However, raspberries, cranberries, blueberries, and blackberries are also good antioxidant foods that are rich in proanthocyanidins which help prevent cancer and heart disease. Broccoli Another excellent antioxidant foods are green leafy vegetables. Your mom always say, "Eat your broccoli." Believe me, your mom is not out to torture you by making you eat veggies you hate. The function of antioxidants is to destroy harmful free radicals, counteracting the damaging of tissues and in effect, treating aging or causing its retardation. Antioxidants are commonplace in nature. In fact, antioxidants are abundant in more common vitamins such as retinol or Vitamin A, ascorbic acid or Vitamin C, tocopherol or Vitamin E, and selenium. Some super antioxidants may also act primarily to break off the chain reaction of free radicals. Others act by repairing damages caused by the accumulation of free radicals in tissues. Countless studies have been devoted to determining the extent of the health benefits super antioxidants may have. Super antioxidants have been the subject of various cancer research studies and even research on how to reverse aging. Scientists point out that this might be because consuming antioxidant fruits in food may provide a combination of lesser-known but potent antioxidant substances, which may afford greater effect than that of any single nutrient or individual antioxidant supplement. In a recent issue of the Journal of Nutrition, the total antioxidant content of several antioxidant fruits, including fruits, berries, vegetables, cereals, nuts, and legumes, was analyzed. Many forms of cancer are thought to be the result of reactions between free radicals and DNA, resulting in mutations that can adversely affect the cell cycle and potentially lead to malignancy. Scientists have also pointed to free radicals as the cause of some of the symptoms of aging, such as atherosclerosis, alcohol-induced liver damage, alpha 1-antitrypsin in the lung, and even emphysema. ) Fruits and vegetables Fat-free milk and low-fat dairy products Lean meat, fish, and poultry Incidentally, if you pattern your diet after this basic food group, you not only ingest a high level of natural antioxidant vitamins, but you also keep fat buildup in your body. Eating a variety of foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol will provide a rich natural source of antioxidant vitamins, minerals, and fiber.