Wednesday, August 19, 2009

What Every Body Needs to Stay Healthy

By Dr. Jerimiah Crossderd

A September issue of the Mayo Clinic Health letter suggest that show that there is very little effectiveness in obtaining antioxidants from dietary supplements. Instead, the study found that the best way to obtain antioxidants is by eating foods that are rich in antioxidants. These antioxidants include:

vitamins C and E

carotene

lycopene

lutein

There many more compounds that play a role in fighting diseases such as cardiovascular problems, cancer, Alzheimer's, and macular degeneration. The benefits of antioxidants come from the fact that they are thought to neutralize free radicals, that are a byproduct of the natural cells metabolism.

The process of the body producing antioxidants is not very efficient and usually declines with the onset of age.

Studies are constantly showing that people who eat foods rich in antioxidants receive many health benefits. Foods have a multitude of various high amounts of antioxidants over diet supplements which makes this the ideal way to capture antioxidants.

Supplements are limited because they only offer a few of the many types of antioxidants that are found. This is a problem since Doctors do not know which antioxidants are responsible for the health benefits. Some of the better known antioxidants are:

Berry Family: Acai Berry, raspberries, strawberries, cranberries, blueberries

Beans: Small red beans and kidney, pinto and black beans

Fruit Family: Apples, avocados, cherries, pears ( all types)

Vegetables: Artichokes, spinach, red cabbage, red and white potatoes (with peels), sweet potatoes and broccoli

Drinks: green tea, coffee, red wine, acai berry juice

Nuts Family: Walnuts, pistachios, pecans, hazelnuts and almonds

Herb family: Ground cloves, cinnamon or ginger, dried oregano leaf and turmeric powder

Grains: Oat products

Dessert: Dark chocolate

Two recent studies have suggested that taking higher than recommended doses of antioxidant supplements such as vitamin E over time may actually be harmful and possibly toxic.

This is not true in many of the foods that have higher antioxidants and offer many other health benefits such as high fiber, protein and saturated fats.

There is currently no guidelines set fourth by the government on what is a considered a healthy intake of antioxidants.

It is encouraged for the time being to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables that have a high concentration of amino acids that were previously mentioned.

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