By Sharmini Jayawardena
An antioxidant is a molecule that inhibits the oxidization of other molecules. Oxidization is a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals, leading to chain reactions that may damage cells.
Free radicals are those cells that tumors are formed from in our systems, and are responsible for causing the deadly cancer!
Not only cancer but heart disease, diabetes, stroke are only but a few debilitating and life threatening diseases that are caused by the presence of free radicals in our systems.
Antioxidants boosts our immune system, curtailing inflammation in our body.
Anti inflammatory foods according to Wikipedia are listed as follows:
βProstaglandins are hormone like substances that affect the body in a variety of ways, also regulating anti inflammatory mediation. An anti inflammatory diet includes fewer foods that create inflammation-causing Prostaglandins (PGE2) in the body, and more foods that contains anti inflammatory Prostaglandins (PGE1 and PGE3).
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/foods-that-fight-inflammation
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/anti-inflammatory-antioxidants/
Nature has given us an abundance of foods that produce antioxidants when consumed by us.
A very prominent food among them being the turmeric. Although this awesome food may not be assimilated by our systems as it is, coupled with applying heat to it and taking a little black pepper along with it, makes it easily absorbable.
Many take turmeric golden milk as a supply that ensures your regular intake (once a week) of this wonder food.
β…trade out your coffee and tea for golden milk and give your mornings and evenings a refreshing health boost.β
– Danette May
Here are a list of foods that possess antioxidants which are beneficial for us in more than one way – coconut, tomato, cucumber, cherries, cabbage, cloves, aloe vera, guava, water melon, gaviola or sour sup/cherimoya, lemongrass and green leafy vegetables and so on.
Foods rich in Vitamin C are full of antioxidant properties and are anti inflammatory foods.
Tomato looms large on this list even being able to defuse the bad effects from consuming pesticides if the tomato is gmo!
Tomato contains Lycopene which is a super ingredient on which I will talk later.
Refer to Update in Wanderlust: Foraging for Wild Foods of 7th December 2017 – Chaga mushroom.