When your body's cells use oxygen, they naturally produce byproducts, known as free radicals, which can cause damage, according to HealthCastle.com. Antioxidants are vitamins and vitamin-like substances, such as phytochemicals, found mainly in plant foods, that can prevent or slow the oxidative damage to your cells. Free radical or oxidative damage may contribute to or worsen health conditions, such as macular degeneration, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. In addition, antioxidants may enhance immune defense. Foods rich in antioxidants include fruits and vegetables and legumes.
Fruits and Vegetables
The National Cancer Institute's Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2007 annual report revealed that fruits and vegetables are particularly rich in vitamins and other compounds that offer antioxidant benefits. Particularly beneficial choices include cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, garlic and onions; citrus fruits, such as tangerines, grapefruit and oranges; berries, such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries; orange vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, winter squash and carrots; and dark green, leafy vegetables, such as kale and spinach. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Guide Pyramid or MyPyramid recommends choosing at least 1.5 cups of fruits and 2 cups of vegetables, or the equivalent, daily. Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins A, C and E as well as many phytochemicals, such as flavonoids and carotenoids.
Seeds and Grains
Lignans contain phytochemicals with antiestrogenic and antioxidant activities. Plant lignan compounds, such as secoisolariciresinol and matairesinol, are converted in the human intestine to form enterolignans, which the body can assimilate and use. Consuming lignan-rich foods, according to an article published in April 2010 in the British Journal of Nutrition, may reduce the risk of developing certain cancers, such as prostate, ovarian and breast cancer, as well as osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. The best food sources of lignans include flax seeds, sesame and sunflower seeds, cashews, peanuts, whole-grain flax seed bread, multi-grain bread and dark rye bread.
Starchy Beans
According to research published in February 2010 in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, beans, particularly black beans, are rich in a group of antioxidant compounds known as anthocyanins--the same antioxidant found in nutrient-rich grapes and cranberries. According to an analysis on the antioxidant benefits of beans, researchers discovered that the darker the bean's seed coat is, the higher its antioxidant activity level is. While black beans offer the most antioxidant activity, gram for gram, other beans, such as red, brown, yellow and white beans, offer antioxidant benefits.
References
- Health Castle: Antioxidants 101
- National Cancer Institute's Annual Report on Complementary and Alternative Medicine
- Dietary Fiber Food: Lignans
- "British Journal of Nutrition"; Health effects with consumption of the flax lignan secoisolariciresinol diglucoside; JL Adolphe et al.; Apr 2010
- "Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry"; Identification and characterization of anthocyanins in yard-long beans (Vigna unguiculata ssp. sesquipedalis L.) by High-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection and electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS) analysis; TJ Ha et al.; Feb 2010
- World's Healthiest Foods: Black Beans
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