Base on food science and health, new researches show that it is better to consume food high in antioxidants. Not only are they healthy, but it also helps cleanse and renew cells in the body which results in anti-aging properties.

Benefits of Antioxidant

What can antioxidant do that makes it beneficial in the body? Antioxidants are commonly referred to as “free radicals scavengers”. They repair damage in the body cells that are caused by free radicals. This is known as oxidative stress.

Causes of Oxidative Stress

Multiple reasons can lead to oxidative stress and mostly is from the person’s lifestyle. Here are some of the lists resulting in oxidative stress:

  • Smoking
  • Radiation
  • Consumption of certain foods with high amounts of trans fat and additives, especially processed food
  • Pollution
  • Chemicals such as drugs
  • Excessive exercise

Most of these can be prevented by living healthier and avoiding any environment that easily exposes you to free radicals. But most of the time especially now that people are busy, we cannot fully distance ourselves from such. Thus, the availability of antioxidants in foods is essential.

Rich in Antioxidant

There are many foods rich in antioxidants. Among these are blueberries, apples, and beans. According to research conducted by a US health center, where they took hundreds of foods to test for antioxidant levels using the ORAC method (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), several foods are rich in antioxidants such as nuts. But based on this research as well, it is known that among the nut’s category, pecans showed the highest number of antioxidants.

Pecan is a nut under the hickory family. It is harvested from a tree that is native to the United States. It is sold in the market and online stores like Nutstop as a snack. Many health-conscious people are making it a habit to buy this nut as part of their routine shopping. It is not too late to try it for yourself as well and heal those damaged cells.