Antioxidants…what they’re, what they do and why we need them.
Eat The Rainbow
For the past couple years, we’ve seen a real push in marketing for antioxidants. You’ve seen the commercials where a dragon charges in to save the day, giving all the credit to antioxidants. Are pomegranates the answer, or are there additional foods that offer that antioxidant boost? It’s no mystery why there’s been so much buzz about antioxidants, they’re super good for you and pack a powerful one-two punch to work against and prevent oxidation, but what does that even mean. Unless you’re a nutritionist or dietitian, or possibly a chemist, you probably have no idea other than what you’ve heard in commercials.
We are seeing lots of products nowadays stamped with the word “Antioxidants” in big, bold print. Let me break it down for you, so the next time you see or hear this, you’ll know exactly what they’re talking about. I think of antioxidants as the “peacekeepers” in our bodies. Let me explain with a quick chemistry refresher to help you understand why we need antioxidants. I promise to keep it as non-sciency as I can, believe me, I struggled through Organic Bio-Chemistry just as much as the next person.
Antioxidants are compounds that protect our cells from damage caused by oxidation. You might remember back to your early school days when you learned that the body is made up of billions of atoms. Oxidation occurs when an atom loses an electron and becomes unstable. These unstable atoms are called free radicals, and like their name indicates, they’re free to roam our body and cause serious damage to our cells. A dangerous chain reaction occurs in the body, a free radical will attempt to steal an electron from a stable atom and that keeps the chain going, more and more unstable atoms being created. Free radicals can form as a normal by-product from functions within the body, such as metabolism. They are also formed from exposure to tobacco smoke, air pollution, UV rays from the sun, industrial chemicals and asbestos to just name a few. So realistically speaking, it is very difficult to avoid oxidation because it occurs naturally in the body.
This is where antioxidants come in to save the day. Antioxidants work with vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and other compounds to battle free radicals and repair the damage they’ve caused. This is just one of the reasons it is important to eat a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. They all bring different components to the table, which contribute to the antioxidant defense in our bodies. So, these “peacekeepers” do battle in three ways:
–Vitamins that are antioxidants (vitamin E & C) work on their own by donating atoms to the free radicals, stabilizing them and reducing the damage.
–Minerals that are antioxidants (manganese, selenium, copper, zinc and iron) do their work as co-factors. This means they activate enzymes, so they can do their work. Antioxidant enzyme systems can convert free radicals into less damaging compounds. They can also disintegrate oxidized fatty acids, wiping out the free radicals associated with them. Finally, these powerhouses make more antioxidants available to fight other free radicals.
–Phytochemicals (healthful plant chemicals like beta-carotene), work to stabilize free radicals and prevent damage to cells and tissues.
Okay, whew…chemistry lesson over. Hopefully you now understand the basics of antioxidants vs. free radicals. So, you might be thinking to yourself, I don’t want those dang free radicals inside me causing havoc, I said that same thing when I first learned about them. What can you do, what steps can you take? First and foremost, you need to up how many fresh fruits and vegetables you eat every day. By this I mean the amount and the variety. It’s great if you eat a banana every morning for breakfast and carrot sticks everyday with lunch, but to really get the most bang for your buck, you need to mix things up. Maybe you’ve heard the phrase, “Eat the rainbow”, if not, this just means you should try to incorporate as many colorful foods into your diet as possible (no, I’m not talking about Skittles). Think of the variety out there (purple, red, orange, yellow and green), then think of all the different fruits and vegetables you can eat to get those colors in your diet. By mixing things up you consume a broader variety or vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals.
Great, so now you know you need to up your fruit & veggie consumption, but which ones are the real superstars when it comes to antioxidants. Here are the heavy hitters:
Often called the vegetarian vitamin, vitamin E can be found in many plant sources, think nuts, seeds, soybeans, safflower, sunflower, canola and soybean oil, spinach, broccoli and avocados. Many cereals are also fortified with vitamin E. It is important to keep in mind that vitamin E is destroyed by heat, and exposure to oxygen, metals and ultraviolet light, so when you cook it, you kill it. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means your body does a pretty good job of storing it for later use.
Unlike vitamin E, vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, which means you need to eat it on a regular basis because any excess will be peed out and not stored (fun fact I know). So, eating an orange once a week won’t really do much for you. You can get your daily boost of vitamin C from more than just citrus fruits. Besides oranges, grapefruits, lemons and limes, you can also get a hefty dose of this vitamin from sweet potatoes, strawberries, cauliflower, tomatoes, kiwi, broccoli, red peppers and leafy greens. Like vitamin E, cooking food kills the vitamin C, especially boiling since the vitamin C will leach out into the water. Cooking styles that are least likely to destroy vitamin C are stir-frying, steaming or microwaving.
Now that you’re in the know, you can get out there and up your antioxidant game. Destroy those free radicals by whipping up a delicious smoothie or crunching away on a handful of sunflower seeds or almonds. Eat your way to the ultimate antioxidant advantage!