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Foods That Are Rich Source Of Antioxidants

By now you may have heard about antioxidants, from health experts or on nutrition labels.
You’ve been told to eat foods that are good for your stomach and those that protect your heart but what about replenishing the cells that make up these critical organs in our body?
Antioxidants are substances that naturally occur in certain fruits and vegetables. You may have heard of flavanols in chocolate, resveratrol in red wine, lycopene in tomatoes, or beta-carotene in carrots. These are all different types of antioxidants.

How Do Antioxidants Keep Us Healthy?

They work to protect the cells from damage caused by oxidants. Oxidants, on the other hand, are free radicals that your body produces to defend itself against bacteria and viruses. When they become too many, they may start attacking and harming the cells and even put us at risk of serious diseases like heart trouble and cancer.
You may also encounter oxidants from the external environment from pollutants, smoke, or alcohol. Antioxidants help the body by neutralizing and removing these oxidants from your bloodstream.
It’s important to maintain the balance between antioxidants and oxidants in the body for good health. However, the free radicals or oxidants usually outnumber the antioxidants naturally produced in the body. Therefore, it is important to have a continuous supply of antioxidants from an external source to maintain this balance.
Your diet is this external source and it must be packed with good quality antioxidants. This, in turn, provides other benefits like slowing down the signs of aging, making your skin look youthful, and lowering the risk of heart disease.
A diet rich in antioxidants is also known to keep your brain active and your gut healthy.
Needless to say, all these factors help in improving the quality and length of your life. Here are seven antioxidant rich foods that you must eat regularly and add to your daily diet if you haven’t already:
Dark Chocolate

Good news for all chocolate lovers! Chocolate is quite healthy so no need to feel guilty indulging in your chocolate love every now and then. Dark chocolates and cocoa pack a big antioxidant punch and are rich in flavanols and polyphenols.
A popular study conducted by Harvard experts and published in the online Journal Heart suggests that is good for your heart especially, the one with 70% cocoa. Too much chocolate can, of course, add to your daily calorific intake so moderation is the key here.

Citrus Fruits That Can Boost Your Health

Generally, many citrus fruits include grapefruits, limes, lemons, and oranges, in addition to pomelos and tangerines. Citrus fruits are not only yummy refreshing and tasty, but they are also considered all-star foods because they are rich in compounds named flavonoids.

Citrus fruits have been valued for a long as part of a delicious and nutritious diet. The flavors that citrus fruits give are the most favored on this entire planet, and citrus fruits can certainly not only provide good tastes but also many health benefits that people should make use of. Here are a few benefits of citrus fruit.