HEALTHY FOOD CHOICES ANTIOXIDANTS

MICHELLE COOPER: Now, we're going to talk about antioxidants. Antioxidants are naturally occurring substances that are found in vitamins, minerals and certain foods. Antioxidants help decrease our risk of cardiovascular disease and cancers by fighting free radicals that are produced when we breathe in oxygen. Foods that are high in antioxidants are fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Fresh fruits and vegetables that are rich in color like tomatoes, red peppers and broccoli are particularly high in antioxidants. You can get antioxidants in a supplement from a healthy food store such as this or from your drugstore, but it's always to get your antioxidants from the whole fruit, the whole vegetable or whole grains as there are other substances in there that help our body as well. So in order to reduce your risk of getting cancer or cardiovascular disease, try to increase your intake of fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Choose fruits and vegetables that are rich in color such as broccoli, red peppers, tomatoes and carrots. And lastly, don't take a supplement to get your antioxidants. Eat the whole food.