MamasHealth.com Home Nutrition Pages Antioxidants Bottled Water Caffeine Calcium Calories Carbohydrates Dangers of raw milk Eat healthy Eat healthy tips Eating light Eat light while out Egg facts Enriched vs fortified Essential fats Fiber Fiber sources Healthy foods Healthy holiday meals Healthy low carb diets Healthful recipes Iron Low carb diets Nutrient absorption Nutrient deficiency Nutrition & hemodialysis Nutrition for athletes Nutrition labels Nutritious shopping Probiotic foods Protein School lunch Soy coffee Supplements Supplements effective? Supplement tips Vegetarian diets Vitamins Water Links Healthful recipes Healthful meals Food distribution Zrii: The great rejuvenator Healthful fruits Must-buy organic fruits Children and hunger Email Mama	What are Antioxidants? Antioxidants are vitamins, minerals and enzymes that protect the body's cells and tissues from the damaging effects of toxic molecules called free radicals. How do Antioxidants Work? Antioxidants work by stabilizing free radicals. They stabilize free radicals by donating some of their components to the free radical. Free radicals are damaged molecules that are produced as a result of the body's cells normal work. Free radicals are highly unstable and steal components from other cellular molecules and cause damage to them. Some of the cellular molecules they steal are fat, protein, or DNA. When there are not enough antioxidants to stabilize the free radicals, the free radicals begin to attack and damage healthy cells. Damaged cells can lead to health problems. Antioxidants in Food Food Folic Acid (mcg) Vitamin C (mg) Vitamin E (mg) Vitamin A (mg) Almonds 3/4 cup 64 n/a 2.1 n/a Broccoli 1 cup cooked 110 100 2.1 1.5 Cantaloupe 1 Cubed 27 68 .3 3.1 Carrot 2 medium 21 15 .6 25 Kale 1 Cup Cooked 19 60 8.3 6.3 Mango 1 medium 31 57 2.3 4.8 Orange 1 medium 34 70 n/a 12 Papaya 1 Cup 49 80 n/a n/a Pumpkin 1/2 Cup 15 5 1.1 10.5 Red Bell Pepper 1/2 Cup Raw 8 95 .03 1.7 Spinach 1/2 Cup Cooked 131 9 2.0 4.4 Sweet Potato 1 medium cooked 26 28 5.5 14.9	Tell me a secret and I'll tell you mine
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