The term antioxidant is definitely getting a lot of buzz these days, but do you know what antioxidants are all about? Read this article to get the scoop on antioxidants and consult our handy chart for the 10 best antioxidant foods.

Beware of the Free Radical

The reason the body needs antioxidants is because of a tiny molecule called a free radical. Free radicals are created in our systems when our life brings us in contact with dangerous particles, these particles cause something called oxidative stress. They can come from anywhere (and everywhere), but they generally get introduced into the body by way of pesticides sprayed on food, chemical additives in processed food, pollution/smoking and chemicals in cleaners and body care products. Free radicals can also be made within the body as a result of inflammation, stress or normal metabolism. Because they are ever present, your options are to go live in a bubble OR increase your antioxidant intake.

Balancing oxidative stress with antioxidants can improve your health on many different levels; including fighting diseases like cancer, protecting brain and memory integrity, as well as playing a part in slowing the aging process. Sounds pretty good – and it is pretty easy too – start by increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables. Then include nuts. Lastly, try some chocolate…oh, doing that already? Great! Now for the Top 10 Best Antioxidant Rich Foods.

Unique Compounds

Antioxidants themselves are either a nutrient (vitamin or mineral) or an enzyme that aids in the chemical reactions within the body. Foods that are the best antioxidants usually contain unique compounds such as carotenoids, flavonoids, and tannins.

ORAC Value

ORAC stands for “oxygen radical absorbance capacity” and refers to how powerful an antioxidant food is. Cooking will lower the ORAC score, so it is important to eat the items listed fresh or lightly cooked, as the longer you cook it the lower the score will go.

Benefits

Describes how the unique compounds have added benefit to specific systems or parts of the body. The foods listed here are not all the highest on the ORAC scale, but are considered the “best” because they are easiest to include in your diet.

Food/ORAC value

1. Acai Fruit/102,700 - aids in weight loss, high in omega 3's, more protein than an egg
   
2. Cocoa powder/55,653 - heart health, positive mood, regulates blood pressure
3. Pecans/17,940 - promotes healthy cell growth and reduces inflammation, increases immunity
4. Lentils/7,282 - boosts metabolism which aids in weight loss, reduces inflammation, high in iron
5. Artichokes/6,552 - lowers cholesterol, balances blood sugar, improves liver function and is a digestive aid
6. Raspberry/5,065 - high in fibre, helps control blood pressure
7. Red wine/4,523 - reduces risk of cardiovascular disease, improves brain function
8. Granny smith apple/3,898 - resistance against infections (cold and flu), good for digestion and weight loss
9. Collard greens/3.145 - controls cholesterol, immune modulator, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties
10. Beets/1,776 - reduces risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease

Enjoy!

Cheryl Wahl, RHN, CPCC, Personal Trainer

From a health standpoint, vegetables are an unbeatable food: naturally nutrient-rich; better tasting than a vitamin pill; low in calories; high in fibre and packed with disease-fighting phytonutrients. All types of vegetables can be nourishing and delicious – fresh, frozen, canned and juiced.

To maximize your health with vegetables, nutrition experts suggest at least 3 to 5 servings per day – but why stop there? With so many ways to enjoy spring-time goodness, you could easily eat vegetables at breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.  Here are a dozen daily ways to treat yourself to good health!

• Asparagus: Saute in olive oil with garlic and a hit of lemon zest for a refreshing and seasonal dish. Roasted asparagus is a great finger food for snacking on!
  
• Broccoli and cauliflower: Versatile and very healthful – eat them raw (with dip if you like) or cooked, in a salad or even a slaw.
  
• Carrots: Sweet, crunchy, good for your teeth, eyes and heart! Perfect raw (as a snack or salad) or cooked in a stew.
  
• Peppers: Green, red, yellow, orange or even purple!  Enjoy peppers in a salad, stir-fry, casserole or as a snack.  They are great roasted too.
  
• Spinach: A salad of baby spinach leaves with pears or apples can turn anyone into a real spinach lover. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle goat cheese on top, mmmmm.
  
• Onions: The zesty onion family (scallions, leeks and garlic, too!) offers some powerful antioxidant nutrients.
  
• Peas: Fresh or frozen, peas are a treat to eat and they are very popular with small children.  I like to eat them freshly picked, right out of the pod.
  
• Beets: If you’ve never liked beets, try them in a new way – like roasted, grilled or lightly steamed in the microwave.  They increase inflammation-fighting nitric oxide. 
  
