How to Get More Antioxidants into Your Diet
This isn’t a textbook, so here’s a short explanation: antioxidants make you healthier, so here’s how to arrange your diet accordingly.
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You Will Need
- Black or green tea
- Coffee
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- Nuts
- Dark chocolate
- An appetite
Steps
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Step 1
Drink tea
Start your morning with a cup of tea. Black and green versions contain flavonoids -- a type of antioxidant which has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease.
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Step 2
Drink coffee
If tea isn’t your cup of, well, tea, then have coffee instead. It’s America’s most common source of antioxidants.
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Step 3
Snack on nuts, fruits and veggies
Snack on nuts and increase your fruit and vegetable intake. There are several forms of antioxidants in these food groups.
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Vitamins A, C and E aren’t just vitamins; they’re antioxidants as well.
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Step 4
Eat specific foods for specific antioxidants
Eat specific foods for specific antioxidants: carrots for beta-carotene, spinach for lutein, tomatoes for lycopene and berries for anthocyanidin.
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Step 5
Try other foods for more types
Try other foods for their antioxidants: onions and apples for flavonols, grapes for proanthocyanidins, pears for phenols and broccoli for dithiolthiones and sulforphane.
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These were just a few examples. Visit health and diet websites for complete listings of foods and antioxidants.
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Step 6
Nibble on dark chocolate
Lastly, nibble on some dark chocolate; it’s heavy on antioxidants, which should remove some of the typical guilt.
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Some studies suggest that antioxidants reduce the speed of aging, fight several types of cancer, reduce arthritic inflammation, and improve brain function and vision.
