Have you ever asked yourself: What are antioxidants and why should we take them daily? Then you've come to the right place!
Do you know what fruits, vegetables, grains, coffee, tea and cocoa have in common? Yes, they are all delicious. But they also contain a lot of antioxidants.
Anti-what? What are antioxidants, you may be asking yourself.
They can be used to combat free radicals and oxidative stress. But what exactly are antioxidants and why do we need them?
These are natural ingredients in food that can protect our body from harmful environmental influences. These influences are also called free radicals.
Antioxidants include
- Vitamins
- Minerals
- and secondary plant compounds
These antioxidant foods you should eat every day!
The number one cause of too many free radicals in the body is smoking. With every puff, your body releases a trillion (!) free radicals. No matter how healthy your diet is, you'll be much more susceptible to a whole host of bad diseases in the long run.
Tip: It may be that your antioxidant household is not in balance. To replenish it, you can reach for direct juice from certain fruits that have exactly the ingredients you need. There is a 6-pack of juice from Rabenhorst on Amazon from dark fruit that tastes really delicious.
What are antioxidants and how they protect our body
Free radicals are produced by stress, smoking, sunbathing, but also by environmental influences. If we are exposed to these situations, a process called oxidation takes place in our body.
Our body manages to render a small amount of these aggressive compounds harmless itself and thus prevent cell damage.
And that's exactly what it needs antioxidants for. They counteract oxidation and render free radicals harmless.
So what are antioxidants if not the guarantee that we stay healthy. They provide a natural balance in our body.
Your dietary change is guaranteed to succeed!
What are antioxidants in food
We absorb these important nutrients when we eat, provided we eat a healthy, balanced diet. Vegetables, fruit and salad are pumped full of the healthy-makers.
Probably the best known antioxidant is vitamin C. It is followed by vitamin E, carotenoids, selenium, zinc and secondary plant compounds.
Tip: Are you interested in the topic of nutrition? Then you should get the "Nutrition Compass" by Bas Kast. This book summarizes all scientific studies on the subject of nutrition in a clear and easy-to-understand way. You can order it from Amazon.
That's why where important that you eat colorful every day!
Tip: Do you know the book "Naturally young with antioxidants" from Amazon? In it you will learn how to get a strong heart, better concentration and protect yourself from diseases with healthy food.
Carotenoids
These are vegetable dyes that color food red or orange (beta carotene), among other things. You can find them in carrots, tomatoes, pumpkin, sweet potato, peppers, apricots, but also spinach, broccoli or kale.
Vitamin C
Gives a refreshing and sour note to many foods. You can find it in kiwis, citrus fruits, strawberries, currants, peppers but also parsley.
These are the top 10 vitamin C foods!
Vitamin E
The largest amount of vitamin E is found in vegetable oils, namely olive oil and rapeseed oil. But it is also found in Flaxseed*, fish, sweet potatoes, nuts.
Find out if you have a vitamin E deficiency!
Selenium
Have you ever heard of selenium? It protects the body from cell damage. You can find it in broccoli, white cabbage, mushrooms, legumes, garlic and onion.
Top 10 foods - mega tasty and full of selenium
Zinc
You can find this trace element in animal and plant foods. Good sources of zinc are poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, whole grains, oatmeal and meat.
Here's how to put more zinc in your diet!
Polyphenols
They color red-purple and yellow fruits. Like cherries, red cabbage, grapes, berries and also apples. But they polyphenols hide also in green and black tea or cocoa and coffee beans.
Phytoestrogens
Legumes and cereals are packed with phytoestrogens. This is a plant-based hormone mix that is similar in structure to our female sex hormone estrogen.
Sulfides
They give garlic, onions, chives and leeks their typical pungent taste and smell.
How to supply your body with sufficient antioxidants
There are a few little things that you are guaranteed to do wrong. But that's not so bad. Since you know the answer to the questions What are antioxidants and what are they hiding in, you'll get a few tips along the way that you can implement immediately.
1. do not peel fruit
You peel apples, pears and the like before you eat them? Don't do that. Many antioxidants are located directly under the skin. So instead of peeling off the skin, it's better to wash the fruit thoroughly.
By the way, this also applies to some vegetables such as carrots or radishes.
This juicy apple bread is prepared with peel!
2. buy seasonally
Many vitamins are lost when vegetables and fruits are stored for a long time. Vitamin C is one of the most important, and it is also sensitive to heat. If you grow vegetables, herbs and fruits yourself and eat them immediately, your body will get the most out of them.
If that's not possible, buy food seasonally and regionally. The shorter the transport route, the better for you.
Nevertheless, our body may have too few antioxidants available in stressful times. Then you can help with dietary supplements. You can order capsules with 21 antioxidants online.
3. eat whole grains
Most of the antioxidants in cereals are found in the outer layers. None of them can be found in white flour.
That's why you should always give preference to whole grain cereal products. Ideally, you should choose whole spelt flour. By the way, whole grains also keep you full much longer.
Yummy! Quick wholemeal rolls with carrots and nuts!
4. drink tea, cocoa and coffee
Coffee and cocoa beans contain polyphenols. So treating yourself to a coffee or a cocoa - without sugar and cream, please - not only tastes delicious, but is also good for your health.
You should also treat yourself to a piece of dark chocolate every now and then. The higher the cocoa content, the more phytochemicals there are in the chocolate.
If you have the choice between red and white wine, then you should give preference to red wine. It contains reserveratrol, an antioxidant that is also found in red grape juice.
Our conclusion
The short answer to the question "What are antioxidants" is: They are mega healthy and our body needs them to defend itself against harmful environmental influences. Only through these nutrients it can ward off free radicals.
Eat a healthy and varied diet. And please leave the peel on the apple! :)
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