proof that they can prevent or treat anything. These products are usually a little on the expensive side. If you are looking for foods that are high in antioxidants, look no further than blueberries (or any small deeply coloured berry), red kidney beans and apples. These are all cheap, good for you and easy to find.
.....Tea is a great source of antioxidants. There is green tea, black tea, blends like Earl Grey and people can drink them with or without milk. Which is best? Green tea is better than black or blended teas, but not by much. When you add milk to tea, it tends to coagulate most of the antioxidants and renders them unusable by your body. One of my favorite teas is called white tea. When they grow tea, there is a point at which the plant is quite young and a white down covers the small tea leaves. .....White tea is harvested at this point, and when the leaves dry they look white. The taste is quite light and rarely bitter. Unfortunately, white tea is only available in specialty teashops. |
At work, I usually drink the cheaper green tea.
.....One of the best ways to increase your antioxidant intake during the day is to drink smoothies made from frozen berries. My personal recipe per person, is approximately 1/2 cup fruit juice, 1 cup of frozen berries (whatever was on sale at the grocery store last week), one or two tablespoons of yogurt and 1/2-1 banana. Throw it all in a blender and liquefy. If it is too thin add more berries, or too thick add more juice. To add more protein to the smoothie, put in a small handful of nuts (cashews or pecans work well). If you want to make a fancy smoothie, you can add protein powders, essential fatty acids or greens+, but these are not needed. Smoothies make a great fast breakfast for people on the run.
Another good way to increase your antioxidant intake is to drink original V8 juice and eat chocolate. Before you rush off and eat a chocolate bar for your health, I should define what true ‘chocolate’ is. True chocolate is not the cocoa flavoured candy bars you find |
in colourful wrappers at the store checkout. These are candy and are full of sugar, saturated fats and not much else. They sure do taste good though. True chocolate, which contains a lot of antioxidants, should contain a minimum of 70% cocoa mass. One small study suggests that eating 1-2 ounces of dark chocolate a day can lower your blood pressure.
.....While antioxidant supplements can be helpful, it is still best to try and get your antioxidants directly from their source, fruits and vegetables. While it is easier to take a pill, fruits and veggies have other benefits, like extra fibre, vitamins and minerals. While there may be one or two antioxidants in a supplement, there may be hundreds or even thousands in a bowl of fruit salad! So it is true that vitamins and other supplements should be taken to enhance, and not replace, a healthy lifestyle and diet.
Written By Ian Lloyd, Pharmacist & Chartered Herbalist
Peoples Pharmacy, Victoria |
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