If you want to look years younger, and to have gorgeous looking skin at any age, then you've got to have enough antioxidants in your diet.
Want to know which foods have the most antioxidants? Then read on.
Even though they're invisible, free radicals are constantly produced by your body, and if left unchecked, can result in very visible signs of aging on your skin, including wrinkles.
And it's not just your skin.
If enough free radicals interrupt the correct functioning of enough of your cells, your entire body will be affected. If you're stressed, or exercise heavily for example, then you'll probably need more antioxidants in that situation than someone else.
So if you're interested in anti aging and in preventing the signs of skin aging, then you'll need to pay attention to the food you're having, to ensure that it's wholesome and provides you with the antioxidants you need to neutralise these free radicals.
The US Department of Agriculture in a recent study looked at more than a hundred fruits, vegetable, nuts, and even spices, and analysed the foods not only for their concentrations of antioxidants, but also for the amounts of antioxidants contained in a single serving of each.
So here are the top antioxidant foods that were found in this study, which was the largest USDA study in antioxidants.
Fruits
The leaders among the fruits were blueberries, both wild and cultivated, cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries. Berries have become popular as health foods, and rightly so!
The other fruits which appeared in the top 20 were prunes (which scored nearly as high as cranberries), as well as Red Delicious and Granny Smith apples.
Vegetables and legumes
On the top of the list for vegetables and legumes were dried red beans (the over all leader), artichokes, Russet potatoes, red kidney beans, pinto beans and black beans.
Of course other vegetables and beans are high in antioxidants too, but these were the ones that scored the highest.
We've always known that vegetables were an important part of our diet, so now you simply have to make sure that you get plenty every day.
Nuts
The winning nuts were pecans, followed by walnuts and hazelnuts.
Nuts do contain a lot more calories, so be careful and only have small amounts.
Spices and herbs
The addition of spices to your cooking will not only boost their flavour, it will boost their antioxidant power.
Ground cloves and cinnamon, along with oregano, scored highest among the spices tested.
Christmas cookies and Italian food will now be even more appealing!
How much antioxidants do Americans consume every day at the moment?
The USDA study, which was performed by the US Department of Agricultural Research Service, also indicated that the "average" consumption of the specific antioxidants, or anthocyanins, which give red, blue, purple, and black fruits their coloring, is about 12.5 mg per person per day.
What's interesting to note is that the Okinawan population of Japan, which is the healthiest population in the world, have much higher levels of antioxidants in their diets than people in Western countries typically would.
While no official minimum daily requirement for these antioxidants has been established yet, perhaps, in the near future, they'll come up with an accurate determination of which antioxidants, in which amounts, we should be consuming each day in our efforts to turn back the clock and keep our youthful bloom!
So there you have it.
You now know the top foods when it comes to getting enough of these powerful antioxidants.
And if you're interested in an anti aging diet to improve your skin appearance, then combining a great anti aging diet with facial wrinkle creams that work, will provide greater results than just using one or the other alone.
When you do this, you'll look 10 -20 years younger in no time.
So go for it and get great skin, and enjoy all the benefits this has to offer!
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