HealthyCanada.com

Imagine two opposing forces within your body. On the one side "free radicals". These guys are the enemy eating away at your healthy cells causing all kinds of potential problems. On the other side "antioxidants" the defending force that can help protect you from heart disease stroke and cancer. Only you can determine who wins.

Free radicals are a byproduct of burning oxygen for energy. Your body produces them naturally. Left on their own these guys can damage your cells resulting in cancer and other diseases. The same process is what causes peeled apples to turn brown and iron to rust. Imagine what they are doing inside you! Antioxidants on the other hand are powerful nutrients vitamins and minerals and certain proteins that play an important housekeeping role in your body. They help clean up free radicals before they can do any harm. 

Antioxidants are found in abundance in fruit and vegetables. But while a survey by Leger Marketing shows 60 per cent of Canadians intend to eat healthier in 2003 two thirds of them say increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables in their diet won't be easy. In the past people have cited everything from the taste to the cost and time and trouble of picking up fresh produce as reasons for not eating more fruit and vegetables. But the inconvenience is far surpassed by the potential health benefits.

For years researchers have been building evidence that antioxidants play a significant role in reducing the risk of chronic conditions such as cancer heart disease and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund brought together 15 of the world's leading scientists in diet and cancer in order to produce a comprehensive report on diet and cancer prevention. The study concluded that " consumption of five servings or more of a variety of vegetables and fruit could by itself decrease overall cancer incidence by at least 20%."

"The research justifies the consumption of fruits and vegetables" says Dr. Gopinadhan Paliyath an associate professor in the Food Sciences Department at the University of Guelph. "Many people don't consume enough. Especially children should consume a lot. The key is the potential disease prevention later in life."

While all fruits and vegetables are good for you prunes raisins and field berries are among the best sources of antioxidants. Spinach and brussel sprouts are high on the list too. One antioxidant that is getting a lot of attention is called lycopene a pigment that gives tomatoes pink grapefruit and watermelon their colour. If you want to add more lycopene to your diet you'll want to know that it is better absorbed by the body when it is eaten in processed tomato products. One cup of tomato soup for example contains 24.8 milligrams of lycopene while one medium sized tomato has only 3.7 milligrams. Tomato soup tomato juice and tomato sauce are at the top of the list of any diet rich in lycopene.

Antioxidants aren't found only in fruits and vegetables but also in red wine black tea and even chocolate the darker the better! Some researchers say the quality of the antioxidants found in chocolate are higher than even Vitamins C and E. Of course no one is recommending a steady diet of chocolates.

"At the end of the day" says dietitian Liz Pearson all recommendations should come down to food and yes simply telling people to eat more fruit and vegetables as much as people may find this advice repetitive and boring is still among the best advice we can give." 

Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating recommends 5 to 10 servings of fruit and vegetables each day. But market researchers have discovered that only 30 per cent of Canadians actually go that far allowing those "free radicals" to ravage their bodies without the added protection of powerful antioxidants. Which is winning the war in your body?

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5 to 10 a day: Are you getting enough? 

Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating

Dietitians of Canada