We all know that it’s better for our minds and bodies when we eat food that’s healthy. However, many people often don’t know which foods are actually the most healthy for them and how to maximize the health benefits from eating certain things. Additionally, it’s common to hear that you should eat certain things and avoid certain things but to never take the time to learn how or why those particular things are good or bad for you, especially with things like antioxidants.
According to Keri Glassman, a contributor to Today.com, antioxidants can do many great things for your body, including fighting against cell degeneration, protecting you from cancer and heart disease, slowing the aging process, and overall increasing your health. Knowing all these benefits, you probably want to make sure you’re getting all the antioxidants that you can. To help make this easier, here are three ways you can start to maximize the antioxidants in your diet.
Prepare Your Food The Right Way
The way you prepare your food before you eat it can have a big impact on the amount of nutrients you get from consumption, especially when it comes to antioxidants. According to Rhonda Pearce, a contributor to MindBodyGreen.com, leaving the peel on and minimizing the amount of chopping and soaking before cooking can be great ways to keep more antioxidants in your food. Additionally, steaming your vegetables is the best way to help them hold onto the greatest amount of nutrients.
Eat More Of the “Super Foods”
If you’re looking for foods that are specifically known to be rich in antioxidants, there are quite a few “super foods” that can help you boost your intake of these nutrients drastically. Elaine Magee, a contributor to WebMD.com, writes that some of the super foods with the most antioxidants are blueberries, grapes, nuts, dark green vegetables, orange vegetables, fish, tea, and whole grains. Eating more of these foods will bring more antioxidants into your diet.
Steer Clear of Free Radicals
To ensure the other foods you’re eating aren’t counteracting your efforts for more antioxidants, you should stay away from foods with free radicals. The unstable free radical molecules can be harmful to the cells in your body, which is never a good thing. Manal Elfakhani, a contributor to TheConversation.com, shares that foods that are high in free radicals include refined sugars and carbs, red meat, cooking fats and oils, and alcohol. While these things in moderation are fine, try not to eat them excessively.
If you have previously not know why antioxidants are important or how to get more of them in your diet, consider using the information mentioned above to help you live a healthier and more balanced life.
