Eat Well-Be Well: Free Radicals
Free Radicals; there is nothing free about them. They cost you your life. They are essentially how all diseases are created. If you want to learn how to neutralize them and prevent them from destroying your body and if you want to learn what foods can eliminate them, if you want to live free from having your organs held captive and if you want a delicious recipe that can prevent free radicals from living, then this article is for you. You’ll learn what you need to know about oxidation which is how all diseases are created.
What is a Free Radical? Let’s look at it this way. Picture a big party at the Body Bar. You’ve got your strong atoms with Protons (Dudes) looking to hang out with an even number of Electrons (Babes).
If one of these atoms is weak though, and the proton loses his electron (his lady) then that unpaired weak atom is a free radical and will be a frantic ball of oxygen looking for a mate to pair with. The charge of the atom must have its protons (Dudes) equal to the charge of all the electrons (Babes) in order to maintain balance. If not, then the highly charged weak atom’s proton will steal another lady from some other atom causing a free radical and/or domino effect chain reaction.
We’ve all managed to lose a lady a few times and typically there are two options.
Some of us muscle up and romance another lady while some just pout and sulk. For the pouters, what follows is a small pity party where they invite other weak atoms over to bemoan their fate. This is what exactly happens to our atoms and that leads to all types of problems within our precious bodies. Just to name a few; cancer, strokes, hardening of the arteries, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. Of course, the standard treatment for all of these problems ends up being drugs which are highly acidic and only encourage atom destruction.
So what foods can you eat that will help and prevent oxidation and repair the unpaired weak atoms? This one’s pretty easy to guess. The answer is always fruits and veggies. The antioxidant vitamins contained in those fruits and veggies will largely extend cell function and enhance overall good health. The most recognized antioxidants vitamins are A, C and E. The best sources of vitamin E are vegetable or seed/nut oils, like sunflower, almond and olive. Keep in mind that heating those oils erases most of the vitamin E.
Vitamin E (tocopherol) is heavily dependent on other vitamins and nutrients. Beta-carotene is one of the heavy weights in fighting pound for pound against free radicals. For example, one pepper, (73g) has 173% of your daily need of vitamin A and 83% vitamin C. One cup (47g) of lettuce has 82% of your vitamin A, and Kale, the king of greens, stores in just 1 cup a whopping 382% of your vitamin A and 55% of your vitamin C. Vitamin A and C help Vitamin E to be absorbed. They all work together so this is why eating more fruit and vegetables raw, steamed, or cooked is always a good choice.
Other foods to keep in mind are of course carrots, beet shoots, spinach, mustard greens, dandelion greens, turnips, cabbage, pumpkin, Swiss chard, water crest, and collard greens. These all act as free radical scavengers and will keep fighting way after you chew and digest them. It’s like anything in life; in college you must have the required prerequisites to move on. Your body works the same way. You must have the essential nutrients and vitamins to sustain life, and just like in college if you skip classes and change how you get your credits then the results are not the same. So if you cook nut oils, then the best source of vitamin E is forever changed. These oils are best used in their raw state for dressing and sauces versus heating or cooking them. Look on the back of any bottle of olive oil and you’ll see the same. Polyunsaturated oils are wonders for our bodies and are negatively affected by extended heating.
Now that you have a better understanding about free radicals you can fight them off by trying to eat more greens. This delicious recipe has an armor of antioxidant nutrients that help prevent and destroy free radicals while maintaining good balanced health.
Chunky Vegetable Wrap with Avocado
1) Handful of Beet Shoots
2) 1 Bell Pepper (thinly sliced)
3) Handful of Sliced Almonds
4) 1 C. Kale (Shredded)
5) 1 tsp California Olive Oil Ranch
6) 1 Avocado (slice & cut into small chunks)
7) 1 ½ TBSP of Water Crest (chopped)
8) Salt & Pepper
9) 1 tsp Hummus (alternative sour cream)
10) 1 Sandwich wrap
Raw- In a bowl, combine ingredients 1 – 7, and toss well. You may add any type of seasonings if you like, go ahead and be creative. Spread hummus evenly on sandwich wrap and combine filling combination on top. Wrap and roll it up.
Cooked- Take ingredients 1 – 7, place in a skillet and replace olive oil with water or chicken broth for a quick sauté. Remove and place in sandwich wrap, drizzle with olive oil and wrap it up.
Tony Polito is a chef and food consultant in Boston and New York. Tony's specialty is helping people get fit, starting in the kitchen. He not only teaches people what to eat, but also how to eat. He is currently working on his first cookbook, “Fresh,” which is scheduled to come out this Fall. Visit his web site at cookingwithtony.com.
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