I'd be very interested in the research and views of the scientific establishment on the benefits of antioxidant-rich foods in the diet. Being informed, but not a scientist, I can only go by what the internet and other mass media hype about antioxidants, and I confess I'm of the belief that there is indeed a benefit. I just had blueberries with my whole wheat and raisin bran cereal, and I have written down lists of the top antioxidant-rich foods, making conscious decisions on what to eat based on those lists.
blueberries
beans of all kinds
oregano
vitamin C in fruits and veggies
beta-carotene in carrots, beets, yams
broccoli
red wine
apples
walnuts
athletic drinks fortified with antioxidants
Am I victim of a marketing scam? Of course, I indulge in the occasional beer or burger and fries, but by and large I try to include more veggies than fat, more meat than starch, and more nutritional value than the sugar/complex carb/fatty/salty based "feel-good" foods that's making the American animal obese beyond belief. And that includes sugary, "feel-good" mass media like TV and pop radio that also makes Americans mentally obese.
Sorry, I digressed there. All I can contribute factually is this:
Red Wine Compound Resveratrol Demonstrates Significant Health BenefitsBroccoli May Help Protect Against Respiratory Conditions Like AsthmaAntioxidant Deficiency Linked To Pulmonary HypertensionDry Beans Inhibit Development Of Mammary CancerThen again, there's this for the opposing view:
Vitamins C And E And Beta Carotene Again Fail To Reduce Cancer Risk In Randomized Controlled TrialUnless the lay person like me has access to "harder" science publications like PubMed....? (Oops, wait a minute, I just discovered that I can make searches from the PubMed link. Woot! Thanks, MrMistery).
Perhaps it's not so much that antioxidants have proactive preventive effects against chronic diseases, but moreso that a
lack of antioxidants tends to precipitate conditions ripe for chronic ailments...