Are we getting enough antioxidants?
Antioxidants play a crucial role in our health and well being. Through pollution, toxins and chemicals in our environment, our bodies are exposed to free radicals , which are atoms or molecules with unpaired electrons that damage your healthy cells. Antioxidants have the ability to neutralise these free radicals, and hence are a great defense against them.
Which foods and beverages contain antioxidants?
- Vitamin A – spinach, carrot, sweet potato, beetroot
- Vitamin C – berries, broccoli, citrus fruits
- Vitamin E – nuts, whole grains, leefy green vegetables, fish oil
- Flavanoids – berries, tea, coffee
- Phytoestrogens – soybeans, peanuts
- Selenium – lean meta, seafood, whole grains, nuts
- Resveratrol – red wine, dark grapes
While many whole foods contain antioxidants (as shown above), the levels aren’t huge and thus a large amount is required to get adequate intake. So even if you eat lots of the above foods, you still may not be getting enough antioxidants.
How Can Antioxidants be Measured?
ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, which are scores used by nutritionists to identify which foods offer a higher capacity to absorb free radicals. Using these ORAC scores, we can easily identifies which foods are better at fighting cancer, heart disease, and other health issues.
ORAC Score Table (based on average values)
| Blueberry: 24 Blackberry: 20.5 Garlic: 19.25 Strawberry: 17.5 Kale: 17.5 Spinach: 12.6 Brussels Sprouts: 9.8 Broccoli Floret: 9.5 Plum: 9.25 Alfalfa Sprouts: 9 |
Beetroot: 8.5 Red Pepper: 8 Red Grape: 8 Orange: 8 Cherry: 6.75 Kiwi Fruit: 6.5 Pink Grapefruit: 4.75 White Grape: 4.5 Onion: 4 Corn: 3.6 Cauliflower: 3.5 |
As you’ll see, berries are the foods with the highest levels of antioxidants. But the supplement Modere Antioxidant has a very high potency of antioxidants too, providing superior protection against free radicals.
You’d have to eat a tonne of berries to get the same benefit that you get from one high quality antioxidant tablet!
A number of elite athletes use Modere Antioxidant, and have experienced less “day after” soreness, allowing them to recover faster and train harder.
“I train on average 18 to 20 hours per week, increasing to 30 hours per week in the biggest build
period of an ironman preparation. Muscle soreness seems to simply not accumulate when I am using Antioxidant and other Modere products.” – Josh Amberger (Australian triathlete)
