Glendale's Antioxidant Weight Loss Tips

With all their wonderful benefits, antioxidants are all the rage today and justifiably so. Cell damage and cancer are causes of free radicals, but amazingly antioxidants can help neutralize these risks. Antioxidants are everywhere, but no matter where you go blueberries seems to be the only choice. You have your choice of wild blueberry juice, blueberry pomegranate juice, blueberry-cranberry juice and so on. But, in our rush to embrace the latest antioxidant food craze (blueberries, cranberries, pomegranates) were ignoring some very high-antioxidant foods that are probably sitting ignored in our cupboards. The small red bean is a great antioxidant replacement for blueberries, cranberries, and pomegranates.

Scientists have found that the body forms unstable oxygen molecules known as free radicals and that antioxidant rich foods can help neutralize these unstable oxygen molecules.

A free radical is basically an atom with an odd number of electrons. Due to their odd number of electrons, free radicals indiscriminately pick up electrons from other atoms, which in turn convert those other atoms into secondary free radicals, thus setting up a chain reaction, which can cause substantial biological damage. In short, free radicals are very bad. There are many different kinds of free radicals we are exposed to everyday such as pollution, radiation, cigarette smoke and herbicides.

You should not restrict yourself to one particular food source because there are so many common foods high in antioxidants. Did you know that foods are in different color families and each color contains different types of antioxidants and benefits? Thus the saying "eat your colors!" Peaches and nectarines, belonging in the yellow-orange color family, help offer an immune system boost. Pomegranates, plums, and berries of the purple-red color family help reduce inflammation. It is an important weight loss tip to eat foods from all color groups to reap the full benefits of antioxidants.

The good news is, you can eat healthy foods high in antioxidants (by eating them raw, cooking them, or juicing them yourself) without having to pay a high price for the flavor of the month antioxidant juices being peddled in the supermarkets.

So, give your blueberries some company at the dinner table. Make sure to bring some beans, spinach, potatoes or artichoke hearts and enjoy your antioxidants and your weight loss tip of the day!

???????