Healthy Food Choices for Antioxidants

Antioxidants are important nutrients for fueling the immune system and protecting the body. Try these tips for buying foods rich in antioxidants in this healthy shopping video.

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Naturally found in vitamins & minerals
Help reduce risk of cardiovascular disease
Fresh produce, whole grains are excellent sources
Get antioxidants from fresh food

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Michelle Cooper has been a registered dietician for more than 10 years. She currently works for the state of North Carolina for the New Hanover County School District in the Child Nutrition Department as the supervising registered dietician on staff. She specializes in child nutrition, child fitness and overall child health. She enjoys her job because it allows her to be a pivotal piece of child development.

MICHELLE COOPER: Now, we're going to talk about antioxidants. Antioxidants are naturally occurring substances that are found in vitamins, minerals and certain foods. Antioxidants help decrease our risk of cardiovascular disease and cancers by fighting free radicals that are produced when we breathe in oxygen. Foods that are high in antioxidants are fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Fresh fruits and vegetables that are rich in color like tomatoes, red peppers and broccoli are particularly high in antioxidants. You can get antioxidants in a supplement from a healthy food store such as this or from your drugstore, but it's always to get your antioxidants from the whole fruit, the whole vegetable or whole grains as there are other substances in there that help our body as well. So in order to reduce your risk of getting cancer or cardiovascular disease, try to increase your intake of fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Choose fruits and vegetables that are rich in color such as broccoli, red peppers, tomatoes and carrots. And lastly, don't take a supplement to get your antioxidants. Eat the whole food.

Healthy Food Choices for Antioxidants Video

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