Antioxidants: Are You Getting Enough?

Before we get into whether or not you're getting enough antioxidants in your daily meals, it's important to know what antioxidants are. As you may or may not already know, antioxidants are great to have in your body because they fight free radicals.

Free radicals are the bad guys--they're usually in the form of an oxygen molecule that wants to be oxidized. This oxidation process (think rust forming on your car) can harm your body's cells and even be carcinogenic. If left unchecked, free radicals will wreak havoc on your system, including damaging:

Cell walls
Cell structures
Genetic material inside your cells

Over time, this damage can and does lead to disease and aging.

Where do these free radicals come from? Some are produced naturally in your body but other environmental factors, like exposure to cigarette smoke and radiation, also contribute. Even being under stress can generate free radicals.

Antioxidants to the Rescue

Antioxidants are vitamins, minerals and enzymes from food that help prevent the dangerous oxidation process in your body. But that's not all. According to the American Dietetic Association, antioxidants may also decrease your risk of:

Infection
Heart disease
Cancer

At the same time, they boost the function of your immune system, which helps you to fight off disease.

Students, as you know, are busy, so many are not taking the time to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, which is the key way to get antioxidants. Instead, a recent study found that coffee was the biggest source of antioxidants (per serving and level of consumption) in Americans' diets. But a big cup of 'Joe,' while, yes, providing some antioxidants, simply cannot give you the nutritional boost that a big bowl of fresh veggies can.

Meanwhile, a hectic, on-the-go lifestyle filled with late-night study sessions, parties and not enough rest is enough to create more than a handful of free radicals in your body.

While there is no set rule for how many antioxidants you should consume, if you're not eating a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables--but are eating a lot of processed food--there's a good chance you're lacking in these healthy molecules.

The best way to get more is to fortify your meals with fruits and veggies. Try to include some of these top 10 antioxidant foods (according to a 2004 study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry) in your diet everyday:

Small red beans (dried)
Wild blueberries
Red Kidney beans
Pinto beans
Blueberries (cultivated)
Cranberries
Artichokes (cooked)
Blackberries
Prunes
Raspberries

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Linda Slater Dowling, a certified natural health professional, is CEO & founder of the Nutritional Institute, home of the new STUDENT FORMULA Natural Health Products. For a FREE e-book on "Eating Right on a Budget" visit their Web site at http://www.studentformula.com/ . You may also want to sign up for their popular "Be Smart, Be Healthy, Be Natural" e-newsletter.

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