The Importance of AntiOxidants — Plant Based Treasure Valley

Why Antioxidants Matter

Antioxidants reduce oxidative stress (OS), and since “oxidative stress is implicated in virtually every known disease”, doing all we can to reduce this promotes a longer, healthier life.

What is Oxidative Stress

Oxidation is a natural process by which oxygen changes the chemistry of other compounds it interacts with. When you cut open an apple and it browns, that is oxidation. When a piece of iron rusts, that is oxidation. The process of oxidation creates molecules called free radicals, which simply is a molecule that is missing an electron. This missing electron causes an electrical imbalance which the free radical tries to bring back into balance by ripping an electron away from neighboring molecules. In your body, having electrons ripped away from cells can sustain damage proteins, fatty acids, and DNA. This cellular damage is what is called oxidative stress. Think of OS as the body’s version of rusting.

OS has often been described as the aging process. The more OS, the faster you appear to age. This is dramatically apparent in studies done of identical twins where one smokes and the other does not (smoking is a huge contributor to OS).

Sources of Oxidative Stress

Smoking: Smoking has a double effect. Not only does it promote the creation of free radicals, it also impairs the body’s antioxidant defense system
UV-Radiation from the Sun: OS damages skin’s elasticity resulting in premature sagging
Animal Based Foods (see below)

Oxidative Stress from Animal Based Foods

Heme Iron: The easily absorbable form of iron, found almost exclusively in animal products (and the Impossible Burger)
Heterocyclic Amines (HA): Forms within cooked and seared meat. Studies have shown the more HA one consumes, the higher level of OS.
Glycotoxins (Advanced Glycation End-Products): “Foods from animal sources that were high in protein and lipid content (meat, cheese, and egg yolks) had the highest values … and pro-oxidant effect”

What are Antioxidants (AO)

Antioxidants are produced exclusively by plants. They are effective in neutralizing OS because they carry an extra electron. The extra electron balances the free radical’s missing electron without having the electron being ripped from the body.

Of the 3,100 foods tested, the average plant food contains 6,400% more antioxidants than the average animal product (per 100 grams, 11.57 mmols vs 0.18 mmols). Where did the antioxidants in these animal foods come from? The plants the animals ate.

How Much Antioxidants Should You Eat

The chart below shows the amount of AO (the Y axis) based on how many calories you eat (the X axis)

The average male eats 2500 calories per day. From the chart above, you can see that 11 Mmol (or more) of AO should be your target. The average woman eats 2000 calories a day and would require 9 Mmol.

What does the average American consume per day? 4 Mmol.

Best sources of Antioxidants (AO)

Although in general, the easy answer is “plant foods”, not all plant foods are created equal. For example, if you cut open a plant food and it turns brown (like apples and bananas) this is a good indication that food isn’t a great source of AOs. Also, you can often judge a plant food by its color. The darker the color, the better the AO (for example, purple onions are much better than white onions). Generally, berries and spices have the highest concentration of AO.