• Mushrooms: Just a mushroom or two adds rich flavor to a casserole, soup, stew, stir-fry or even a tossed green salad.  Asian mushrooms are loaded with anti-cancer nutrients.
  
• Leaf and romaine lettuce: Rule of thumb for a healthy salad – the darker the color of the lettuce leaves, the more nutrients you get.
  
• Green, yellow or purple beans: Like their pea ‘cousins,’ beans offer some fibre and a little bit of protein, along with vitamins and minerals.
  
• Tomatoes: Cooking increases the availability of some tomato nutrients – so enjoy canned sauce, paste and chunks.
  

Many people don't eat vegetables until dinner. Make a commit to your health - Check off the new ways you want to try to enjoy more veggies during the day:

I can add vegetables at breakfast by:

□ Adding vegetables like spinach, mushrooms, onion, green or red peppers to an omelet

I can add vegetables at lunch and snack by:

□ Adding leafy greens, cucumber, or peppers to sandwiches
□ Adding different vegetables to a green salad, like broccoli, green beans, asparagus or peas
□ Adding a bag of sugar snap peas, carrots, peppers, celery and/or zucchini sticks to my snack
□ Adding extra vegetables to soup
□  Choosing kale chips or nori instead of potato chips


Leave a comment below and let me know how you enjoy your favourite veggies.

In good health,
Cheryl Wahl, RHN, CPCC, Personal Trainer

What exactly are superfoods anyway? 

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, superfoods are “a super nutrient-dense food, loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and/or phytonutrients, etc.”.  I have also read they have specific benefits for health improvements, few negative properties and are a whole food in its natural state.

In a perfect world, we would all be able to buy organic, local, grass fed, free-range food on a daily basis.  But if you’re anything like me, that’s not possible, the grocery budget is only so big, especially with 2 growing boys.

Now, I’ve made some changes in our monthly budget so that I can buy more organic food.  Cut back on the Starbucks for one.  But I’ve also found this great guide that shows which produce has the most pesticide residues and are the most important to buy organic, and which are the least contaminated and you can save your money by buying them conventional.

Visit the Environmental Working Group’s website to get your copy of the “Dirty Dozen, Clean Fifteen” list.

Since cancer prevention and support is my passion, I’ve chosen 3 foods from each list, highlighting their cancer fighting properties.

The Dirty Dozen list…BUY THESE ORGANIC

1.     Spinach/Kale

• Per calorie, kale has more calcium than milk, which helps in preventing bone loss, osteoporosis and maintaining a healthy metabolism
• Greens are also high in iron, high in fiber and low in calories (eat them with a little lemon squeezed on to get the full absorption of iron)
• The risk-lowering benefits for cancer have recently included cancer of the bladder, breast, colon, ovary and prostate

2.     Tomatoes

• Lycopene has been shown to lower the risk of developing prostate cancer and reduces the aggressiveness by up to 60% (and recently, shown to reduce breast cancer risk and aggression as well)
• Orange colored tomatoes have a higher bioavailability of lycopene (better absorbed)
• Helps to lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides
• Excellent source of immune boosting anti-oxidants like vitamin C & E and beta-carotene (can you say anti-cancer?)

3.     Strawberries (or any berry for that matter)

According to ancient Chinese mythology, the discovery of tea was likely the result of many trials and errors in an attempt to identify plants with life-extending, health-promoting properties. Have you heard the story of emperor Shen Nong, who insisted on drinking only boiled water for purity?

Apparently, around 5,000 B.C., this eccentric ruler had some tree leaves fall into his boiled water and was struck by the scent and color the leaf imparted. Intrigued, he tasted it – and the rest is history. Tea became a ritual of daily life and a sign of culture, good health and balanced living.

Next to water, tea is the world's most popular beverage; Fifteen thousand cups are drunk every second of every day! However, green tea makes up only 20 percent of those billions of cups per year. Though largely an Asian practice, the drinking of green tea has also become popular in North America because of it's famous anti-cancer effects. While the catechins of green tea (e.g. EGCG) are well-known, in actuality, green tea may owe its popularity to an amino acid called L-theanine.

L-theanine is responsible for the caffeine-like high experienced after a cup of matcha, oolong, jasmine or other green teas. However, instead of the jitters and restless sleep that's often associated with imprudent caffeine consumption, drinking green tea, even late a night, imparts a feeling of relaxation combined with mental alertness. The secret is all in the brain waves.

L-theanine increases alpha waves that are associated with alertness, without producing theta waves that lead to drowsiness.

