Some antioxidants are important nutritional vitamins that your physique must operate, whereas others are important minerals. Examples of antioxidant nutritional vitamins embody the immune-boosting nutritional vitamins C (present in brussels sprouts, crimson cabbage, and peppers), vitamin E (present in almonds, sunflower seeds, and olive oil), and vitamin A, which your physique makes from beta carotene (present in collard greens, candy potatoes, and cantaloupe). Examples of antioxidant minerals embody selenium (present in Brazil nuts, pork, and turkey) and zinc (present in oysters, beef, and pumpkin seeds).
Then there are antioxidants that aren’t precisely thought of important vitamins however nonetheless have an affect on cells and tissues, Bradley Bolling, PhD, an assistant professor of meals science on the College of Wisconsin-Madison, tells SELF. You’ll find these in plant, animal, and different dietary sources.
A number of examples of those antioxidants embody carotenoid cousins of beta carotene, similar to lycopene (present in watermelon, tomato sauce, and ketchup) and lutein and zeaxanthin (present in spinach, romaine lettuce, and Swiss chard), chlorogenic acid (present in espresso, apples, and eggplants), flavonoids (present in berries, tea, and citrus fruits), and ergothioneine (present in mushrooms, tempeh, oats, and kidney beans).
What are the well being advantages of antioxidants?
As an entire, antioxidants may be useful as a result of they battle again in opposition to that oxidative stress, which is linked to the broad swath of well being issues talked about above.
In fact, it’s essential to know {that a} multitude of things determines your threat of growing numerous ailments—oxidative stress is only one of them. Analysis does level to a broad vary of well being advantages in individuals who eat extra antioxidants, however the NCCIH notes that it’s potential the advantages of antioxidant-rich diets could must do with a mix of drugs within the antioxidant-rich meals relatively than particular antioxidants themselves—to not point out different associated life-style or dietary components.
So let’s take a more in-depth have a look at a number of the analysis displaying a hyperlink between excessive antioxidant consumption and diminished threat of illness.
In a single research revealed within the European Journal of Vitamin, researchers categorized 23,595 Individuals into 4 teams primarily based on their antioxidant consumption.1 Individuals who ate essentially the most antioxidants had a 21% decrease threat of dying over a 13-year interval than individuals who ate the least, even because the researchers accounted for related mitigating components similar to contributors’ age, intercourse, and financial standing. (It’s price noting, although, that this research was primarily based on a 24-hour dietary recall, or individuals’s recollections of simply at some point of consuming.)
Analysis additionally signifies that prime quantities of dietary antioxidants could affect your threat of growing kind 2 diabetes and stroke.2,3 And in response to a meta-analysis revealed in Crucial Opinions in Oncology/Hematology of 19 beforehand revealed research that included over 700,000 individuals, a food plan excessive in antioxidants could scale back the chance of most cancers, with vital reductions seen with colorectal, endometrial, and gastric particularly.4
There may be even proof to counsel that exact antioxidants are related to decrease dangers of explicit ailments, although it’s typically actually exhausting to tease out particular relationships. Nonetheless, increased consumption of flavonoids has lengthy been linked with a diminished threat of coronary heart illness, and a current research within the American Journal of Scientific Vitamin suggests an affiliation with a diminished threat of Alzheimer’s illness too.5,6 And Dr. Giovannucci notes that prime consumption of lycopene seems to be related to a decrease threat of aggressive prostate most cancers,7 whereas excessive consumption of beta-carotene seems to be related to a decrease threat of breast most cancers (notably, estrogen receptor damaging breast most cancers).