Any fruit or vegetable you eat is bound to make known and unknown chemical contributions to your quest for youth. But here are ten with so much known potential you shouldn’t ignore them.
There are 5 today and the other 6 were posted yesterday.
7. Citrus fruit: The orange is so full of anti-oxidants that experts call it a complete package of every class of natural anti-cancer inhibitor known, including carotenoids, flavonoids, and Vitamin C.
Grapefruit, too, has a unique type fiber, especially in the membranes and juice sacs, that reduce cholesterol dramatically and even may reverse the aging diseases atherosclerosis. Grapefruit is also high in
glutathione, the so-called master anti-oxidant that fights off all kinds of free radical damage to cells and thus aging.
8. Grapes: the anti-aging secret of grapes is simple and powerful: Grapes contain twenty known anti-oxidants that work together to fend off free radical attacks and protect against disease and aging. The anti-oxidants are in the
skin and seeds, and the more colourful the skin, the greater the anti-oxidant punch. That means red and purple grapes and purple grape juice are more powerful.
Grape anti-oxidants have anti-clogging activity, inhibit oxidation of LDL cholesterol and relax blood vessels.
The anti-oxidant quercetin, also plentiful in onions and tea, appears to be one of the grapes’ foremost anti-aging components.
Raisins, which are simply dried grapes, count too, in fact,
raisins are reported to contain higher concentrations of anti-aging compounds than fresh grapes, but not as much as red wine. One and a half ounces of raisins have three times more anti-oxidants than a glass of white wine, and one third as much of anti-oxidants as a glass of typical French red wine.
9. Onions: A close kin of garlic, the onion too, has diverse anti-aging activity. Full of anti-oxidants, onions help prevent cancer, especially stomach cancer, ‘thin the blood,” discouraging clots, and raise good-type HDL cholesterol. Red and yellow onions (not white onions) are the richest foods in
quercetin, a celebrated anti-oxidant that inactivates cancer-causing agents, inhibits enzymes that spur cancer growth, has anti-inflammatory,
anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral activity. Quercetin also keeps bad LDL cholesterol from turning toxic and attacking arteries.
10. Spinach: This green leafy vegetable is packed with a variety of anti-oxidants. No wonder spinach and its components often show up in studies as warding off a broad variety of free radical-inspired diseases, including cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, cataracts, muscular degeneration, even psychiatric problems. One of the most striking anti-oxidants in spinach is lutein, thought to be as strong an anti-aging agent as well known beta carotene; spinach, however, is rich in both. Eating high amounts of spinach cuts the risk of macular degeneration, a potential cause of blindness, by 45 percent. Eating a cup of raw spinach or a half cup of cooked spinach daily may slash lung cancer odds in half, even among former heavy smokers. Spinach is very rich in folic acid, a brain and artery protector as well as an anti-cancer agent.
11. Tomatoes: The familiar tomato is an unexpected anti-aging power house. Tomatoes are by far the richest and virtually only reliable source of a remarkable anti-oxidiant, lycopene. Research shows that lycopene is more powerful in snuffing out specific free radicals than even much-touted beta carotene. Mind-boggling new research suggests that
lycopene preserves mental and physical functioning among the elderly. High blood levels of lycopene also reduce risk of pancreatic and cervical cancer. Tomato suppresses cancer causing nitrosamines. Only tomatoes and watermelon conain substantial amount of lycopene. Cooking the tomatoes does not destroy the lycopene. That makes all kinds of tomato sauces a potent preserver of youth.
Adapted from the book "How to stave off aging".
