Myths About Antioxidants
We’ve mentioned more than once in our posts the wonderful effects antioxidants have on our body.
The most common known effects refer to preventing cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
Without doubt, antioxidants should not lack from our diet.
Nevertheless, as with everything else, we should not get carried away and think antioxidants are the Holy Grail of diets. Careful about the myths they carry around:
Antioxidants should be used to get rid of all free radicals
This is false. Free radicals damage our organism only when they are too many. When in the right amount, free radicals play important roles in muscle activity, detoxification, they activate certain enzymes and they are used by cells for autoimmunity purposes. High amounts of free radicals, on the other hand, are indeed harmful and these extra-free radicals should be fought against with antioxidants.
Foods artificially enriched with antioxidants are better
I didn’t know this until recently, but there are foods which are enriched with antioxidants – for instance, 7up cherry. However, is this true – are these foods really different from the others and do they have the same exceptional effects as natural antioxidants? Apparently not.
Man-made antioxidants do not have the same effect as natural ones. For instance, vitamin E supplements do not protect against heart disease, moreover, they may actually increase risk of death and diminish effects of exercises. This also shows that not all antioxidants are created equal and only some of them have the effects we’ve heard about.
Only fruit and vegetables contain antioxidants
It’s true that wild berries and broccoli contain large amounts of antioxidants. Moreover, green tea and coffee are rich in these substances. However, they are not the only foods which should be considered in order to be healthy, especially if you are trying to vary as much as possible the contents of your meals.
As such, whole grains and many types of meat are sources of antioxidants. Consequently, don’t be afraid to vary and alternate foods – they all have their benefits, when consumed properly and in the right amount.
RSS Trackback URL 18. July 2011 (09:42)
Filed under: Nutrition, Tips by Slim
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