Antioxidants seem to be stressed more and more these days as important elements to maintain good health and prevent disease as well as the aging process. This is the case simply because as we discover more and more about what foods are not only good for us, but great for us to maintain health and even help us to heal, we naturally tend to look deeper at these foods – superfoods to see exactly what it is inside them that gives them this power.

There are many elements that could be said are the basis for the makeup of a true superfood (see my post What Are Superfoods? for more on this), but a big factor in this equation is antioxidant properties. So what are antioxidants exactly? An antioxidant is a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation itself is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Now the important key here that relates to human health is that oxidation reactions can produce free radicals which start chain reactions that damage cells and cause oxidative stress.

Oxidation is itself is not necessarily bad, as it is an important aspect of life itself. It is a bit of a paradox really, as most life on our planet requires oxygen for its very survival. And yet, oxygen is a highly reactive molecule that damages living organisms by producing something called reactive oxygen species which can have numerous harmful effects such as causing damage to various types of cellular activity like DNA for example.

So since we know that oxidation reactions can be damaging, especially in their ability to damage and even kill cells, how do we assist our bodies to increase its levels of antioxidant properties? Well there are many dietary supplements out on the market today that we can take to increase the antioxidant levels in our bodies, so this is one way. Antioxidants come in all shapes and sizes, from various vitamins like (ascorbic acid) vitamin C & (tocopherol) vitamin E, uric acid to various enzymes produced by our bodies as well as by plants and animals like catalase and peroxiredoxins.

Increasing these types of naturally occurring antioxidants in our bodies will help to increase our health and reduce our susceptibility to degenerative diseases. Besides taking specifically formulated antioxidant supplements, eating healthier in general is a simple and yet highly effective way to increase our intake of antioxidants. Eating superfoods high in antioxidant properties such as carrots, tomatoes, oranges, broccoli, blueberries, green leafy vegetables (have you noticed that all of these foods have bright colors?) nuts, seeds, vegetable oil and flax seed oil as well for example is the best way in my opinion because quite simply… it’s the most natural way.

Eating right by adding high antioxidant content superfoods like these into your daily diet will keep you healthy and disease free. Harness the power of antioxidants through natural God given superfoods and you can’t go wrong. Supplements are great, but remember everything that we need is supplied for us here in abundance on earth already.

As I stated in my post title, I love blueberries. I love to eat them as a snack unto themselves and especially as a topping on a variety of foods, like some of the cereals I eat for example (and deserts ; ). Of course I love the fact that they are so good for you. Many people would say that blueberries are a superfood (or superfruit), and I totally agree.

So what makes blueberries a superfood? Well probably more than anything else, blueberries are known for their high amounts antioxidant phytonutrients. Antioxidants are super important to good health in that they help to protect the body against free radicals which cause cell damage as well as against inflammation which is a common factor in various chronic diseases associated with the aging process. Anti-aging is a hot topic these days as more people (especially baby boomers) want to live not only longer, but healthier and with a better quality of life.

So while we humans have still not found the fountain of youth, there is a lot we can do to slow down the aging process and age gracefully. This is where antioxidants come into play. Free radicals are the unstable oxygen molecules that are associated with speeding up the aging process as well as a host of other degenerative diseases. Free radicals are neutralized by antioxidants to great degree. Prevention of cell damage, heart disease and cancer can be attributed to the power of blueberries.

Also researchers are finding that blueberries promote brain health, urinary tract health and increased night vision. According to a test called ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), researchers have shown that blueberries have some of the highest known levels of antioxidant activity among fruits and vegetables. Blueberries also have a very diverse range of micronutrients as well. These micronutrients include the mineral manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K and dietary fiber.

Another great thing about blueberries is that they are easy to come by. If you live in America, they will be almost always fresh as they are native to North America. I have actually picked wild blueberries myself here in NJ, and if you get the chance to do so yourself I highly recommend it. It is recommended to consume 1 – 2 cups of blueberries daily to reap the full health benefits. This is easy to do as you can eat them on the road, at work or wherever. No cooking or preparing involved, just pick and enjoy.

Out of all the SuperFoods that I take, I can say that green foods are my probably my favorite. Why? For several reasons, for starters I can actually feel the energy that they imbue in my body when I take them. Secondly, since I am a big fan of detoxifying my body on a continual basis, they do a great job of cleansing the lymph system and removing toxic chemicals from the body’s cells. Another reason that I love green foods so much is because I simply love the taste.

I normally drink my ‘greens’ by mixing them in with fresh organic juices that I mix together. The taste is amazing, I like to say that it tastes like you are drinking the blood of the earth. In fact, green foods like barley grass, wheat grass, spirulina and blue-green algae have super high concentrations of the phytochemical chlorophyll which is the equivalent of hemoglobin that is found in red blood cells. Chlorophyll is the natural plant pigment that gives grass, plants and vegetables their color.

You can actually taste the cleansing effect that these high concentrations of chlorophyll have on eliminating bad breadth and foul internal odors, which the therapeutic effects of chlorophyll is known for. Wheat grass is one of the best sources of living chlorophyll. Since chlorophyll is also known for it’s immense potential to prevent many types of cancers, you can see why consuming wheat grass is so highly recommended.

Other great health benefits that come with taking green foods (aka young cereal grasses) are the wide variety of essential vitamins and minerals that have tremendous healing and preventative capabilities. For example wheat grass has been used as an alternative therapy for chronic diseases for decades.

Barley grass has been commonly recommended by persons who study natural healing techniques. Green foods are also known for their blood building and blood regeneration factors, as well as for their nourishing and purifying of the liver and kidneys due to their high chlorophyll, antioxidant and phytochemical properties.

I buy my green foods in dried powdered form (which is the common form they are sold in) so it easy to mix them with fresh organic vegetable and fruit juices. Green foods like barley grass and wheat grass are young cereal grasses that are known for their rich green color. It’s interesting to note that barley and wheat grass in their early stages are closer to vegetables than grains in composition. The nutrient profile of these young cereal grasses is similar to those of the most nutritious dark green leafy vegetables.

There are obviously so many reasons that you should be adding ‘Green Foods’ into your diet if you haven’t already. Green foods have been an essential part of human beings diet for thousands of years, and I am sure they will be as long as we continue to inhabit the earth. Maybe the reason why I love green foods so much and that they are the earth’s true SuperFoods is because it’s built into my DNA, who knows? Oh yeah Green Foods are known for their ability to inhibit certain DNA damaging chemicals, as they say listen to your body.