Antioxidants have gotten a significant amount of press for their ability to prevent cellular damage caused by free radicals. Free-radical damage can contribute to many health problems, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease and autoimmune diseases and may accelerate the aging process, according to Dr. Balz Frei, the director of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. While your multivitamin provides some antioxidants, Clemson University recommends eating a diet rich in colorful fruits and vegetables, which are excellent sources of antioxidants.
Fruits
When the United States Department of Agriculture, or USDA, published a list of the 20 foods with the highest antioxidant content in 2004, 13 of the 20 foods listed were fruits. The USDA ranked the foods by their oxygen radical absorbance capacity, or the measurement of their ability to prevent oxygen free radical activity in a test tube. The study's authors did caution that test tube results may not exactly reflect antioxidant activity in the body. Wild blueberries ranked second, and cultivated blueberries, cranberries, blackberries, prunes, raspberries, strawberries, Red Delicious apples, Granny Smith apples, sweet cherries, black plums, plums and Gala apples also made the cut.
Vegetables
Small red beans ranked first on the USDA's list of the 20 top antioxidant-rich foods. Other antioxidant-rich vegetables included on the list were red kidney beans, pinto beans, artichokes, Russet potatoes and black beans.
Other Sources
Pecans, ranked at No. 14, were the only nuts to make the USDA's list. Although the study didn't look at beverages, wine, coffee and tea contain significant amounts of antioxidants. Red wine offers both flavonoid and nonflavonoid antioxidants, including resveratrol, one of the most researched antioxidants. Reseratrol is believed to prevent free radicals from damaging blood vessels, help lower total cholesterol levels and prevent blood clots, according to MayoClinic.com. While coffee and tea don't contain as many antioxidants as wine, they contain more than other beverages, including fruit juices, according to Joe A. Vinson, a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton. In fact, because of the amount of coffee people drink in the United States, it represents the single largest source of antioxidants in the American diet.
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