The Nutrition Addition: Antioxidants
A more generous take on "eating the rainbow".
Round two of the Nutrition Addition is taking on antioxidants. Antioxidants are a component of our food, famous for reducing oxidative stress in the body, which can lead to chronic diseases. There are many different stressors in our environment that can shift the ways our body creates various molecules, enzymes, or other internal communicators. Sometimes, the way that those functions are changed can create oxidative stress on the body and increase our likelihood of certain diseases down the line. When antioxidants are in the mix, they help to regulate the dysfunction and prevent some of the “mix-ups” from happening in the first place. Overall, they contribute to the maintenance of our homeostasis and work diligently to keep us in a state of well-being. Remember that this series is all about how you can add nutrition to your life without taking away convenience or enjoyment from your current food routine. Take what you need and leave what you don’t - taking care of your body is all about finding what works for you!
Why do I care?
The current trend of the wellness movement focuses on the toxic aspects of our lives that we need to avoid. There is a heavy focus on what not to do and how to avoid many different foods, utensils, cooking styles, or behaviors. I’m not here to tell you that you should drink more water out of hot plastic bottles or that we should deregulate the amount of PFAS in our water, but I am here to tell you that we (thankfully) have some safeguards built into our food itself to hopefully reduce some of the harm that can be caused from our imperfect food system and overall environment.
An antioxidant-rich diet can do a lot to slow down or reverse some of the disease-causing mishaps that occur in our bodies, even in the most perfect environment1. I mean, even the sun adds oxidative stress to our bodies - there really isn’t such a thing as a perfect, risk-free lifestyle. Antioxidants are aptly named - they can mitigate the opportunity for oxidative damage to our cells within our bodies and ensure proper functioning of our cellular and molecular processes. Some studies have shown that adequate vitamin C intake can possibly offset the damage caused by smoking cigarettes2, eating ample amounts of berries can decrease the risk of a cancer diagnosis3, and we know that, in general, eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables helps support our overall wellbeing. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and other plant-based foods is shown time after time in research to be a predictor of a longer life and lower risk of chronic illness.
Our environment is a contributor to the oxidative stress on our bodies. We are chronically exposed to pollutants in our air and water, ultraviolet rays from sunlight, secondhand smoke, alcohol, limited time to engage in exercise, and other environmental factors. While we will never be able to fully avoid any oxidative stress in our environment (and shouldn’t- some of the things listed here, like sunlight, also do good for our bodies!), we can build up our body’s support systems to make sure our body can handle a bit of stress. A diet abundant in antioxidant-rich foods is a great way to do that.
Where do I find them?
Current research doesn’t show that supplementation of antioxidants has a significant benefit in reducing chronic disease risk, yet we consistently see that a diet naturally high in antioxidant-rich foods is beneficial for disease prevention and extending the lifespan. With this in mind, I don’t recommend taking a supplement for antioxidants other than what is already present in a multivitamin, if you take one. This is going to be a case of “food first” and is a prime example of why nutrition research is so slow and difficult to find definitive answers. For some reason, eating foods with antioxidants is more effective than taking a chemically identical antioxidant supplement. There is one leading theory as to why this is. We tend to see that multiple plant compounds actually like to work together to complete tasks in the body, meaning that one isolated nutrient doesn’t have the same benefits without the other teammates present in your food. Nature is wild. Food is amazing.
There are many different antioxidants out there. Some are vitamins or minerals, but others are compounds that influence the color, flavor, or other chemical aspects of your food. Most fruits and veggies are high in various antioxidants, which means that the more color or variety you’re getting in your diet translates directly to more variety in your antioxidant consumption. By consuming a variety of fruits and veggies and getting in multiple servings per day, you are ensuring adequate intake of a variety of antioxidants.
