Tag Archives: antioxidants

Raw Honey: a Superior Sweetener

HoneyHoney has been used to treat different ailments for thousands of years, but recently raw honey has been getting a lot of attention. It’s being touted for its nutritional benefits, its antibacterial properties and its ability to treat allergies. But are these claims too good to be true?

Raw honey, which is unprocessed and is as close to its natural state in the hive as possible, is a source of polyphenol, a rich antioxidant that may reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. According to WebMD, a small study showed that people who ate four tablespoons had higher levels of antioxidants in their blood.

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Posted on March 17, 2024 by Margaret

Apples May Add Years to Your Life

Wow, we’ve all heard that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but new research may make that claim seem quaint in comparison. If the findings in a new animal study proves to be true for humans as well, an antioxidant found in apples could extend your life by as much as 10 percent.

The current findings involved fruit flies – don’t laugh, they are used in hundreds of studies every year – and they help bolster similar findings when used with other test animals.

The fight to extend our life starts with the “bad guys” known as free radicals, which cause negative changes in our body related to the aging process and some diseases. The good news is that antioxidants help combat the effects of free radicals. Fruits and vegetables, particularly colorful foods like apples, tomatoes, broccoli, and blueberries are superb sources of antioxidants. (more…)

Posted on March 8, 2024 by Jason

Antioxidants on Dr. Oz

Dr. Oz Medical ShowTune in to Dr. Oz Wednesday, March 9 for Ultimate Checklist: Antioxidants. This nutrient is present in many green leafy vegetables, but many people underestimate its importance in their daily diets. Antioxidants can help you body fight disease, cancer and even help you look younger.

How do antioxidants keep us from getting sick? By fighting unstable molecules, known as free radicals, that can cause cell damage. Find out why you should add broccoli, kale and Brussel sprouts to your shopping list, plus learn about a great drink that’s also chock-full of antioxidants.

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Posted on March 7, 2024 by Margaret

Nutritionists “Heart” Dark Chocolate

Joy Bauer is a registered dietitian and the nutrition expert for the Today Show. She’s also the best-selling author behind several health books including Your Inner Skinny. You can visit her at JoyBauer.com, or follow Joy on Facebook and Twitter.

Few nutrition research findings have brought me more pleasure than the discovery that chocolate can actually be good for you! We now have a large body of research showing that dark chocolate can help lower blood pressure, improve blood flow, reduce clotting, and benefit overall heart health. But before you dive head-first into the nearest heart-shaped box of candy this Valentine’s Day, here’s what you need to know about choosing chocolates with the most health power.

Chocolate owes its health benefits to a category of antioxidants called flavonoids. Flavonoids and other beneficial phytochemicals are found in cocoa solids, and dark chocolate contains a higher proportion of cocoa solids than milk chocolate, making it the more heart-healthy choice.  That’s because milk chocolate contains more added milk and sugar, which dilutes the cocoa content. White chocolate contains no cocoa solids, only cocoa butter, which means it’s not officially chocolate and doesn’t deliver any health-promoting flavonoids. (more…)

Posted on February 8, 2024 by GuestBlogger

Research Finds Dark Roast Coffee Best for Getting Antioxidants

Good news if you like your cup of Joe dark roasted like I do! Researchers at the University of British Columbia have discovered that coffee’s antioxidant benefits seem to be traced to valuable compounds developed during the roasting process. According to previous research on coffee and health, java drinkers are less likely to die of heart disease, develop a malignant brain tumor and suffer from gout.

Coffee beans in their natural state are green. According to the study, food scientists found that the antioxidants found in dark roasted coffee that’s brewed actually comes from the process of green beans being browned under high temperatures. Previous studies believed the antioxidants came directly from the caffeine or the green coffee beans- not the roasting. The research is to be published in Food Research International.

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Posted on February 5, 2024 by Jennipher

The New Mexico Diet Rich in Healthy Green Chilies

New Mexico is known for cuisine that reflects the combination of the Native American, Mexican, Spanish, and American cultural traditions. A few of the most common foods found in this style of diet are blue corn, enchiladas, sopapillas, and red and green chilies. Green chilies are harvested when they are green and turn to a red color as they ripen. Green chilies are typically known for their somewhat mild, bitter taste and sinus cleansing heat, but the nutritional benefits are often overlooked.

Green chilies are extremely rich in vitamins A and C (the dried version higher in vitamin A while the raw or fresh version is higher in vitamin C). In fact, a single green chili contains six times more vitamin C than an average sized orange. Green chilies are also a good source of the antioxidant beta-carotene, vitamin B and E, and iron and potassium which allows them to help block the body’s absorption of cholesterol and help promotes normal body functioning.

