This month we focus on antioxidant function. While we commonly know this word, do we really know the role of antioxidants in our health? Free radicals are a normal by-product of body functions such as metabolism and exercise.
We should think of our body as having a furnace inside. Eating and exercising stoke that furnace, creating free radicals, which can cause oxidative stress and possible damage in our body, if not neutralized.
Stress, disease, treatment of disease, smoking and even extreme exercise can increase our free radical production, and if that happens over and over every day, without being neutralized, we can damage our body and cause illness, injury and further disease.
That is where antioxidants come in. Our intake of antioxidants helps to neutralize the effects of that “fire” getting too hot, offsetting the oxidative stress. Eating the right foods fills us with antioxidants, which by their very nature were created to offset the free radicals/oxidative stress in our bodies. There are over 12,000 phytochemicals that have been identified in fruits and vegetables. Each of these nutrients works synergistically to facilitate that antioxidant function. Eating the proper foods every day keeps our whole body functioning like it should.
We can talk about the most well known antioxidants like Vitamin C, but let’s remember, that fruits and vegetables have thousands of nutrients that work together. We need to be eating many servings of fruits and veggies every day to keep our body filled with the many nutrients it needs, and to offset our free radical production.
Make a plan to include more fruits and veggies at every meal. Remember the 75/25 rule: 75% of each meal should be plant-based, with a maximum of 25% animal foods. This should help us to get 2-3 servings of fruits and vegetables, which are filled with antioxidants, at every meal.
