Antioxidant Rich Foods Women Should Eat to Ward off Disease

As anyone who reads the news, watches television, trolls the internet or generally keeps their eyes open know, diseases across age groups are on the rise. Women, in particular have become more susceptible to diseases like breast cancer, ovarian cancer and PCOS. This is attributed in part to eating unhealthier foods and leading sedentary lifestyles that can on a cellular level cause damage and dysfunction. One way to reduce the likelihood of cell damage it to increase your intake of antioxidants. 

What Is An Antioxidant?

The word antioxidant is thrown around a lot, but do you actually know what it means? An antioxidant is a molecule that can prevent oxidisation of other molecules. Oxidisation of molecules results in the product of free radicals which, in turn, cause cell damage and death leading to disease and episodes like organ failure. Increasing the strength of antioxidants in your body, therefore, will reduce oxidisation and the risk of you contracting diseases.

Here are some foods rich in antioxidants that women can include in their diets to combat the effects of unhealthy lifestyles and hectic lives.

Berries & Cherries

Fruits like blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries all contain healthy amounts of antioxidants as well as other vitamins that can boost energy. Cherries are also a great option!

Fruits

If you’re not into the whole berries & cherries idea, try fruits like watermelon, apples and black plums. While one black plum contains a capacity of 4844 antioxidants, a regular Granny Smith apple  contains 5381 antioxidants.

Beans

Red beans, pinto beans and black beans are another category of foods that contain high amounts of antioxidants. Plus, they’re a great source of protein if you’re a vegetarian.

Red Wine

Wine drinkers keep affirming that red wine is healthy, but do they actually know why? Red wine contains a generous amount of antioxidants; that’s why some doctors recommend a glass a day to stay healthy!

Green Tea

Another drink you should have daily is green tea which contains catcehins that both prevent and fight cancerous cells.

Artichokes

Artichokes are chock full of antioxidants. They’ve also been found to be helpful in weight loss and making your skin glow!

Indeed, many researchers suggest that having an antioxidant rich diet will not only fight disease, but also help you lose weight, nourish your skin and help you look better in general. In her book, The O2 Diet, Keri Glassman suggests maintaining a diet filled with foods packed with antioxidants to lose weight, look great, boost energy levels and fuel brainpower. Seems like a win-win situation, doesn’t it? Time to go grocery shopping, we think.