The Top Antioxidant Rich Fruits
August 15, 2022
Fruits are delicious foods with numerous health benefits. Most fruits are rich in fiber and beneficial nutrients like vitamin C and potassium. Fruits are also a powerful anti-aging food and a great source of antioxidants. In this article, we will discuss the fruits with the most antioxidants.
What Are Antioxidants?
Before discussing the fruits with the highest antioxidants, let's take a moment to discuss what antioxidants are and why they are so beneficial for our health. Many people have heard about antioxidants and know they are suitable for health. Still, not many people understand what antioxidants are or how they work.
To understand the benefits of antioxidants, you must first understand free radicals and oxidation. Free radicals are oxygen-containing molecules with an uneven number of electrons. The uneven number allows them to react with other molecules easily. As a result, free radicals can cause significant chain chemical reactions in your body because they react quickly with other molecules. These reactions are called oxidation and can potentially be harmful.
Essentially, oxidation is any chemical reaction that involves the moving of electrons. Specifically, it means the substance that gives away electrons is oxidized. Oxidation is an ordinary and necessary process that takes place in your body. However, oxidative stress occurs when there's an imbalance between free radical and antioxidant activity. This can result in damaged cells and ultimately ill health.
Antioxidants are molecules that fight free radicals in your body. Antioxidants can donate an electron to a free radical without making themselves unstable. This causes the free radical to stabilize and become less reactive. As oxidation is a process that is constantly occurring due to numerous chemical reactions in the body, antioxidants must also regularly work to keep free radicals in balance. When there is an imbalance between free radical activity and antioxidant activity, it leads to oxidative stress.
So, essentially, antioxidants are compounds that prevent oxidative stress in the body. Oxidative stress can damage your cells, affect your skin and organ health, and speed up aging. Because antioxidants protect your cells, they can support skin and organ health and slow aging.
Antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables are among nature's most excellent longevity foods. Therefore, they are one of the staples of the "blue zone diet." Blue zones are areas of the world where a significant percentage of the population lives beyond 100. Examples of blue zones include Okinawa, Japan, and the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica. While several factors are attributed to the long lives of people in blue zones—such as climate, lifestyle, quality of life, social opportunities, etc.—one of the things that all blue zones have in common is that their diets are high in antioxidant-rich foods.
Adding more antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables to your diet is one major step to improving your health overall and increasing your likelihood of living a long, healthy life well into your later years.
The Top Antioxidant-Rich Fruits
While most fruits contain antioxidant compounds, we will discuss the fruits with the highest antioxidants below:
1. Blueberries
When it comes to fruits with antioxidants, blueberries top the list. While most berries are rich in antioxidants, numerous studies suggest that blueberries contain the most antioxidants of any fruit.
While all antioxidants benefit health, not all antioxidants act in the same ways. For example, blueberries contain a unique and powerful type of antioxidant called anthocyanins, which have been shown to reduce risk factors for heart disease, lowering LDL cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
In addition, the antioxidants in blueberries have been shown to have many benefits for brain health, particularly helping to delay the decline of cognitive function that occurs with age. These antioxidants help to neutralize harmful free radicals, reduce inflammation in the brain and even change the expression of specific genes.
While regular cultivated blueberries are high in antioxidants, wild blueberries contain a much greater concentration of beneficial antioxidants. The antioxidants called anthocyanins are actually what gives blueberries their rich blue color. When you cut an ordinary blueberry in half, the inside is white, meaning much of the anthocyanin content is contained within the berry's skin. However, when you cut wild blueberries in half, they have a deep blue-purple color all the way through because the whole berry is loaded with anthocyanins.
Wild blueberries are also much smaller than cultivated varieties of blueberries, so you get more berries, and more antioxidant benefits, per cup of wild blueberries than you do from the cultivated varieties. Many health food stores can get wild blueberries in the freezer section. All blueberries contain high amounts of antioxidants, but wild blueberries contain most.
2. Strawberries
Strawberries are another antioxidant-rich berry. They are sweet, delicious, and a great source of vitamin C and antioxidants. Like blueberries, strawberries contain an antioxidant called anthocyanins, which are responsible for giving them their red color.
While they do not contain as many anthocyanins as blueberries, the anthocyanins in strawberries still have many health benefits, such as fighting free radicals, protecting cellular health, and reducing the risk of heart disease by reducing levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol and raising "good" HDL cholesterol.
