As our thoughts impact our lives, the foods we eat and the lifestyles we choose impacts our health.
Antioxidants act as roving protectors in the brain, capturing cell-damaging molecules called free radicals. Free radicals can cause nasty damage to the body's cell membranes and DNA. Antioxidants consumed in brightly colored foods and used by the body destroys free radicals before they can cause injury to cells that may initiate cancer, heart disease and age-related eye damage.
Nature provided us with some super foods that gives us a low-tech approach to health prevention that all of us can incorporate with little effort and would potentially result in huge benefits later in life. The powers of these foods lie in the pigment of their skins, which are packed with tiny health-promoting chemicals known as antioxidants.
Regularly eat blueberries, strawberries, cranberries - in fact all kinds of berries. Eating a daily serving of these colourful foods can protect the brain from stroke damage by as much as 70 percent. If you eat them regularly, they may also decrease the likelihood that you will develop neurological disorders or age-related memory problems. Other foods high in antioxidants - including cranberries and dark leafy greens - combat memory loss in Alzheimer's disease patients.
Just two florets of broccoli counts as a vegetable serving. Broccoli contains antioxidants including vitamin C and it's a particularly good source of naturally occuring folic acid which helps prevent heart disease. But broccoli also contains an antioxidant called lutein that can delay age-related impaired vision and blindness.
Drink a few cups of tea per day. Black or Green Tea is rich in the antioxidant catechins. Catechins protect the artery walls against the damage that causes heart disease and prevents formation of sticky blood clots.
Still other foods have been found to protect the brain, heart and vascular system. Some of the most powerful foods are almonds and walnuts, Brussels sprouts, dark chocolate, olive oil, grape juice and red wine. We can easily incorporate these foods into our diets and get some of the same protection. Raw food rescipes are best, as the enzymes providing cell-protecting power is preserved. A raw broccoli with hummous or unadulterated sweet strawberries are perfect but eating berry pie or steamed broccoli is better than eating none at all.
Lizette le Clus-Fox is an ardent advocate for a holistic approach to health and runs www.wellnessthoughts.com and her ezine Wellness Thoughts provides regular in-depth information. To learn more about holistic health visit her web site today!
Contact the author, Lizette Le Clus-Fox
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