Healing Foods Collective Part III: Antioxidant Cellular Fuel
- Stefanie Smit
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
Remember when your body is hungry, it wants nutrients not calories– Unknown
So far during our Healing Foods Collective series, we’ve spent time exploring Nutrient Dense Foods and A Nutritional Approach to Lowering Inflammation in the Body.
If you’ve followed along in the series, I invite you to look for ways to weave a few items from each article into your days and weeks. They can be combined nicely into your snacks or meals, and substituted for less healthy foods to consistently boost your body’s healing potential. Remember the principle: food is medicine. Allow it to become part of your day as you allot time preparing, enjoying, and thanking the meals that nourish and sustain you. It is in this way that God both provides and sustains our body–both good gifts from him!
Today, we’re going to dive into antioxidants: what they are, how they show up in our food in different ways, and ideas for how to easily incorporate more antioxidants into your diet. Our bodies are constantly working hard for us, and antioxidants provide deep support to make its job more effective.
Get Your Oxidants AWAY From Me!!!
Antioxidants serve to protect our cells from damage and neutralize free radicals in the body. Think of free radicals as reactive molecules that are roaming around inside you. They can attack and weaken cells, therefore impairing your body’s ability to operate optimally. Generally speaking, people with chronic illness have a challenge with free radicals: they have higher levels of free radicals in their bodies, and they also have a tougher time defending against free radicals.
As a result, they have a higher need for antioxidants. While we can get antioxidants into our bodies in some creative ways (such as supplements and therapies), the most sustainable and effective way we ingest them (and the way we were meant to take them in) is through diet.
Taste The Rainbow (Non-Skittles Edition)
One of the simplest methods for addressing your antioxidant-intake is to think of a colorful rainbow of fruits and vegetables making up your diet. Each color, generally speaking, has different types of antioxidants. A greater array of colors in your diet is a sign of a greater variety of antioxidants going into your body, therefore flooding yourself with a means of dampening oxidative stress. Here’s a helpful image to illustrate this concept:
There are a great deal of antioxidants out there, and feeling that you need to eat so many different foods every single week can feel overwhelming. This article, How Bioenergetic Testing Takes Out the Guess Work, explains how bioenergetic scans help us understand our deepest nutritional needs at any given time so we can actually know and prioritize what our bodies actually need. Francois de la Rechefoucauld famously said “to eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.” It’s something we do everyday of our lives; why not truly make it count?
Here are some impressive highlights and favorites from the rainbow of antioxidant fruits & vegetables:
Berries:
This includes blueberries, blackberries, cranberries, and raspberries.
Berries are generally high in flavonoids, which help with regulating blood flow and inflammation, and phenolic acids, which help in numerous areas including heart and brain health.
Kale:
Rich in beta-carotene for immune and skin health, Vitamin C for cellular repair, as well as polyphenols and flavonoids.
Brussels Sprouts:
Have sulfur-containing compounds which makes them rich in both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
These sulphur compounds are some of the most beneficial natural detoxifiers and antioxidant protectors for the body essential for glutathione production, while also helping protect against cancer, heart disease, and neurodegeneration.
Carrots:
A rich source of beta-carotene and a colorful veggie to add to your palate.
It’s also high in lutein and lycopene, which help protect the body against aging and disease–hello beautiful skin!
Papayas:
Not only protects the body from oxidative stress and free radicals, but also aids in digestion and is anti-parasitic.
Shallots, Garlic & Onions:
Very high in allicin, which acts as an antioxidant scavenging free radicals and reduces cytokines.
Supports nitric oxide pathways for better blood flow and protects DNA.
Contain quercetin, a natural antihistamine.
Cauliflower:
High in glucosinolates, carotenoids, and more- which help protect the body against a number of illnesses.
Raw Cacao (unsweetened):
Rich in flavanols, which acts as protectors against oxidative damage and lowers inflammation markers
Matcha (ceremonial grade):
Matcha contains some of the highest levels of ECGC (epigallocatechin gallate) which is one of the most studied antioxidants that protect neurons, reduces oxidative stress (especially in skin and vascular tissues), and reduces oxidative stress linked to natural aging.
Recipe Time
This may come as no surprise, but our recipe today is an amazing salad. It can be served as a side to your meal, or add a protein of your choice to make it the base of your meal.
Kale Salad with Cranberries (gluten, dairy, soy, & egg free)
Ingredients
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1½ tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
3 tablespoons orange juice
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
7 cups stemmed and torn mixed kale, such as lacinato, curly and/or red
½ cup sweetened dried cranberries
¼ cup sliced almonds
**Optional: add a protein of your choice to make it a meal!
Directions
Stir shallot and vinegar together in a large bowl; let stand for 5 minutes.
Whisk in oil, honey, orange zest, orange juice, salt and pepper.
Add kale and massage the mixture gently with your hands until the kale is lightly wilted, about 3 minutes.
Arrange the salad on a platter; sprinkle with cranberries and almonds. Enjoy!
Small Decisions for a Better You
Over the course of my healing journey, I took time to understand the actions I was already taking on a daily basis, such as eating and skincare, and how I could do just a little better month over month to make it a source of promoting my healing rather than slowing it down. It’s been said that “something that’s far more important for anti-aging than Botox is antioxidants,” and my experience incorporating a nutrient dense antioxidant packed diet has taught me just how true this can be. An antioxidant rich diet causes you to age slower on the inside which becomes visible on the outside. My journey was a long one, but while healing I began receiving education that I could use for myself. This eventually became the basis of discovering my purpose in helping others heal. Today, I guide individuals through their battles with chronic illness, focusing not just on protocols, but also zeroing in on the small decisions we can make every day to either help or hinder our healing. You deserve to wake up and feel amazing every day, and I started this blog so I can share small, digestible ideas with you so you too can make small conscious changes month over month.
If you’re looking for real support from someone who has battled Lyme, mold, CIRS, heavy metals, and the other complex conditions that go along with them, I would love to get to know you. Reach Out Here or find me on my Instagram page below to connect and begin a conversation. I can’t wait to learn more about you and see how I might be able to support you in your healing.
Stefanie is a Bioenergetic Root Cause Practitioner & Health Coach. She guides individuals through the challenges of chronic illness to help them find clarity in the WHY behind their symptoms, so they can find a clear path forward back to a life of health and purpose.
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