Fruit and Vegetables for Healthy Skin – Antioxidants and Skin Health

Prior and his colleagues used the most advanced technologies available to tabulate antioxidant levels in more than 100 different types of berry fruits, vegetables, nuts, and spices. The Top 20 list includes small red beans (dried), wild blueberry, red kidney beans, pinto beans, blueberry (cultivated), cranberry, artichokes (cooked), blackberry, prunes (dried plums), raspberry, strawberry, red delicious apples, Granny Smith apples, pecans, sweet cherries, black plums, russet potatoes (cooked), black beans (dried), plums, and gala apples. 

Eating a variety of foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol will provide a rich natural source of antioxidant vitamins, minerals, and fiber. But what exactly do antioxidant vitamins do? Oxygen radicals are everywhere because we live in an atmosphere that contains oxygen. Oxidation is a process that naturally occurs in the body and a natural consequence of it are the radical particles that have since been dubbed as "free radicals. 

You might be familiar with the saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." And it's true because recent studies show that there are certain substances found in fresh fruits and vegetables that can be very beneficial to our health. Such substances are called super antioxidants. When you slice an apple and leave it on the table, you will notice that the flesh turns brown after some time. 

Scientists say that these antioxidant red grapes may offer significant protection against certain types of cancer, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, cataracts, and many other chronic and degenerative diseases. The new study on antioxidant red grapes, released in April 9, was conducted by researchers at Creighton University in Omaha. 

Their function is to stop free radicals from "attacking" other healthy molecules and causing a chain reaction. Because of this function, herbal antioxidants are said to play a role in the prevention and potential cure of various degenerative diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, and several others. 

All these are complex compounds found in almost every plant. Carotenoids are the largest group of naturally occurring antioxidants, followed closely by indoles and coumarins. Catechins are the natural antioxidants found in the Camellia sinensis plant where we get our green tea, oolong tea, and black tea.