Fort Worth, Dallas, or points in-between. Antioxidants in foods. Vegetarian and vegan happenings in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.

Antioxidants In Foods

DFW Vegetarian Education Network

For years wild blueberries led the pack when it came to antioxidants, but now the small red bean has usurped their place, according to a study by two USDA facilities focusing on the antioxidant capacities of over 100 common foods and reported in The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Researchers found the cooking method had an inconsistent influence on the foods tested. Some vegetables like carrots and asparagus showed a decrease in TAC when cooked while tomatoes, broccoli, and red cabbage showed an increase. 

This supports the advice of Michael Greger, MD, to eat some cooked and some raw food daily. Dr Greger writes, "Cooking your dark green leafy vegetables, studies show you may be destroying half of the antioxidant carotenoids.At the same time, cooking may double carotenoid bioavailability, such that in the end your body might wind up with the same amount."

Why Eat Antioxidants? 

Antioxidants occurring in fruits and vegetables are believed to help prevent and even repair the oxidative stress that most professionals agree damages body cells and thus are linked to such diseases as cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson' s disease. Exposure to free radicals from external sources such as cigarette smoke, pollutants, chemicals, pesticides, and environmental toxins can lead to disease-causing oxidative stress. 

Vitamins C and E, carotenoids, and selenium are the principal antioxidants. Clinical trials using supplements of vitamin C, vitamin E, and carotenoids show inconsistent results and led to the belief that whole fruits and vegetables rather than the individual compounds they contain are likely to give more positive results in disease prevention. 

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Antioxidant ratings for specific foods

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