Can you believe that? If you air pop your popcorn it is considered a 100% whole grain food. Skip the butter and the salt though, as both of these topping are bad for your heart.

Eggs are rich in lutein, which is an antioxidant that is good for your eyes. This antioxidant is found in the eggs yolk, you know, that part of the egg that they are always saying is bad for you. The egg yolk's lutein content is more easily absorbed into the body than even that of spinach, which is also a great source of this powerful antioxidant.

Even your canned beans are a great source of antioxidants. Sure, dried beans have them too, but why wait two days to be able to eat them when you can easily open up a can of beans! The darker the canned bean the more antioxidants they have. So chose some nice dark red kidney beans for your chili and add black beans to all of your Mexican dishes.

Yogurt is a good source of riboflavin, it has 25% of the recommended daily value in one cup. B vitamins, like riboflavin, help the antioxidants do their job at fighting off those free radicals. So eat some yogurt!

Skip the Equal ™ and the Sweet N' Low ™ and go for natural sweeteners, like molasses, honey, brown sugar and maple syrup. You will be passing on harmful chemicals and choosing sweet taste and another wonderful source of antioxidants. These sugar alternatives have as much free radicals killers in them as a second serving of nuts or berries do. Honey is great on peanut butter sandwiches, just saying.

Sources:

Food Bible by Judith Wills

http://www.vitaminstuff.com/antioxidants.html