HEALTHY HOLIDAY FOOD STUDY

As you cook up the holiday meal this weekend, did you remember to put out enough foods high in antioxidants, the cancer fighting, heart disease-battling chemicals?

These days with the Atkins craze affecting the nation there’s no question people are avoiding carbs, both the bad ones and the good ones. Fruits and vegetables are carbohydrates, but they are food high in the antioxidant chemicals which are key to good health. Now a new study tells us which foods are high in antioxidants, and are the ones experts say you should be trying to get into your diet on a daily basis.
With obesity an epidemic in America, too much of the wrong foods are not only making us fat, but also are putting us at higher risk for heart disease and cancer. Carla Wolper, nutritionist at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York, says “Eating a diet that is high in animal protein is strongly associated with a number of cancers. Eliminating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains from your diet is also associated with a number of cancers.”
New research released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is the largest, most comprehensive analysis of the antioxidant content of commonly consumed foods. Blueberries were among the foods highest in antioxidants, the wild type being the best.
“The wild blueberries are blue inside as well as blue outside. The ones we normally eat are sort of white inside. There are more of the antioxidants in these all-blue blueberries,” says Wolper.
Along the pattern of color indicating foods high in antioxidants, cranberries were close behind, as were blackberries.
But what about vegetables?
Overall dried red beans topped the list of foods high in antioxidants- red kidney and pinto beans were also in the top ten. But surprisingly, artichokes are also among the top ten of foods high in antioxidants. Wolper says, “This is sort of interesting because they are not deeply colored. The inside, the part that we actually consume is white or very pale green but nevertheless they are among the list of foods that are high in antioxidants.”
There are nuts that did not make it into the top twenty of foods high in antioxidants. These did however have high enough content worthy of mention-- pecans, hazelnuts and walnuts were the ones with the greatest antioxidant content. But the antioxidants are concentrated, so you need only a handful a day to get the amount you need.
Russett potatoes also made it into the top twenty of foods high in antioxidants. And good old apples are also loaded in antioxidants- especially the Red Delicious, Granny Smith, and Gala varieties.
Nope, these aren’t Atkins friendly, they are carbs, but Carla says that’s ok. “If you look at what thin people eat and what obese people eat, you will see that thin people eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Obese people do not,” advises Wolper, suggesting that it might be ok to violate Atkins diet to get your share of foods high in antioxidants.