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Increase Your Antioxidant Intake The Delightful Way

By Carol G Garcia
Nov 5, 2009
If you intend to expand your health, you need to look no further than the diet that you consume. A lot of of the foods that you can attain at the supermarket produce aisle, your area farmer's market and health food store are loaded with antioxidants.

When our bodies use oxygen in the process of life, oxygen free radicals are produced. A free radical is really a molecule that is missing one or more electrons. This makes it enormously variable and destructive to our bodies. Free radicals produce inflammation, which is a cause of many ailments from heart disease to wrinkles. An antioxidant reduces inflammation by donating the absent electron in that way stabilizing the molecule. Antioxidants are critical for reducing inflammation.

The way that antioxidant capability in food is calculated is by a scale referred to as ORAC or the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. The food is assigned a number based upon how well the antioxidants it contains were able to counteract free radicals in a test tube. The higher the ORAC number is, the higher the antioxidant power of the food.

Two deliciously wonderful foods that have the highest score of tangible foods are dried, unsweetened cocoa, which chocolate is made from and the acai berry from the rainforests of Brazil. Dark chocolate that contains 60 to 70% cocoa is one of the most enjoyable and gratifying health foods there is.

The acai berry is also yummy, having been described as tasting a bit comparable a berry dipped in dark chocolate. It is accessible in juices, smoothie mixes and even tablets and capsules. It has only been on hand throughout the world within the past few years, mostly because it is exceedingly fragile and it is only recently that processing methods have advanced to the extent that this little berry can be offered past Brazil.

Another tasty and satisfying way to achieve a healthful dose of antioxidants is through red wine. Red wine is high in the pigment that causes healthy foods to have the deep dark blue and red colors. This pigment is called anthocyanins and it is an enormously useful antioxidant. Red wine is healthy in moderation however, as with any type of alcohol, there is risk of troubles linked with over consumption. One glass a day though can offer you a wonderful way to get a healthy amount of antioxidants.

Even though red wine is high in anthocyanins, the acai berry actually has 10 to 30 times the amount of this essential antioxidant. Anthocyanins have been proven to be beneficial for the avoidance of cardiovascular disease and even for possible weight loss in certain studies.

You can obtain acai berries in tasty juices, smoothie mixes and even capsules and pills. Add in an ounce of dark chocolate every day, and relax with one glass of red wine, each day and you have received a respectable dose of healthful antioxidants in a enjoyable and pleasurable manner.
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