In addition to stimulating the right brain waves, L-theanine boosts levels of another amino acid called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). GABA is our primary inhibitory neurotransmitter and has the pleasant effect of calming anxious nerves that are overexcited and unable to focus.

This makes L-theanine useful for enhancing mood, the ability to learn and cope with stressful situations - something a cup of coffee will not do.

L-theanine has captured the attention of nutrition researchers on a quest to find more compounds that fight the developed world's major killer, heart disease and cancer. While many studies are ongoing, preliminary findings implicate L-theanine as an immune enhancer.

At the cellular level, scientists have discovered that green tea's little amino stimulates the major warriors of our immune system, macrophages, neutrophils and natural killer cells. While the story is still unfolding, there are lots of reasons to enjoy green tea over coffee, cola or fruit cocktails.

Earlier this week I was asked what kind of green tea should we buy; regular, loose leaf, organic, etc.  Loose leaf, whole tea leaves are better quality with richer flavors and they retain more of the health benefits.  With regular tea bags, the tea leaves are smaller (also referred to as tea dusts, or left overs), they steep quickly but have a more bitter flavor than loose leaf.

My favorite brand is Mighty Leaf Tea, it’s organic and is a compromise between the two.  It contains loose tea leaves in convenient tea bags.


Whether it's loose leaf, bagged tea, or somewhere in between, steep a cup of green tea, sit down and relax for a few minutes.  It's nice to slow down every once in a while.

In good health,
Cheryl Wahl, RHN, Personal Trainer

As we go through the holidays, we enjoy traditions that have been with us for as long as we can remember.  Shortbread cookies, gingerbread houses, candy canes, egg nog, etc.

We know this stuff isn't good for us (and I'll save the details for another post) but the memories behind them are ones that we cherish every year.

So, if you are going to indulge in the treats of the Christmas season, please do two things for me.  One, have the cookie, sit down, and truly enjoy it, savour it, don't eat it on the run.  And two, increase your intake of anti-cancer foods.  Your body will thank you for it.

Blueberries 

• They have a rockstar reputation among fruits.  They contain powerful phytochemicals called anthocyanins, which gives them their dark blue/purple colour
• They are an excellent source of vitamin C and K, manganese (which is important for tissue production, metabolism, blood sugar regulation and brain and nerve function)
• They are a good source of dietary fibre
• They are loaded with antioxidants
• Studies show they decrease free radical damage that can lead to cancer and they lower the risk of several cancers.
  

Cruciferous Vegetables

• Broccoli is probably the best known cruciferous veggie, followed by brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and dark leafy greens like kale and swiss chard
• They contain varying amount of vitamin C and K, manganese, folate and beta-carotene (an immune boosting compound)
• They contain compounds, called glucosinolates, which is their powerhouse ingredient
• Studies have shown they decrease inflammation, which is a risk factor for cancer, helps suppress tumours, slows cancer growth and stimulates apoptosis (cancer cell death)

Green Tea

• Tea has been used as both a beverage and medicine for thousands of years
• Both black and green tea contain polyphenols and flavonoids, which are potent antioxidants
• One specific flavonoid, catechins, are known for their anti-cancer properties
• Studies have shown green tea slows or prevents cancer development in colon, liver, breast and prostate cells.  Regular usage lowers risk for many other cancers

Flaxseed

• An excellent source of magnesium, manganese, thiamin, fibre and selenium (which is good for the immune system)
• 4 TBSP of ground flaxseed contains 7g of fibre.  Women should be getting a minimum of 25g and men should get 35g
• It's a source of omega-3, an anti-inflammatory
• Contain phytoestrogens, a weaker estrogen, and has an adaptogenic effect, which helps to balance natural estrogen. Flaxseeds have been shown to inhibit breast tumours, decrease number and size of colon cancer tumours and inhibit growth and spread of prostate cancer.

Soy

• And I am talking about organic tofu, tempeh, edamame, soy milk and miso, NOT processed soy such as soy burgers, soy cheese, soy dogs, etc.
• It is one of the few plant foods with all the amino acids your body needs
• A good source of fibre, calcium, potassium, magnesium, copper and manganese
• Soy has similar compounds to flaxseed, where there is an adaptogenic effect and helps balance estrogen
• Studies suggest soy lowers blood cholesterol, protects against cancer and balances blood sugar levels
• A large study of 10,000 breast cancer patients consuming a 1/2 serving of soy daily is linked to 25% decrease in cancer recurrence.  1/2 serving = 1 oz edamame, 1/8 cup tofu