What are antioxidants?
Antioxidants are the substances that can prevent the cell damage caused by free-radicals in your body which are formed daily by various biochemical reactions.
Is it important to eliminate free-radicals formed?
Free-radicals are the major contributors of cell damage. They are potential to damage your cells by which cellular functions are disturbed due to damaged DNA. They can also contribute major health conditions (Chronic diseases) such as cardio-vascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, inflammatory diseases, skin diseases, early aging etc.
So, is it important to fight back? Yes, with the help of adequate antioxidant provision.
Researches are done with the antioxidant assays for measuring antioxidant capacity of different food items. Phytochemicals found in plants contributes different properties including free-radical scavenging.
What are the sources of antioxidants?
Most of the #spices and #herbs were analyzed to have particularly high antioxidant contents. Although spices and herbs contribute little weight on the dinner plate, they may still be important contributors to our antioxidant intake, especially in dietary cultures where spices and herbs are used regularly. We interpret the elevated concentration of antioxidants observed in several dried herbs compared to fresh samples, as a normal consequence of the drying process leaving most of the antioxidants intact in the dried end product. This tendency is also seen in some fruits and their dried counterparts.
#Herbal and #traditional plant medicines available in India (Triphala, Amalaki and Arjuna) also have shown to have high antioxidants in many researches. Proanthocyanidins are major constituents of plant sap which will contribute to many medicinal properties.
Phytochemicals such as flavonoids, tannins, stilbenoids, phenolic acids and lignans presented in #berries makes them a good source of antioxidants. Processing of berries will decrease the amount of Phenol content in them which will reduce the antioxidant value.
#Nuts with pellicle is also a good source of antioxidants.
Amount of antioxidants in #fruits and #vegetables varies from each other.
So, replenish yourself with few cups of #antioxidants and stay healthy.
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