Antioxidants Work as a Team

Cooking Light wrote that most experts agree the best way for your body to get antioxidants is to eat a varied diet. “Antioxidants work synergistically” which means that when they work together, they have greater benefit for your body than when they work individually. As you’ve probably heard by now, antioxidants keep your body healthy by preventing and repairing the damage that excessive free radicals do to your cells.

Research from the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that the total amount of antioxidants in your diet has a greater impact on plasma beta-carotene levels than the amount of beta-carotene alone in your diet. The study concluded that the “other antioxidants pitch in to “spare” beta-carotene so it can work harder when it’s needed.” A professor of chemistry at the University of Scranton, Joe Vinson, PhD, recommends eating antioxidant-rich foods all throughout the day because you need to constantly replenish the supply in your body. You can’t store antioxidants like you can for other nutrients. Vinson said the levels drop off very quickly.

Here is a list of 20 most antioxidant-rich foods according to a study from the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (#1 has the highest capacity). Try to eat a wide variety to get the best body benefit.