Interesting facts about antioxidants in food

Food rich with antioxidants helps prevent diseases such as cancer and coronary heart diseases.

Contrary to popular belief, fruits and vegetables do not lose any antioxidant content in the days after purchase, even as signs of spoilage start to appear. The Belgian scientists confirmed this in 2007.

The recent study done by Pennsylvania scientists claims that popcorn is food with higher antioxidants level than fruits and vegetables.

Apples are one of the main sources of flavonoids in the Western diets. Flavonoids have antioxidant properties and help lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases, certain types of cancer, and other chronic diseases.

Brightly colored foods like tomatoes, broccoli, blueberries, and apples are excellent sources of antioxidants.

Almost all fruits and vegetables lose at least some level of antioxidants while cooking. The smallest loses were recorder with artichoke, green beans and garlic.

The fruits that are very rich with antioxidants are popularly called „super fruits“. Blueberries are usually most talked about super fruits.

Herbs and spices are excellent sources of antioxidants which means that adding them to your food may protect your organism against different diseases.

The recent U.S. study showed that walnuts have a combination of more healthful antioxidants and higher quality antioxidants than any other nut. Walnuts have almost twice as much antioxidants as compared to other nuts such as peanuts, almonds, pecans, and pistachios.

Children exposed to cigarette smoke have lower levels of antioxidants and would therefore require larger intake of food rich with antioxidants.

Eggs, which are one of the most important sources of proteins, vitamins and minerals, have antioxidant properties, especially helpful in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer. The researchers have measured that two egg yolks in their raw state have twice as many antioxidant properties as an apple.

Several recent studies have confirmed that caffeine, a healthful antioxidant in coffee and tea, is helpful against the Alzheimer's disease and heart diseases.

Tomato plants have high levels of antioxidants. Organic tomato juice, for instance, contains higher level of antioxidants than juice from conventionally grown crops.

Dark chocolate has good level of antioxidants. Cocoa powder contains many beneficial antioxidants but processing decreases their total content. Adding milk to chocolate decreases the total level of antioxidants in chocolate.