Antioxidant rich Food for a Healthy Diet

Foods are the best treats for human beings. But, it can become harmful if not consumed cleverly. Your diet will be healthy if it contains antioxidant rich food.

There are lots of food that contains the powerful “Antioxidant. “

Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals and chain reactions that may damage the cells of organisms. Antioxidants such as thiols or ascorbic acid may act to inhibit these reactions.

To balance oxidative stress, plants and animals maintain complex systems of overlapping antioxidants, such as glutathione.

There’s no denying the fact that making healthier lifestyle choices is your first line of defense. A disciplined lifestyle will help strengthen and keep your immune system strong naturally.

As the COVID-19 caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) continues to impact communities around the world, people are looking for ways to stay healthy.

Apart from taking preventive measures such as practicing social distancing, good hygiene and avoiding contact with sick persons, giving your immune system a boost with foods rich in nutrients and antioxidants may help you beat invading pathogens.

There’s no magic food or pill that will protect you from illness, but there are tried-and-true ways that can help improve your immunity. For instance, adding antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables to your diet can strengthen your ability to fight infections.

Curcumin - the main active ingredient in turmeric - has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant. It is one of the biggest ingredients that help in fighting heart diseases, cancer, and boosts your immunity.

Disclaimer: The information on this POST is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information purposes / educational purposes only, and to ensure discussion or debate.

Thank you ….How do antioxidants improve the immune system?

It is claimed that antioxidants help protect and reverse some of the damage caused by molecules called free radicals that contribute to ageing process.

Antioxidants can protect against the cell damage that free radicals cause, known as oxidative stress. Foods that are particularly high in antioxidants are often referred to as a ‘super food’ or ‘functional food’.

To obtain good sources of specific antioxidants, try to include the following foods in your diet:

Vitamin A: Dairy produce, eggs, and liver

Vitamin C: Most fruits and vegetables, especially berries, oranges, and bell peppers

Vitamin E: Nuts and seeds, sunflower and other vegetable oils, and green, leafy vegetables

Brightly coloured fruits and vegetables, such as carrots, peas, spinach, and mangoes

Vitamin D: Foods that contain vitamin D are fatty fish, egg yolks, cheese, vitamin D fortified foods (dairy products, orange juice, cereals, soy milk), etc.

While more study is needed on the link between vitamin D and immune health, some promising research suggests that checking your vitamin D level - and taking a vitamin D supplement - could help your body fight off respiratory illness. Your body needs adequate vitamin D to produce the antimicrobial proteins that kill viruses and bacteria.

You can help fight and reduce your risk of becoming sick by eating a healthy diet consisting of a wide variety of nutrients and antioxidants.

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Why do we need Antioxidants?

People are more conscious about health than ever. They reduce the chance to get obese with the keto diet, which is a super effective one, also with intermediate fasting. But, their diet will become more effective when they will consume foods that have more antioxidants in them.

Our body has some vulnerability against bacteria, viruses, and free radicals. These free radicals can be generated in our body when people exercise, even when food is burned to form energy. The external environment bears a huge amount of free radicals as the air contains different types of pollutions. These radicals can be exposed to your body and cause harm.

The antioxidants are those chemical substances that help us to fight against the bad effect of them. It also helps to resist cell damage and makes you strong enough to prevent the possible diseases that occur due to the free radicals. There are unimagined benefits of foods enriched with antioxidants.

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What are the main sources of antioxidant rich food?

There are lots of fruits and vegetables containing a large number of antioxidants. The easy to rich and available sources of this natural fighter is –

Chilies 

The chilies do not only look vibrant but also contain a lot of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Both the green and the red chilies are beneficial to our health. You can have the chilies in an omelet, make a pickle, use them as vegetables, and even make the chili oil to season your foods with more vibrancy

Moringa

The Moringa leaves are known as a super food. The leaves contain tons of minerals and antioxidants. You can use the fresh leaves in your dishes. You can also dry the leaves to use them later. Moringa tea has a high health value, you can consume it regularly to get rid of the bad influences on your body

Nuts

Nuts can be your friend, as they can be used in almost anything. You can eat them as snacks, use them in the salad, use them as a garnish, and even make desserts. There are many nuts, among them the Chestnuts, Peanuts, Walnuts, Almonds, and hazelnuts are recommended. 

One important tip for you to notice is that, when you are consuming the nuts, try to use them with the pellicle. The intact nuts pellicle bears a higher amount of antioxidants than those without the pellicle

Coffee

Though we think coffee is not your best friend, coffee  has a fair amount of antioxidants. Yes, you can consume a regulated amount of coffee in any form to get the super essential antioxidants for your body. You can get a black coffee or an espresso to charge your immune system up, the choice is yours.

Mint

Mint is a herb that is enriched with antioxidants. There are a lot of herbs that are valuable to us, but the mint is an easy-to-find one. We can also find the mint in almost every nearest market and supermarket.

We can grow mint very easily in our home, it takes almost no extra care. Mints can be consumed with desserts, as sauce, and in the form of drinks. You can make a mint beverage or a mint tea and intake the nutrients with it

Berries

There are different types of berries all over the world. The berries can be taken as fresh, or process for further use. Almost all types of berries contain vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

There are raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, cranberries, and goji berries that have gained fame over the few years. The raspberries are sweet, you can make jelly, jam, or simply eat them. The strawberries are sweet and sour, kids love them in their milkshake or smoothie. You can use the blackberries to make the fruit salad, fruit sandwiches, or drinks.

All the berries can be used to decorate the cakes, which makes the celebration healthier. Berries are found everywhere in the world, so enrich the health of your near and dear one with the gift of nature

Clove

Many spices have a higher index in antioxidants, clove is one of them. Clove is a small spice, used from ancient times. Cloves can be used in making pickles, in the curries, or the tea. You can get rid of dry cough with this single spice. It has super-powered antioxidants that help to make your body healthier. Keep clove close in your kitchen.

So, these were the best antioxidant-rich foods, there are many more. You can also enhance the list with eggs, kale, cabbage, beet, and carrots. Incorporate healthy foods in your meals, and have a fresh life with fewer medicines.

The world is changing with the diverse culture, so is the food habit of people. There are increments in the amount of pollution also. You should be careful to feed your near and dear ones the nutrient foods so that they remain healthy for a long time.

Choose antioxidant-rich foods to fight against the aging signs, diseases, and harmful free radicals. Stay with your loved one in a good health for a very long time.

Hope the future will be healthier for you.

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