This week Jodi featured vegetables of all shapes sizes and colors. Spaghetti Squash, Cabbage, Green and Red Bell Peppers, Tarragon, Garlic, Black Beans, and more. These classes are a great way to learn new ways to cook healthy and still make very tasty dishes. In class today, Jodi made:
Antioxidants have been around since the beginning of time. We often hear about them on commercials, or talk shows. Most people don’t realize that the food that we eat or don’t eat will make the difference in our overall health. The benefits of antioxidants can be found in plant based diets, fruits and vegetables, nuts, and antioxidant vitamins. Many antioxidant rich foods are called super foods. This article is a great way to understand what foods will arm your body with the defenses that it needs to fight off sickness and infection. We will dive into the health benefits of the top 10 antioxidant rich foods. You should definitely add these to your diet.
| Keywords: | Description: |
| antioxidants | A substance that reduces damage due to oxygen, such as that caused by free radicals. Well-known antioxidants include enzymes and other substances, such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta carotene, which are capable of counteracting the damaging effects of oxidation. Antioxidants are also commonly added to food products such as vegetable oils and prepared foods to prevent or delay their deterioration from the action of air. Antioxidants may possibly reduce the risks of cancer. Antioxidants clearly slow the progression of age-related macular degeneration. |
| oxidative stress | reflects an imbalance between the systemic manifestation of reactive oxygen species and a biological system’s ability to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or to repair the resulting damage. Disturbances in the normal redox state of cells can cause toxic effects through the production of peroxides and free radicals that damage all components of the cell, including proteins, lipids, and DNA. |
| free radical formation | Free radicals are atoms or groups of atoms with an odd (unpaired) number of electrons and can be formed when oxygen interacts with certain molecules. Once formed these highly reactive radicals can start a chain reaction, like dominoes. Their chief danger comes from the damage they can do when they react with important cellular components such as DNA, or the cell membrane. Cells may function poorly or die if this occurs. To prevent free radical damage the body has a defense system of antioxidants. |
| oxygen radical absorbance capacity | ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. It’s a lab test that attempts to quantify the “total antioxidant capacity” (TAC) of a food by placing a sample of the food in a test tube, along with certain molecules that generate free radical activity and certain other molecules that are vulnerable to oxidation . After a while, they measure how well the sample protected the vulnerable molecules from oxidation by the free radicals. The less free radical damage there is, the higher the antioxidant capacity of the test substance. There are actually a handful of different tests designed to measure total antioxidant capacity in this way, but the ORAC is probably the best known and most popular
|
| inflammation | Inflammation and Antioxidants, |
It is not hard to see the benefits of these powerful antioxidants. If you work them into your diet your will surely see and feel the difference. In addition to these awesome foods, a green drink will work wonders for your overall health and well being. If you enjoyed this article, then I assume that you like to know what is in your food and why it is good for you. This book is the best book I have ever found for understanding the ‘whys’ about food. If you have any questions about fitness or nutrition, email Jodi at jodi@healthywithjodi.com .