Still unsure about what an antioxidant is? It’s not a supplement, and it’s not a health food. Antioxidants are produced in plants to help them combat potential free-radical damage that occurs while they’re growing. All plants naturally contain antioxidants as a defense mechanism against cellular damage and disease. So, when we eat plants, we naturally infuse ourselves with free-radical fighting, anti-cancer components. You don’t have to be concerned about how many you’re getting, which plants have most, or what kind they are. (Although eating a varied diet of many different types of plant-foods is definitely recommended.)
Why can’t you just take a supplement? Because reductionism (the practice of isolating a nutrient and marketing it as such) does not account for the whole picture. The whole food is better than the sum of its parts. There is no proof that by taking a nutrient away from its source and consuming it on its own, that you will reap the same benefits that you would if you just ate the whole food.
Just eat plants. Plants are the original convenience food. Directions: pluck and eat. It’s that easy. Happy Wednesday to my plant-strong friends! Stay strong! xo