Common antioxidants and where to find them:
Vitamin C: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cantaloupe, cauliflower, grapefruit, leafy greens (turnip, mustard, beet, collards), honeydew, kale, kiwi, lemon, orange, papaya, snow peas, strawberries, sweet potato, tomatoes, and bell peppers (all colors)
Vitamin E: Almonds, avocado, Swiss chard, leafy greens (beet, mustard, turnip), peanuts, red peppers, spinach (boiled), and sunflower seeds
Carotenoids including beta-carotene and lycopene: Apricots, asparagus, beets, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, bell peppers, kale, mangos, turnip and collard greens, oranges, peaches, pink grapefruit, pumpkin, winter squash, spinach, sweet potato, tangerines, tomatoes, and watermelon
Selenium: Brazil nuts, fish, shellfish, beef, poultry, barley, brown rice
Zinc: Beef, poultry, oysters, shrimp, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, chickpeas, lentils, cashews, fortified cereals
Phenolic compounds: Quercetin (apples, red wine, onions), catechins (tea, cocoa, berries), resveratrol (red and white wine, grapes, peanuts, berries), coumaric acid (spices, berries), anthocyanins (blueberries, strawberries)4
Photo by Rodion Kutsaiev on Unsplash
Make it easy!
Shelf-Stable Options:
Grab some juice!
Pomegranate, tart cherry, cranberry, grape, carrot, and orange juices would all be high in antioxidants.
Unfortunately, fruits and veggies dried with high heat can lose some of their antioxidant properties5, but it appears that freeze-dried produce maintains a higher percentage of antioxidant power.
Look for gummies or other fruity snacks with ascorbic acid as an ingredient - that’s just another name for vitamin C.
Have a glass of red wine.
While many problems arise with chronic overconsumption of alcohol, it appears there can be some benefit to the occasional glass of red wine!
Add cinnamon, cloves, ginger, mint, oregano, pepper, thyme to your spice cabinet for a little extra antioxidant boost in your cooking.6
Make a cup of coffee or tea. Green or white teas are the highest in antioxidants.
Frozen Options:
Frozen foods still contain the compounds and health benefits of fresh produce. If you find yourself throwing away fresh produce frequently, try buying a couple of options from the frozen aisle for smoothies, snacking, or cooking.
Grab some frozen meals that have a veggie component added.
Add a fresh or frozen veggie to your convenience foods:
Top frozen pizza with spinach, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, or onions
Steam a vegetable medley to serve alongside a microwave dinner
Fresh Options:
Rotate the color of your fruits and veggies week by week. If you buy a bundle of kale this week, grab some carrots the next, and some red peppers after that. When you are buying a variety of fruits and veggies in one cart, look to see if you can count a couple of different colors.
Grab fresh herbs from the grocery store or grow them yourself.
Add nuts and seeds to salads or snack mixes.
Photo by Kevin Curtis on Unsplash
Getting Full
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Ross, A. C., Caballero, B., Cousins, R. J., Tucker, K. L., & Ziegler, T. R. (2014). Modern Nutrition in health and disease (11th ed.). Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Tran DV, Luu XQ, Tran HTT, Myung SK. Dietary and supplementary vitamin C intake and the risk of lung cancer: A meta‑analysis of cohort studies. Oncol Lett. 2023 Nov 10;27(1):10. doi: 10.3892/ol.2023.14144. PMID: 38034488; PMCID: PMC10688485.
Kristo AS, Klimis-Zacas D, Sikalidis AK. Protective Role of Dietary Berries in Cancer. Antioxidants (Basel). 2016 Oct 19;5(4):37. doi: 10.3390/antiox5040037. PMID: 27775562; PMCID: PMC5187535.
Harvard School of Public Health. (2025, February 7). What are antioxidants?. The Nutrition Source. https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/antioxidants/
Kumar, D., Ladaniya, M.S., Gurjar, M. et al. Impact of drying methods on natural antioxidants, phenols and flavanones of immature dropped Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck fruits. Sci Rep 12, 6684 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10661-7
Paur I, Carlsen MH, Halvorsen BL, et al. Antioxidants in Herbs and Spices: Roles in Oxidative Stress and Redox Signaling. In: Benzie IFF, Wachtel-Galor S, editors. Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects. 2nd edition. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press/Taylor & Francis; 2011. Chapter 2. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92763/
It is one of my first reads in this app and I loved it! Thank you so much for your insight! :)
Gretchen, I enjoyed reading more details about the wonderful benefits of antioxidants! As a healthy food blogger, my focus is on always filling up the plate with color to get variety in!