Which Foods Are High in Antioxidants? Discover Our Top 12
Antioxidants are molecules found in certain foods that nourish our body and help it to fight compounds that can cause harm in our body. Choosing foods high in antioxidants can help to keep us healthy.
While our body can manufacture its own antioxidants, eating nutrient rich foods especially, fruits, vegetables can boost our health.
These 12 foods are high in antioxidants.
Chocolate
This must be the best news for chocolate lovers! Yes, it tops the list of antioxidant rich foods beating blueberries and raspberries. We’re talking about the dark stuff though and not dairy milk. Researchers found that eating just 30g of dark chocolate daily can help to lower blood pressure and inflammation, reduce stress, and improve memory.
Green leaves
Kale is king of the green juice. Eat your greens may be the mantra and quite rightly so. Kale contains vitamins A, K and C as well as calcium to help to support bone health.
However, did you know that gram per gram, Swiss chard is more nutrient dense and also kinder on the tum, making it suitable for those that suffer with IBS.
Try these delicious Swiss Chard rainbow wraps with mango dipping sauce.
Blueberries
Blueberries may be the most potent of all fruits by scoring a higher number of antioxidants over any other. It’s well researched that the antioxidants in blueberries my stall a decline in brain function as we age. The berries are also associated with reducing inflammation and lowering the risk of heart disease.
Blueberries contain a potent stilbene, pterostilbene which has amazing antioxidant benefits and a high bioavailability in the body.
Strawberries
Strawberries are the most eaten fruit around the world, and they are an absolute nutritional powerhouse. Packed with phytonutrients and flavonoids they contain vitamins C and K as well as fibre, manganese, potassium and folate.
We take strawberries very much for granted but new studies have found that they contain the most potent senolytic compound measured to date. This compound is called fisetin and it is undergoing several trials to measure its health boosting benefits.
Senolytic cells are rogue cells that start to attack the surrounding healthy cells. However, senolytic compounds are specifically able to repair the mechanism that allows these cells to self-destruct and prevent them causing further damage. We included Fisetin in Regenerate our youth boosting formula, Regenerate.
Goji berries and raspberries also carry high amounts of antioxidants.
Red cabbage
Red cabbage has up to 4 times the antioxidant value of regular cooked cabbage. It’s rich in vitamins C, K and A and contains anthocyanins which have been linked to reducing inflammation and protecting against heart disease and certain cancers.
How you prepare your cabbage is important. Boiling and stir frying may improve the antioxidant benefits while steaming can reduce the antioxidant content by almost 35%.
Tea
Although green tea is heralded as a superfood, black tea also contains high amounts of antioxidants. There are some studies that suggest although green and black teas have different types of antioxidants to fruits and vegetables, they actually contain in total. Teas are rich in polyphenols, and certain flavonoids, including thearubigins, epicatechins and catechins
Tea modifies metabolism to detoxify harmful chemicals. The antioxidants can help to protect cells from free radicals which may lead to blood clots, atherosclerosis and cancer.
Beans
Beans are amongst the most versatile and commonly eaten foods throughout the world. As a food, they are high in antioxidants, and are rich in polyphenols and high in fibre. The colour of the bean appears to affect the antioxidant capacity as this correlates with the phenolic content of the bean. Red, brown and black beans contain greater antioxidant benefits than white beans.
Some beans contain kaempferol, an antioxidant that studies have linked to reducing inflammation and suppressing cancer growth.
Beets
Beets are rich in an antioxidants called betalains, they contain fibre, potassium, iron and folates. Beets have been associated with reducing inflammation.
Grapes
The different colours in grapes affect their antioxidant quality. Darker grapes contain more nutrients and have been associated with the prevention of cancer, heart disease and high blood pressure. Grapes are an excellent source of fibre and potassium along with a multitude of vitamins and minerals. They also contain a wonder compound called resveratrol which works to reduce oxidative stress, support arterial health and boost the immune system.
Is this the most potent antioxidant salad?
This salad combines a multitude of high scoring antioxidant foods.
Try the Rejuvenated Salad to boost your antioxidant levels.