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Posted on February 4, 2024 by Matt

Indulge in the Health Benefits of Hot Chocolate

This time of year, it’s cold outside and when we get home we want nothing more than the comfort of a warm drink. One popular choice is hot chocolate, but those who are looking for weight loss you may avoid it, feeling as if it’s a poor diet choice. After all, a drink made with chocolate must not be a part of a healthy diet, right? Not necessarily.

Research completed in 2003 at Cornell University showed that hot chocolate contains more antioxidants per cup than red wine or tea and offers an even tastier way to get those high levels of antioxidants into your diet. Research has proven that antioxidants can help prevent cancer, heart disease, and age-related macular degeneration. In order to obtain the same amount of antioxidants that you will find in a cup of hot chocolate, you would have to drink two to three cups of green tea, or two glasses of wine. Drinking hot chocolate is a healthier choice for you than eating a similar amount of chocolate because of its lower amount of saturated fats. (more…)

Posted on January 10, 2024 by Carmen

10 Foods Loaded with Antioxidants and Phytochemicals

This is sponsored content by Chef John Procacci, Healthy Chef Creations.

BroccoliOrganic fresh fruits and vegetables are one of the best sources of antioxidants, helping to deter the negative effects of free radicals in your body. Free radicals are the “the bad guys.” These unstable molecules enter your body just looking for a fight. They wreak havoc on cells and have been implicated in all kinds of crimes against your good health like arthritis, premature aging, cataracts, even heart disease and cancer.

Antioxidants are “good guys,” like FBI agents whose job it is to keep those delinquent free radicals on the run. But the good agents need your help. Once you are of voting age your body stops producing enough antioxidants. To aid the good-guy agents, you need to ingest fresh fruits and vegetables and their organic versions turn out to be the best source of antioxidants.

As an example, broccoli, a cruciferous vegetable, is thought to contain more cancer-preventative nutrients than any other plant. It does this by aiding the liver’s production of phase II detoxification enzymes, which protect against chemical carcinogens, promoting scavenging of the nasty free radicals. Broccoli sprouts contain 30-50 times more of these protective chemicals than are found in mature broccoli plants. (Source: E. Wagner, “What’s Missing from Multi-Vitamin Supplements?”, ND-LE Magazine, Jan. 2005) (more…)

Posted on January 2, 2024 by GuestBlogger

Cherry Juice May be the New Pomegranate Juice

Remember a few years ago when pomegranate juice was all the rage? Well, it seems as though there may be a new super-food fruit juice in town: tart cherry juice.

Makers of tart cherry juice claim that the drink can do everything from help with wrinkles, insomnia, headaches, swelling, puffiness around the eyes and — most importantly for exercisers — increase muscle recovery time. Manufacturers say that tart cherry juice is high in the antioxidant vitamin E, along with melatonin, vitamin A and beta carotene.

While there hasn’t been that much independent research on the juice, one study published in the online version of the British Journal of Sports Medicine evaluated whether or not a highly-concentrated, specially-processed tart cherry juice blend could prevent the symptoms of muscle damage in a 14 male college students. The study participants were asked to either drink a bottle of the cherry juice blend twice a day for three days before exercise and for four days afterwards, or to drink a placebo juice containing no cherries. The 12-ounce bottle of juice contained the liquid equivalent of 50 to 60 tart cherries blended with commercially available apple juice (from all the cherry juice blends on the market, this is a pretty typical blend, I’ve found).

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Posted on December 16, 2023 by Jennipher

Sweet Potato Ranked First in Nutrition

By the time you read this, some of you will still be munching on Thanksgiving leftovers. But I wanted to take a quick look at one of the items on most people’s holiday plates: the sweet potato. Now, most of us are going to have it with all kinds of sweet treatments such as brown sugar, butter, or marshmallow, but if you can stand just adding a wee bit of butter or butter substitute, you are not only in for a treat, but a sweet nutritional surprise.

Maybe the most amazing thing about the sweet potato is how highly regarded it is by health professionals. In fact, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) ranked the sweet potato the most nutritious vegetable of all. (more…)

Posted on December 2, 2023 by Jason

Dr. Oz’s Ultimate Antioxidant Checklist

Tune in this Wednesday, December 1 to the Dr. Oz Show to learn about the foods you need to be eating to prevent disease and enhance your longevity.

Dr. Oz’s ultimate antioxidant checklist makes healthy living and eating easy and simple for you. This list narrows down the top fruits, vegetables and supplements you need to incorporate into your diet to feel great and look younger. (more…)

Posted on November 29, 2023 by heather