One of the leading culprits in speeding up the aging process is… oxidative stress[MM1] .
Our bodies are under constant attack from it.
Oxidative stress occurs when free radicals run rampant through our system.
These free radicals are responsible for the progressive loss of tissue and organ function… And all of this damage is what speeds up the aging process.
The simplest way to cut oxidative stress off at the pass is to eliminate free radicals.
And we do this by making sure the body has enough antioxidants.
You see, free radicals are scavengers. They search around for any other electron to pair up with. And the chemical reaction that occurs from them pairing up with other electrons in the body is what causes cell and tissue damage.
But antioxidants have a special power to offset this process.
They have the ability to donate an electron without becoming unstable themselves. When there are antioxidant molecules to pair up with, these free radicals become less reactive and don’t do damage to other cells in the body. And this slows down the aging process in the whole body.
Key sources of antioxidants include:
- Blueberries. These contain anthocyanin, which is a powerful antioxidant concentrated in the deep-blue pigment of this berry. A single cup contains 13,427 antioxidants.
- Legumes. Just one-half cup of red beans contains 13,727 antioxidants like flavonoids, phenolic acids, lignans, and tannins. And kidney beans have 13,259 of these.
- Cranberries. A single cup of cranberries contains 8,983 antioxidants such as anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, and quercetin.
But if you want to step it up a notch, dried fruits have an even higher antioxidant ratio. And they are a superior quality. Once the water content is removed, dried apples, pears and raisins become excellent sources of antioxidants.
Dried fruits enrich lipoproteins, which protects the body from oxidative stress.
Now, even though these are all relatively common pantry staples, most of the antioxidants we get actually come from the things we drink[MM2] .
Tea, for instance, is a good source of antioxidants. Same goes for apple, tomato and grapefruit juices. Beer and wine are even good sources since they’re derived from grain and grapes, respectively.
But the important takeaway here is variety.
The goal is to include as many different sources of antioxidants in your diet as possible.
If you are consistently buying the same fruits and veggies over and over again, mix it up… and try to incorporate foods from every color of the rainbow.
Even still, while a diet heavy on antioxidants will help slow down the aging process, these foods alone can only do so much.
But there’s a powerful way to supercharge antioxidants and make sure they’re primed and ready to jump on those free radicals and drastically reduce oxidative damage… And in turn, drastically slow down the aging process.
But we’re going to save that one for tomorrow. Be sure to check it out.
[MM1]https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2014/404680/
[MM2]http://www.stjohns.health/documents/cognitive-health/top-20-foods-high-in-antioxidants.pdf