3. Goji Berries
Goji berries are another fruit rich in antioxidants. Usually, these berries are sold dried, though some people grow their fresh berries. There are two significant types of goji berries—Lycium barbarum and Lycium chinense. In China, goji berries have been used in traditional medicine for over 2,000 years.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, goji berries are explicitly used to support the liver, kidneys, eyes, and lungs. In addition, these berries are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants and have many health benefits.
Goji berries contain unique antioxidants that have been classified as Lycium barbarum polysaccharides. Research on these antioxidant compounds has linked them to a reduced risk of heart disease. In addition, it suggests that they may help to combat skin aging.
Goji berries also appear to be effective at raising the antioxidant levels of blood, protecting the blood and vital organs from the damage of free radical exposure.
4. Raspberries
Raspberries are a great source of dietary fiber, manganese, vitamin C, and beneficial antioxidants. Like other berries, raspberries contain anthocyanins, among other antioxidant compounds. The anthocyanins in raspberries have been linked to a reduced risk of heart disease.
Studies on the antioxidants in raspberries also show that they have powerful anti-inflammatory benefits. Inflammation is at the root of many major illnesses. Eating anti-inflammatory foods like raspberries can help to reduce inflammation levels in the body and protect you from inflammation-related illnesses.
5. Red Grapes
While all grapes contain some antioxidants, red grapes contain the highest numbers of antioxidants because of the anthocyanins that give them their deep red color. In addition, grapes contain numerous other vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, and antioxidant compounds.
Vitamin C, beta-carotene, ellagic acid, quercetin, lutein, and lycopene are all potent antioxidants in red grapes. In addition, red grapes also contain a polyphenol called resveratrol that has many impressive health benefits and is particularly beneficial for heart health.
6. Cherries
Cherries are another antioxidant-rich fruit. Cherries are rich in several polyphenol antioxidant compounds, including anthocyanins, flavonols, and catechins. These natural chemicals help your body deal with the daily exposure to free radicals and protect your cells from damage.
Research on the antioxidant benefits of cherries has found that all cherries contain antioxidants. Still, the deep red colored cherries are highest in anthocyanins and may provide the most antioxidant benefits among cherries.
7. Apricots
Apricots are a great source of many antioxidants, including vitamins A, C, E, and beta carotene. They are also high in flavonoids. Phytonutrients like flavonoids have beneficial anti-inflammatory effects and help protect your cells from oxidative damage that can lead to poor health and disease. The antioxidants in apricots have many benefits for skin health as well.
8. Oranges
Oranges are a great source of antioxidants. They contain many phenolic compounds—especially flavonoids, that have powerful anti-inflammatory benefits. Oranges and other citrus fruits are also high in the antioxidant vitamin C, with one medium-sized orange providing 83 mg of vitamin C, 92% of the daily recommended value.
9. Figs
Figs are a delicious fruit loaded with different vitamins and minerals. They are also rich in antioxidants, particularly phenol antioxidants. Studies comparing vitamins' antioxidant benefits to polyphenols' antioxidant benefits show that most phenols and polyphenols are more potent than vitamin antioxidants.
Polyphenols are a type of organic compound found in many fruits and vegetables. Figs are notably high in beneficial polyphenols that give them unique antioxidant benefits. Figs are also delicious and can be eaten raw, dried, or cooked in various ways.
Adding Antioxidant-Rich Fruits to Your Daily Diet
There are so many great benefits to fruits that they should be consumed daily. A healthy serving of fruits is a great way to load your body with antioxidants to protect your cells and improve your daily immunity.
Fruits are also rich in vitamins like vitamin C, minerals like manganese and potassium, and polyphenol compounds with many health benefits.
Fruits digest much faster than other foods, so eating them on their own at least an hour before a larger meal is recommended for optimal digestion.
Many people choose to have fruits in the morning for breakfast or as a snack an hour before their breakfast meal. In addition, many athletes eat fruit before exercising in the morning and have a larger meal after their workout.
However, if you choose to include fruits in your diet, getting a healthy serving of antioxidant-rich fruits each day is a great way to fight free radicals, protect your body from oxidative stress, and increase overall health and longevity.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3249911/
https://www.livescience.com/54901-free-radicals.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3249911/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10995120/
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf801381y
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23853516/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19844860/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21130297/
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