Antioxidant Foods: Prevent Ageing and Chronic Disease

Many studies suggest that a diet filled with antioxidants can help protect cells against oxidative stress which has been linked to ageing and chronic disease such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.

What are Antioxidants?

Cells that make up the body are at constant risk of damage from substances called free radicals. Environmental factors such as pollutants from tobacco smoke and air pollutants, exposure to radiation, fried food and excessive alcohol consumption can all cause free radical production (1,2). As free radicals are unstable, they try to steal electrons from other molecules. Excessive exposure to these substances can cause oxidative stress on cells, resulting in damage to healthy cells and DNA. Many studies have recognised this as causation for chronic disease and ageing (1, 2, 3, 4).

However, antioxidants donate electrons to free radicals which stabilises them and eliminates the risk to the healthy cells (4). Antioxidants have been shown to reduce risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative diseases, and ageing (2, 3, 4, 5).

But do Antioxidants Really Prevent Ageing and Chronic Disease?

A study by the Human Nutrition Research Centre on Ageing at Tufts University in Boston (6), researched the effects of foods high in antioxidants on middle aged rats. The study found that rats placed on a high antioxidant diet had significantly maintained their learning ability, prevented memory loss, and protected blood vessels against oxidative damage, when compared to other rats. The study suggested that spinach was most effective for preventing loss of long-term memory and learning ability. Many other studies have also found similar results and have suggested antioxidant supplementation to prevent cancer and even to be used adjacent to cancer therapy (7, 8).

Despite this, several reviews have been critical of antioxidant supplementation and suggest that more long-term research needs to be done in vivo (living organisms), rather than in vitro (test tubes) (9,10,11). One study suggested that antioxidant supplements could promote growth and spread of cancerous cells, since the antioxidants act to protect cells (12).

ORAC Values and Antioxidants Examples

Antioxidants in the diet have been widely accepted as health promoting despite the controversy in supplements. In 2003 (13), scientists scored antioxidant foods by their oxygen radical absorbing capacity (ORAC Value). This is the foods capacity to reduce damage to cells caused by free radicals.

Curry Recipe:

Here is a recipe for a healthy curry, created using fresh vegetables, herbs, and spices that have been reported in numerous studies to have high ORAC values (14, 15, 16). Follow the recipe and use your own choice of protein.

This recipe is filled with antioxidants and takes around 15-minutes to cook depending on the choice of protein. Prawns were chosen in the original recipe and the dish was calculated at 690 kcal per 500g portion. If needed the dish can be stored for 2-3 days in the refrigerator.

References

1. Harvard School of Public Health, Antioxidants, 2022.

2. Neha, K., Haider, M.R., Pathak, A. and Yar, M.S., 2019. Medicinal prospects of antioxidants: A review. European journal of medicinal chemistry, 178, pp.687-704.

3. Wichansawakun, S. and Buttar, H.S., 2019. Antioxidant diets and functional foods promote healthy aging and longevity through diverse mechanisms of action. In The role of functional food security in global health (pp. 541-563). Academic Press.

4. Fusco, D., Colloca, G., Monaco, M.R.L. and Cesari, M., 2007. Effects of antioxidant supplementation on the aging process. Clinical interventions in aging, 2(3), p.377.

5. Haytowitz, D.B. and Bhagwat, S., 2010. USDA database for the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) of selected foods, Release 2. US Department of Agriculture, 3(1), pp.10-48.

6. Weller, K., 1999. Can Foods Forestall Aging? Some with high antioxidant activity appear to aid memory. Agricultural Research, February, pp.15-17.

7. Borek, C., 2004. Dietary antioxidants and human cancer. Integrative cancer therapies, 3(4), pp.333-341.

8. Bennett, L.L., Rojas, S. and Seefeldt, T., 2012. Role of antioxidants in the prevention of cancer. Journal of Experimental & Clinical Medicine, 4(4), pp.215-222.

9. Goodman, M., Bostick, R.M., Kucuk, O. and Jones, D.P., 2011. Clinical trials of antioxidants as cancer prevention agents: past, present, and future. Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 51(5), pp.1068-1084.

10. Milisav, I., Ribarič, S. and Poljsak, B., 2018. Antioxidant vitamins and ageing. Biochemistry and Cell Biology of Ageing: Part I Biomedical Science, pp.1-23.

11. Michael E.J. Lean, 2006. Food Science, Nutrition and Health, pp-23.

12. Saeidnia, S. and Abdollahi, M., 2013. Antioxidants: friends or foe in prevention or treatment of cancer: the debate of the century. Toxicology and applied pharmacology, 271(1), pp.49-63.

13. Prior, R.L., Hoang, H.A., Gu, L., Wu, X., Bacchiocca, M., Howard, L., Hampsch-Woodill, M., Huang, D., Ou, B. and Jacob, R., 2003. Assays for hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidant capacity (oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORACFL)) of plasma and other biological and food samples. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 51(11), pp.3273-3279.

14. Paur, I., Carlsen, M.H., Halvorsen, B.L. and Blomhoff, R., 2011. Antioxidants in herbs and spices. Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects. 2nd edition.

15. Embuscado, M.E., 2015. Spices and herbs: Natural sources of antioxidants–a mini review. Journal of functional foods, 18, pp.811-819.

16. Yashin, A., Yashin, Y., Xia, X. and Nemzer, B., 2017. Antioxidant activity of spices and their impact on human health: A review. Antioxidants, 6(3), p.70.