I found some simple tips that will help you build generous amounts of antioxidants and phytochemicals into your diet:

1) Include plenty of vegetables and fruits in your routine, emphasizing the colorful varieties.

2) Keep a bag of baby carrots (rich in beta-carotene) nearby. Try them plain or dipped in hummus or light vinaigrette.

3) Limit storage of fruits and vegetables. Once carotenoids are separated from the plant,they begin to break down.

4) Check out your local Asian or Latin American grocery store to discover some new vegetables. For fresh, seasonal produce, check out your local farmer’s market.

5) Avoid overcooking vegetables. While you still get a substantial amount of antioxidants in cooked vegetables, you will get much more if you don’t cook them. There are a few exceptions, such as carrots, that actually release more carotenoids if you cook them. If you don’t like cooked carrots, try pureeing your raw carrots to release more of their carotenoids.

6) Have plenty of tomato products (rich in lycopene): Mix sun-dried tomatoes into bread dough or add them to a veggie sandwich. Top pasta with marinara sauce (and add frozen vegetables, such as spinach or kale, to the sauce as it cooks). Add canned tomatoes or salsa to a bean burrito, or top a veggie burger with ketchup or salsa. Reach for tomato juice to quench your thirst. Or make a quick bruschetta by toasting baguette slices and then topping them with canned, diced tomatoes and a sprinkling of basil.

7) For a refreshing start to your day, try a pink grapefruit (rich in lycopene and vitamin C).

8) Crush a brazil nut (rich in selenium) on top of your vegetable salad.

9) Enjoy beans and whole grains for vitamin E and selenium.

10) Add blueberries (rich in vitamin E) to your cereal or fruit smoothie.

11) Add barley (rich in vitamin E and selenium) instead of pasta to vegetable soups and stews.

12) Add broccoli, cauliflower, or any other of the other cruciferous veggies to stir-fries, soups, stews, and sauces.

13) Boost any salad’s cancer-fighting potential by adding watercress, kale, cabbage, or collard greens.

14) Use rutabagas or turnips in place of potatoes in your favorite potato dish.

15)Add fresh garlic to almost any meal.


Here some recommended recipes:

1) Fresh Spinach Salad
2) Zippy Yams and Collards
3) Mashed Grains and Cauliflower
4) Mushroom Gravy
5) Summer Fruit Compote

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In this post, i will given some info and tips for Phytochemicals. Previous in my last few post, i did mentioned that antioxidants have the job of protecting you from the free radicals, and all those antioxidants can be only found in plants. Well, plants also have many other protective substances beside antioxidants. Those protective substances are phytochemicals.

The word “Phyto” comes from the Greek word “phyton,” which means “plant,” so phytochemicals are simply natural chemicals found in plants. Those chemicals also very hard substances even cooking can only reduce them but does not eliminate them.

Researchers believe those chemicals have the ability to prevent cancer and still under study to proof their theory. Phytochemicals found mostly in two group of vegetables : Cruciferous vegetables and the allium family of vegetables.

Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage, and collard greens. They get their name from the cross-shaped flowers that adorn them in the garden. People who eat generous amounts of these vegetables have remarkably low cancer rates, and researchers have dedicated a great deal of effort to isolating the compounds that are responsible for their anti-cancer effects.
For example, broccoli which contains sulforaphane, a compound that augments the liver’s ability to rid the body of toxic chemicals.

Phytochemicals from Cruciferous vegetables also affect the hormones that influence the progression of hormone-dependent cancers, such as breast cancer.
In particular, these chemicals actually change the way estrogens are broken down and eliminated.

Normally, estradiol (a potent estrogen) in a woman’s bloodstream is converted to a hormone called 16 a-hydroxyestrone which will encourages the growth of cancer cells. However, the cruciferous extract indole-3-carbinol and then causes the body to convert more estrogen to a different estrogen called 2-hydroxyestrone, which has anticancer actions.

Researchers are starting to test out the effects of cruciferous vegetable extracts on patients. In one study, the extract indole-3-carbinol was given to women with abnormal cervical cells (the type of cells gynecologists check for on Pap smears). After 12 weeks, the abnormal cells had disappeared in half the treated patients, while patients given a placebo preparation showed no improvement.


The allium family of vegetables such as garlic, onions, and hundreds of their botanical relatives. Some studies showed those vegetbles have the possibility to speed up the body’s elimination of carcinogens and perhaps even block the start of cancer or inhibit the growth of cancer cells.

For example, when garlic cloves are cut or crushed, they produce a compound called allicin, which is responsible for both their scent and their biological activity.

Several studies have shown that people who regularly include allium vegetables in their diets have less risk of cancer, particularly cancers of stomach cancer and colon.

In test-tube experiments, extracts from allium plants have been shown to help the body eliminate carcinogens and slow the growth of cancer cells. Researchers estimate the amount of garlic necessary for anti-cancer effects at three to five cloves daily. Cooking temperatures eliminate garlic’s beneficial effects on cells unless the garlic is allowed to stand for about 10 minutes between being crushed and the cooking process.

It should be noted that tests of garlic’s ability to block cancer promotion have been carried out in cells, not in intact humans, so it remains to be established whether garlic can actually affect the course of cancer after diagnosis.


Here some vegetables that below to Cruciferous Vegetables and Allium Vegetables:

Cruciferous Vegetables
Arugula
Beet greens
Bok choy
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Collard greens
Horseradish
Kale
Kohlrabi
Mustard greens
Radishes
Rutabaga
Swiss chard
Turnips
Turnip greens
Watercress


Allium Vegetables
Chives
Garlic
Leeks
Onions
Scallions
Shallots

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Vitamin E

We do know Vitamins are important in our bodies normal function, but few of us will know that few vitamins are actually nature powerful antioxidant.

