Tag Archives: Antioxidant

Jun3

Fruitful Combinations

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If you’ve been reading my blog, you know my motto:

MODERATION is Key!

But I’d like to introduce you to a new key concept, a concept known as …

Combination

Photo By Allan Calamoneri

Last Wednesday, my food toxicology professor went over the different toxins, including carcinogens, that appear after grilling meats and veggies. She also shared what she does when she’s around grilled food, and of course, I wanted to share her brilliant knowledge with all of you! She explained to the class that the combination of certain foods can make a great difference in the way our bodies metabolize and detoxify toxins. For instance, if you want or have to eat a grilled burger or a nitrate/nitrite filled hot dog, pair it with an orange, rich in vitamin C, or some other antioxidant rich fruit.

How does this work you ask …

Photo By Allan Calamoneri

The short truth about antioxidant rich fruit is that the antioxidants will induce some of your detoxifying enzymes, which in turn could help metabolize and detoxify the toxins you are putting in your body.

So, I decided to change my food toxicology motto:

MODERATION and COMBINATION is Key! 

P.S. Don’t forget to stop by later this week, I’ll be discussing the toxins that appear after grilling meats and veggies!

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May25

When Life Gives You Lemons …

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Toxic Food Fact of the Day

Let’s talk about a food additive that prevents the wastage of food…

Antioxidants

I’ve talked about antioxidants before in “An Antioxidant a Day, Keeps the Free Radical Away” but now I’m taking a different approach.

I’m going to talk about using antioxidants, natural and synthetic, to prevent the oxidation of food. Our bodies use antioxidants to prevent oxidative stress, similarly, we add antioxidants to food to do the same thing.

Read on young grasshoppers…

Natural Antioxidants:

Fruits and veggies produce antioxidants (carotenoids, polyphenolic, ascorbic acid or vitamin C, and vitamin A) to prevent oxidation. But once the fruit or veggie is not living anymore it will stop producing antioxidants and will be vulnerable to oxidation. Unfortunately, oxidation can decrease the nutritional value of the food by degrading essential fatty acids and vitamins.

Think about it…

You’ve seen oxidation occur … It’s the browning effect! For example, when you cut an apple and let it sit, what happens??? The apple turns brown.

So, what’s the trick…. LEMON JUICE! Lemon juice can prevent the browning of cut apples, thanks to the antioxidant action of vitamin C in the lemon juice. 

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Synthetic Antioxidants:

Synthetic antioxidants are used for the same reason as natural antioxidants. They are added to food products in order to protect food against oxidative deterioration of vitamins and essential fatty acids, delay and detain unwanted and unusual odors, extend self-life, and lastly, hinder the production of toxic by-products.

Synthetic antioxidants include:

Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA), Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT), Propyl Gallate (PG), and Tert-Butylated HydroxyQuinone (TBHQ).

Last thoughts: I hear apples taste even better with a little lemon… maybe you should try it… especially those folks who eat an apple a day to keep the doctor away … give your apple a little spunk … When life gives you lemons, squirt some on your cut apples … that means you gramps!

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May8

Tea Time

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Some say, that next to water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the WORLD! And believe me, I’m definitely on that bandwagon! As you may already know from some of my previous posts, I’m OBSESSED with tea!  So, I did some research and found some promising benefits related to drinking tea.

FLAVONOIDS

Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds that can be found in tea, cocoa, fruits, vegetables, and wine. Flavonoids contribute to the taste and color of these products and are HIGHLY responsible for upholding some normal, healthy body functions.

Many flavonoids are shown to have antioxidative activity (see An Antioxidant a day, Keeps the Free Radical Away for more information on antioxidants), free-radical scavenging capability, coronary heart disease prevention, and anticancer activity. Some flavonoids even exhibit potential for anti-human immunodeficiency virus functions. Furthermore, other studies show that teas may also encourage weight loss, lower bad (LDL) cholesterol, and bring about mental alertness (alertness is however due to the caffeine and theanine in tea).

Black, green, white, oolong, and pu-erh tea are all full of natural sources of flavonoids, providing 100 – 300 milligrams of total flavonoids per 240 milliliter serving. In addition, the majority of flavonoids are infused from the tealeaves to the brewed tea after about 4 minutes of brewing.

Now, remember the more processed the tealeaf the less flavonoid concentration. Oolong and black teas are oxidized or fermented so they tend to have lower concentrations of flavonoids than green tea, which are steamed. However, oolong and black teas still have great antioxidizing potential.

The following list of teas and benefits were found on WebMD:

Green Tea: is made with steamed tealeaves and has a high concentration of flavonoids. Antioxidants interfere with many cancers; prevent clogging of the arteries, burn fat, reduce risk of stroke, and improve LDL cholesterol levels.

Black Tea: is made with fermented tealeaves and has the highest caffeine concentration compared to other teas. Black tea can protect lungs from cigarette smoke and reduce risk of stroke.

White Tea: is uncured and unfermented and studies show white tea has anticancer properties.

Oolong Tea: animals given antioxidants from oolong tea were said to have lower LDL cholesterol levels.

Pu-erh Tea: (considered a black tea) is made from fermented and aged leaves that are pressed into cakes.

In conclusion, my mantra for this blog is not only “know what you’re putting in your mouth,” it’s also … “too much of one thing is never good for you!” Something I personally need to work on! Remember the quote from Paracelsus; “All substances are poisons; there is none which is not a poison. The right dose differentiates a poison and a remedy.” It is important to keep your diet balanced because where there is a benefit there is also may also be a cost…. For example, teas also have oxalates… more on this next time, see you tomorrow!
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