Antioxidant is a word we hear a lot around the topic of diet and health, so we thought we'd do a quick video to put it all in context.
Join us to hear more.
Simply put, our body is basically a lot of chemical reactions going on all the time and our health depends on those reactions maintaining a balanced state in our systems.
Scientists estimate that every cell carries out tens of thousands of chemical reactions each second. Wow! And since our bodies have roughly 50 trillion cells, that adds up to a lot of chemical reactions in a day.
So, with all these chemical reactions happening that keep us alive and moving, it's important to realize that some of those reactions create what we might call "troublemakers". In the chemical world, these are called free radicals.
You can think of free radicals like sparks from a campfire or rust on a bike. If there are too many sparks, or too much rust, things can get damaged.
Antioxidants are like the body’s cleanup crew. They go around catching those sparks before they cause damage.
If free radicals aren’t stopped, they can damage cells, kind of like dents in a car or scratches on a phone screen. Over time, when free radicals build up in our bodies, it makes it harder to stay healthy.
Where do we get antioxidants?
Plants make lots of antioxidants. They do this to protect themselves from sun, pest and oxygen damage. Vitamin C, vitamin E, carotenoids, and literally thousands of phytochemicals (polyphenols, flavonoids) are all antioxidants that help to keep us healthy.
The foods highest in antioxidants are apples, berries, dark leafy greens, beans, nuts and seeds.
Animal foods have only small amounts. Meat, eggs, and dairy may contain a little vitamin E or selenium—because the animal ate plants—but they don’t contain the wide range of protective antioxidants that berries, greens, beans, and nuts and seeds do.
It's also important to realize that plants, even plants with high antioxidant levels, end up with only a fraction of their protective power when they are processed. Sugar, for example, has no antioxidants, whereas the sweet potatoes that it is made from are loaded. You always get the highest level of antioxidants by eating the foods in their whole form rather than processed.
Plants are our antioxidant powerhouses. Blueberries, kale, turmeric, cocoa, beans, and whole grains have hundreds of different antioxidants working together.
So, if you follow our "mantra" of eating a Wide Variety of Organic, High-Nutrient Dense, Whole Foods, you're taking in an amazing amount of antioxidants that help protect your cells so you stay strong and healthy.
The recipe this week is Potato Nachos. They are so simple and every bit as satisfying and delicious as the nachos we make with tortilla chips. We were surprised how much we liked them. Make them for yourself and see.
To your Amazing Healthy,
Connie and Bill
Potato Nachos (serves 2)
- 2 large baking potatoes
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 15-oz can black beans
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 jalapeño, fine dice
- 12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- ½ cup frozen corn
- ½ small onion, diced
- 1 avocado, cubed
- cilantro for garnish
- 1 lime
- ground black pepper
Cut potatoes in half or in cubes and bake for 30 minutes at 375º F.
When done, score potatoes, if not diced, with cuts and add Nacho ingredients:
nutritional yeast
black beans
salsa
jalapeño
tomato
corn
onion
avocado
cilantro
lime juice
black pepper
Enjoy. This is so delicious.