Do Antioxidants Help You Live Longer? Plus How To Eat More

If you focus on doing everything you can to support a healthy life and long lifeyou are probably already exercising, eating a balanced diet and trying to manage your stress level. But among the popular things people are doing these days to keep their bodies healthy for an extended period of time, focusing on including antioxidants may be one step people are missing.

Why? While the data is mixed, some research suggests that the more antioxidants a person eats may be associated with a reduction in the risk of death among specific populations. A study published in the European Journal of Nutrition showed that diets with higher antioxidant capacity were associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

What are antioxidants and how can they affect lifespan?

So what are antioxidants and how do they relate to longevity? To understand what these compounds are, we first have to understand what happens in the body that makes them so important in our diets.

During our normal lives, our bodies produce free radicals, which over time can cause oxidative stress in our bodies. While everyone will experience some oxidative stress, this effect can be increased by factors such as eating fried foods, experiencing high amounts of stress, and smoking cigarettes. Too much oxidative stress is linked to some negative health outcomes, including Alzheimer’s disease, kidney disease, and certain types of cancer. Some data even suggest that too much oxidative stress is related to a increased risk of premature death.

Antioxidants can help neutralize free radicals that cause oxidative stress, highlighting why to include antioxidant-rich foods it is incredibly important to a healthy diet.

However, it is important to note that while some data suggests that eating antioxidant-rich foods may help people live longer lives, antioxidant supplements They don’t seem to offer the same benefits..

How to include more antioxidants in your diet

There is no question that it is important to include antioxidants in your diet to combat an excessive amount of oxidative stress. However, from about 90% of Americans do not eat the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables every day, a key source of antioxidants, it’s safe to assume that many of us aren’t getting enough of this nutrient in our diets.

If you’re looking for some delicious, antioxidant-rich options to include in your balanced, healthy diet to ensure you’re fueling yourself with these important compounds, here are six that should absolutely be on your radar.

berries

While there are slight differences in the antioxidant content of different berry varieties, people can be sure that enjoying these fruity morsels will fuel the body with a significant amount of antioxidants. So it doesn’t matter if you’re grabbing a handful of raspberries, blueberries, or otherwise, doing so will help your body have what it needs to combat some of the oxidative stress you may have on your body.

Dark chocolate

Chocolate lovers, rejoice! Including this indulgent favorite in your diet can give your body a boost of antioxidants along with that classic flavor so many of us know and love. Thanks to the natural cocoa used to make chocolate due to the addition of antioxidants, since this ingredient contains more phenolic antioxidants than most foods.

Coffee and tea

Yes, what you drink can also make a difference in the antioxidant department. Both coffee Y tea they contain natural antioxidants that may offer unique benefits to our overall health.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

pistachios

Pistachios are one of the few antioxidant-rich foods that are also a complete protein, meaning they have all nine essential amino acids normally found in animal-based proteins. And a new study conducted by Cornell University and published in the journal nutrients found that pistachios have a high antioxidant capacity.

In fact, the antioxidant capacity of pistachios rivals that of popular antioxidant-containing foods, including blueberries, pomegranates, cherries, and red wine.

Small Red Beans

Believe it or not, but yesred kidney beans from the mall may have more antioxidants than foods classically known as a source of antioxidants, such as berries. Adding kidney beans to your diet can be as simple as adding some beans to your sauces or adding some beans to your chili recipe.

oranges and orange juice

Orange juice is an immune-boosting drink that many of us know and love. But this natural drink also contains a variety of powerful antioxidants including flavonoids, carotenoids, and vitamin C. And since it’s a single-ingredient drink with no added sugar (as long as you buy a carton that says “100% orange juice”), it’s a convenient option for sneaking in more antioxidants. in their life.

Lauren Manaker MS, RDN, LD, CLEC