Top 6 Antioxidant Rich Foods

The antioxidants help protect the body against the destructive effects of free radical damage in the body. The antioxidant vitamins A, C and E, Flavonoids and beta carotene are good to protect against the free radicals. They can delay the effects of ageing and can prevent heart disease and cancers or even reverse them.

Antioxidant fruits and vegetables

But which foods can provide us antioxidants? Oxidant foods broadly include vegetables, fruits and nuts. But of these which foods have the most antioxidants?

Some foods are very high in antioxidant content compared to others. Based on the The Total Antioxidant Capacity, USDA has recommended 20 foods that should be eaten on a regular basis. The following is the list of antioxidant foods from higher to lower capacity.

Dried Red Beans, Wild blueberry, Dried kidney beans, Pinto beans, Blueberry (growing organic  blueberries), Cranberry, Cooked Artichoke, Blackberry, Prune, Raspberry, Strawberry, Apples - Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Gala Pecan, Sweet cherry, Black plum, Cooked Russet potato, Dried Black beans and Plum.

The total antioxidant capacity varies from 13,727 in dried red beans to 3,903 in gala apple per serving size.

It may be pointed out that a food high in total antioxidant capacity may
not be better in its health benefits than the foods lower in the value, because the benefits depend on how its antioxidants are absorbed and utilized in the body.

List of  Best 6 Antioxidant Rich Foods

1. Antioxidant Fruits

Berries such as blueberries (propagating blueberry), cranberries and blackberries, raspberries and strawberries possess very high antioxidant capacity. These berries are rich in proanthocyanidins antioxidants (Blueberry nutrition facts).

1 cup of blueberry has an antioxidant capacity of 9019 and that strawberry of 5938.

I eat these antioxidants rich berries in custard, yougurt or fresh.

Other fruits with significant antioxidant capacity are blackcurrants, figs (How to propagate fig tree from cuttings video), cherries, guava, oranges, mango, plums, red grapes, grape juice and pomegranate juice.

2. Antioxidant Vegetables

Cooked vegetables such as artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, beetroot and spinach are good sources of antioxidants.

These vegetables loaded with vitamins, calcium, minerals, and phyto-nutrients have potential to lower the risk of many types of cancers and other diseases.

In addition to the above list of antioxidant vegetables, carrots also offer good antioxidant content.

3. Antioxidant Spices - Garlic

Almost all spices are high in antioxidants. They include basil, cardamom (grow cardamom from seeds youtube video), chilli powder, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, garlic, ginger, mustard seed, parsley, onion, oregano, pepper, paprika, curry leaves and turmeric.

But you cannot consume too much of spices, specifically chilli, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, pepper, etc. so that it is unlikely to get enough antioxidants by eating them.

Spices like coriander, garlic,mint (growing mint in containers),  parsley, onion, and turmeric (turmeric growing tips) can be eaten as a vegetable curry or in chutneys.

You can eat garlic in vegetable curries and chutneys in good amount. Due to the presence of vitamins A, B and C, selenium, iodine, potassium, iron, calcium, zinc and magnesium in garlic, it is good for decreasing cholesterol and blood pressure and preventing cancer.

You can consume turmeric by using its powder in vegetable curries. I also eat fresh turmeric as a vegetable.

4. Antioxidant Nuts

Some nuts are quite high in antioxidants.

1. Nuts are a moderate sources of polyphenol antioxidants. Typical nuts are almonds (How to grow almond tree from seeds), cashew, hazelnuts, macadamia ((How to grow macadamia tree from seeds), pecans, pistachio and walnuts.
2. Eating daily a handful of nuts can favourably affect blood cholesterol levels and lower coronary heart disease risk.
3. Walnuts have almost twice as much antioxidants than other commonly eaten nuts. Walnuts have higher quality of antioxidants than any other nut.

Antioxidants Beans and Nuts

5. Antioxidant Tea

Tea is an extremely rich source of antioxidants, catechin polyphenols. It has approximately ten times the amount of antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables. Green tea can be preventative against cancer, high cholesterol and heart problems.

Adding milk to tea does not affect the antioxidant absorption in the body.