For example, Vitamin E that found in legumes (beans), whole grains, and plants rich in natural oils (e.g., nuts, seeds). Like beta-carotene and lycopene, vitamin E protect each cell’s outer membrane from free radical attacks.

However, our bodies are need a little bit of vitamin E as an essential part of your body’s protection against free radicals. It is not at all certain that boosting vitamin E intake to high levels is a good idea. Some of the richest vitamin E sources, such as vegetable oils and nuts, also give you an unwanted load of fat.

This may be the reason why one study found that, among women with breast cancer, those with the highest levels of vitamin E in their bloodstreams were actually more likely to succumb to the disease than those with more moderate levels—it may simply be a sign that they were getting too much fat in their diets.

So while more research is needed to sort out what is the right amount of vitamin E, it is prudent to choose foods that are moderate in the vitamin, rather than extremely high or low.


Vitamin E Sources
(portions are 1 cup raw, unless specified)

1) Barley (cooked) = > 3 mg
2) Brown rice (cooked) = > 1 mg
3) Broccoli = > 2 mg
4) Brussels sprouts (cooked) = > 1 mg
5) Garbanzo beans (cooked) = > 2 mg
6) Garlic = > 0 mg
7) Pumpkin (cooked) = > 3 mg
8) Pinto beans (cooked) = > 2 mg
9) Sunflower seeds (1 Tbsp) = > 5 mg



Vitamin C

Another well-know and powerful nature antioxidant is Vitamin C, but vitamin C unlike other antioxidants, which it defend cell membranes, vitamin C patrols the watery areas of the body—the bloodstream or the cell’s interior.

What are the best foods for vitamin C? Here are some good sources:
(portions are 1 cup raw, unless specified)

1) Bell pepper, red = > 175 mg
2) Broccoli = > 82 mg
3) Brussels sprouts, cooked = > 97 mg
4) Cantaloupe = > 68 mg
5) Guava = > 303 mg
6) Orange (1 medium) = > 59 mg
7) Orange juice = > 124 mg
8) Strawberries = > 82 mg

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During last post, i have introduced one of antioxidants - Beta-Carotene to you. Well, this post will cover another antioxidant - Lycopene. There are many antioxidants exist in our nature, but i will introduce some of those important and well-know antioxidants to you, just ready my blog and i will introduce to you post by post.. :)

You may not have heard much about lycopene, but you have certainly seen plenty of it. Just as beta-carotene is nature’s yellow-orange pigment, lycopene is a bright red pigment, providing the color for tomatoes, watermelon,and pink grapefruit.

Generally to said, Lycopene is in the carotenoid family, meaning that it is beta-carotene’s chemical cousin, and it is actually a much more powerful antioxidant.

A study at Harvard University showed that men who had just two servings of tomato sauce per week had 23 percent less prostate cancer risk, compared to those who rarely had tomato products.

Men consuming ten or more servings of tomato products each week had a 35 percent reduction in risk, and that was true even if their tomatoes came in the form of pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, or ketchup.

In fact, the cooking process releases lycopene from the plant’s cells, increasing your ability to absorb it.

But not all red foods contain lycopene. For example, the red color in strawberries does not come from lycopene, but from a group of pigments called anthocyanins.

Anthocyanins also are powerful antioxidants in their own right which provide the color for cherries, plums, red cabbage, and blueberries.

Here are the top foods that contain lycopene:

Lycopene
Pink grapefruit (1) => 10 mg
Tomato (1 medium, raw) => 4 mg
Tomato juice (1 cup) => 25mg
Tomato ketchup (1 Tbsp) => 3 mg
Tomato-based spaghetti sauce (1 cup) => 56 mg
Watermelon (1 slice, 368 g) => 1 mg

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I believe you already has some basic knowledge in Antioxidants, if not, pls. read my last post in Antioxidants for some basic knowledge. :)

One of the best-known antioxidants is beta-carotene, which is the yellow-orange pigment that can be found in carrots, yams, and cantaloupes.

Beta-carotene also provides vitamin A, which is important for good vision, among other functions. Basically, Beta-carotene is actually two molecules of vitamin A joined together.

When those antioxidant enters our body, it will enter the cell membrane that surrounds each of the cells and then waits there to fend off free radicals that might approach.

You’ll find beta-carotene not only in orange-colored vegetables, but also in dark green vegetables. You can’t see it, because their chlorophyll hides beta-carotene in the same way that chlorophyll in tree leaves hides the plants’ underlying orange, red, and brown colors until the green color fades in autumn. :)

Nowadays, we can buy beta-carotene supplements in market , but it is much better to get beta-carotene from foods. Some studies in beta-carotene’s cancer-fighting power in smokers showed that those whose diets were high in beta-carotene had a measure of protection, but those who got beta-carotene from supplements were actually more likely to develop cancer than were other smokers.

The reason is not entirely clear, but it may be that, since supplements deliver high doses of only one antioxidant, they interfere with the absorption of others.

Also, vegetables and fruits that are rich in beta-carotene are also loaded with hundreds of other antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and other protective compounds.


Here some top foods for beta-carotene:

Beta-Carotene
Cantaloupe (1 cup) => 3 mg
Carrot (1 large) => 16 mg
Kale (1 cup) => 4 mg
Mango (1 cup) => 4 mg
Pumpkin (1 cup) => 32 mg
Yam (1 cup) => 26 mg

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