You hear the word antioxidant often when people talk about health. But what exactly are antioxidants and how can they help with weight loss? Or can they?
Let’s dive into this topic today for some information on Antioxidants and our body.
Do Antioxidants Help Weight Loss?
The way your body burns fuel is very similar to the way a fire in a fireplace burns. There needs to be fuel and oxygen for the fire to start and to continue burning. Once the fire has died out, there is ash and soot left behind in the fireplace.
In our bodies, fuel and oxygen are needed to produce the energy we need and once the process is done, there is residue left over, just like in the fireplace. This residue is known by the name of oxidants. And just like soot in the fireplace, if oxidants aren’t cleaned up, the result can be disastrous.
A healthy body is capable of cleaning up the normal load of oxidants. It does this by using antioxidants which clean the residue from the body and prevent it from becoming an irritant and damaging other nearby cells.
However, when we eat a lot of junk food, don’t exercise, don’t drink enough water, and live with an elevated level of stress consistently, the body is unable to remove the oxidants as efficiently as it should.
If the body is overwhelmed with the oxidant level on a daily basis, then cells and tissues within the body start to deteriorate, setting up the environment for shortened cell life, lowered immune system functions, and general rapid aging of the entire body.
Being overweight generates a low but persistent level of inflammation in the body which adds to already unmanageable levels of oxidant activity. Your body is in a state of disrepair and cannot fix itself properly. That means losing weight is even harder because your body sees it as another form of stress.
Can Food Help?
There is a way to combat oxidative stress. Certain foods have the ability to stop the corrosive oxidative effect and thus are called antioxidants.
These foods – most of them fruits – excel at sweeping up the residue as well as stopping the chain of deterioration oxidants create.
By making sure to include at least two cups of the following foods in your diet every day, it will go a long way in lowering the stress level of your body, allowing it to heal and release fat as it improves its fuel-burning capabilities.
Those foods are:
* blueberries
* strawberries
* prunes
* blackberries
* red delicious apples
* Granny Smith apples
* plums
* raspberries
* sweet cherries
* black, red kidney, or pinto beans
Fruits are not the enemy when eating low-carb or Keto!! Choose wisely and you can enjoy many fruits to help boost your antioxidants and promote weight loss.
So eat some fruits and enjoy the weight loss!
Hi! I’m Chris! Just a Midlife Wife sharing about life’s journey; screaming and kicking through it while supposedly aging gracefully…
Focusing on healthy living, low carb & keto, things I am loving right now, and life in general.