Antioxidants: A Cancer Patient’s Protector and Fighter
Free radicals are directly implicated in aging, many chronic conditions and cancer. Antioxidants contained in whole, plant-based foods can protect all of us against this damage and can be a game changer while undergoing cancer treatments.
Much of the peripheral damage of cancer treatment is caused largely by oxidative stress and inflammation; increasing the body’s antioxidant defense systems can drastically reduce side effects and limit suffering by patients.
In a 2007 study, researchers concluded that not only do dietary antioxidants not interfere with chemotherapy and radiation therapy, but they actually make those therapies more effective and less harmful to healthy tissues.
“Since the 1970s, 280 peer-reviewed in vitro and in vivo studies, including 50 human studies involving 8,521 patients, 5,081 of whom were given nutrients, have consistently shown that non-prescription antioxidants and other nutrients do not interfere with therapeutic modalities for cancer. Furthermore, they enhance the killing of therapeutic modalities for cancer, decrease their side effects, and protect normal tissue. In 15 human studies, 3,738 patients who took non-prescription antioxidants and other nutrients actually had increased survival.”
The addition of antioxidant rich foods can be an excellent nutritional strategy in protecting the body from side effects of traditional therapies while also providing unique cancer-fighting benefits of their own.
Below is a list of the top 20 fruit and vegetables with antioxidant activity. The higher the value, the greater the ability of the foods to act as an antioxidant.
Eating a diet rich in antioxidant whole foods can help improve your health. So yet again, mom and grandma were right – eat your fruits and veggies every day, and lots of them, for better health.
Antioxidant Activity of Top 20 Fruits
| Fruit | Antioxidant Activity Per Serving |
| Wild Blueberry | 13,427 |
| Cranberry | 8,983 |
| Blackberry | 7,701 |
| Raspberry | 6,058 |
| Strawberry | 5,938 |
| Apple (red) | 5,900 |
| Cherry | 4,873 |
| Plum | 4,118 |
| Avocado | 3,344 |
| Pear | 3,172 |
| Orange | 2,540 |
| Grapes (red) | 2,016 |
| Grapefruit | 1,904 |
| Peach | 1,826 |
| Mango | 1,653 |
| Apricot | 1,408 |
| Tangerine | 1,361 |
| Pineapple | 1,229 |
| Banana | 1,037 |
| Nectarine | 1,019 |
Antioxidant Activity of Top 20 Vegetables
| Vegetables | Antioxidant Activity Per Serving |
| Bean (red) | 13,727 |
| Artichoke heart | 7,904 |
| Potato (russet) | 4,649 |
| Cabbage (red) | 2,359 |
| Asparagus | 1,480 |
| Onion | 1,281 |
| Sweet potato | 1,195 |
| Radish | 1,107 |
| Spinach | 1,056 |
| Eggplant | 1,039 |
| Broccoli | 982 |
| Lettuce (Boston) | 620 |
| Pepper (red) | 576 |
| Peas (frozen) | 480 |
| Corn (canned) | 434 |
| Pepper (green) | 418 |
| Tomato | 415 |
| Celery | 344 |
| Cauliflower | 324 |
| Carrot | 171 |
