Teaching little Johnny to eat his veggies and not slip them to the puppy under the table is teaching him more than manners, it is teaching him to protect his body using an antioxidant source.
Sure, children have no idea what antioxidants are and they aren’t really interested in knowing. However, they can learn early in life to eat nutritious foods that are also antioxidant sources.
Over the course of a lifetime, the pollution in the environment becomes worse due to smoke, carbon monoxide, and pollution from all manner of technology increases the number of free radicals that invade the body and damage cells.
Antioxidant sources should be a part of every nutritional diet plan, starting at an early age. The vast number of fruits, vegetables and other foods that contain antioxidants is so large that it should not be difficult to find something that even the most finicky eater will enjoy.
Antioxidants Taste Good
Fruits are an excellent source of antioxidants and they taste great too. There are many different tastes that can be found in fruits. Sweet, tart, soft, firm and everywhere in between.
Berries are particularly high in antioxidants. Blueberries, historically marketed as a healthy food source, are packed full of antioxidants. Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and the newest, Acai berry, are all antioxidant powerhouses and foods that kids love.
Berries can be incorporated into a healthy diet at a young age. Tossing them in a cup of plain yogurt makes a healthy snack that also offers protection from free radicals.
Citrus fruits are another antioxidant source that is easy to incorporate into a child’s diet. Orange juice, oranges, and tangerines are all favorites among children. As they enjoy these tasty fruits, they are learning to add antioxidant sources to their diets.
Grapes are a favorite among parents and children. They are sweet, portable and healthy. Grapes are an antioxidant source that offers the protection of resveratrol. Resveratrol is an antioxidant that is known for preventing heart disease. Teaching children to add grapes to their diet is just another step in teaching them about antioxidant sources.
Teaching about Health
As parents teach children to eat healthy they are also teaching them about antioxidant sources. Although they might not understand the concept of free radicals and antioxidants while they are young, the concept will be instilled in them and they will carry it into adulthood.
These children will be leaps and bounds ahead of children who do not learn to eat healthy diets that contain antioxidant rich food sources. Starting a child on the path to heart protection and cancer prevention will yield results for future generations.
In addition to teaching them to eat healthy, they are learning nutritious eating patterns that they will carry into their adulthood and teach them to their own children.
Antioxidant sources are in many foods and can be added to healthy diet without explaining what they are. Teaching children to eat healthy will inevitably result in adding antioxidants to the diet.