Do you have a tendency to get sick easily? If so, discover how antioxidants may help you.

Antioxidants are found in certain types of food and are extremely beneficial to our health.  Essentially antioxidants are substances which deactivate particles called free radicals.  Free radicals can over time be very harmful to the body and cause damage to cells and DNA.  This can lead to certain diseases such as cancer.  A diet which is rich in antioxidants has been shown to prevent and protect the body from disease.  Therefore getting plenty of antioxidants in our body is very important.

What do Antioxidants do?

Antioxidants act by deactivating, or turning off free radicals.  Free radicals are particles which can be very harmful but unfortunately are not entirely avoidable on their own.  Free particles come from a variety of sources such as air pollutants and cigarette smoke.  Antioxidants work to protect our bodies from these free radicals which can be very damaging.  

Types of Antioxidants

Vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and selenium are all antioxidants and vital to a healthy diet and body.  These antioxidants are found in many types of vegetables, fruits, and grains, and it is vital that we get the recommend amounts in our diets.  If you aren’t getting the daily recommended amounts you should supplement with a whole food multi-vitamin.  However, never rely on a supplement for all your antioxidant needs, since there is no proper substitute for the real thing.

Foods Containing Antioxidants

Luckily there are many varieties of foods that contain the antioxidants vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and beta-carotene.  Be sure to vary your food choices to ensure you are getting all the vitamins and minerals that you need:

Vitamin C is primarily found in citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruits.  Other great sources of vitamin C include tomatoes, red peppers, green peppers, yellow peppers, pineapple, and dark green veggies.

Vitamin E is found in many vegetable oils, nuts, brown rice, legumes, whole grains, and dark leafy green vegetables.

Selenium is found in some seafood, Brazil nuts, poultry, dairy, whole grains, onions, garlic, and wheat germ.

Beta-carotene is found in carrots, red and yellow peppers, broccoli, sweet potatoes, mangos, and a variety of other fruits and vegetables.  Please note this is not an exhaustive list of food containing antioxidants.

Action step for Today:

Begin introducing the above list of foods into your diet everyday along with a whole food multi-vitamin. Start today and notice how much better you feel in just a couple of weeks.  

I welcome your comments, suggestions, and questions, so go ahead and leave your comments. I’d love to hear from you. Also, if you’d like for me to cover a topic in more detail or cover a topic that I have not talked about yet, just let me know.

It’s importance for you to know that this blog was created for you.  The goal is to build a community of people helping people. So if you would like to share your knowledge on a health and fitness related topic, just leave your comments. 

Be Organic God’s Way!

Edwin

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