The human body cannot produce its own supply of natural antioxidants; that is why we have to depend solely on our diet to get the amount of antioxidants our body needs. Groups of well-known natural antioxidants include catechins, coumarins, indoles, and carotenoids. All these are complex compounds found in almost every plant. Oxygen radicals are everywhere because we live in an atmosphere that contains oxygen. Oxidation is a process that naturally occurs in the body and a natural consequence of it are the radical particles that have since been dubbed as "free radicals." Scientists point to these so-called free radicals as the culprits when it comes to most degenerative diseases. The reason that free radicals are highly reactive is that they lack electrons, which cause them to be highly unstable. To achieve maximum stability, free radicals therefore steal electrons from other molecules around them and in so doing, destroy the cell membranes and weaken the cell. Free radicals cause a chain reaction of "electron stealing" because the minute they start taking away electrons from other molecules, those molecules become free radicals themselves. There are several kinds of berries, as you well know, and each kind has a different concentration of antioxidants. In recent studies, purple berries (such as Elderberry and black currant) are considered as the richest antioxidant foods. However, raspberries, cranberries, blueberries, and blackberries are also good antioxidant foods that are rich in proanthocyanidins which help prevent cancer and heart disease. Those annoying crow's feet at the corners of your eyes? Or those laugh lines around your mouth? Sure, these things are but part of the normal aging process. But what causes aging anyway? And is there anyway to retard it? In biological systems, the normal processes of oxidation are what lead to aging. A recent food Olympics has been conducted and out of the 100 different varieties of foods, vegetables, and nuts, 20 antioxidant rich foods came out at the top. This list of foods contained most of the very rich antioxidant foods as ranked by nutrition scientists at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and reported by the University of Alabama website on November 1, 2004.