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So, back to Dans comment: He said something like (it was a long time ago so I cant quote him exactly), I read a nutrition recommendation that really made sense to me. It said to try and eat as many different colors everyday as you can. At the time, it struck me as very powerful and simple. Do you know why? Antioxidants! Antioxidants is quite the buzz word in the world of nutrition these days. This is because cellular oxidation is a mechanism of aging and related diseases in which nutrition and lifestyle choices play a part. Oxygen radicals, or free radicals, are a normal part of our bodys functioning. Even though we all have them in our body at any given time, they cause cellular damage. This is called oxidation. In our bodies, this process is similar to the process that happens to unpainted metal after a timeit rusts and deteriorates. To stop rust on metal, you add oil or paint. But whats the best way to slow it in our bodies? If our body has a way to absorb the oxygen radicals, they dont do damage. Whats the best way to absorb free radicals? Eat LOTS of richly colored vegetables and fruits. Simple. Of course, some vegetables and fruits are better at absorbing free radicals. I was curious about this idea, so I checked out the web for more information. What I found confirmed my thinking that, as a rule the richer and deeper the color, the more powerful the antioxidant actions in the body. The United States Department of Agriculture developed a test, called the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity or ORAC (could they make the name any longer??), which assigns a score to each vegetable depending on its antioxidant capacity. And, YEP, sure enough, with a few exceptions like garlic and cauliflower, the deeper colored veggies and fruits had higher scores. If you are interested to learn about specific veggies and fruits that you like, search for ORAC scores of fruits and vegetables in your web search engine. Theres tons of information on this out there. I have listed a couple of sites below that are good as well. OR just follow Dans philosophy and eat as many colors as you can everyday. Your body will love you for it. THANKS Dan! Resources: What is ORAC? How Foods Can Help You Fight Cancer. By Susan Dixon http://www.cancer.med.umich.edu/learn/nutorac.htm#list ORAC Values of Fruits and Vegetables http://www.drdavidwilliams.com/nc/ORAC_values.asp |
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