Vegetarians consume more antioxidants foods than meat eaters. Antioxidants protect cells from oxygen-induced damage and reduce the risk for heart disease, arthritis, cancer, and other diseases. As a result the vegetarian is at less risk.

Antioxidant foods are powerful scavengers of free radicals they provide the body with tools to neutralize harmful free radicals. It's estimated that there are more than 4,000 compounds in foods that act as antioxidants.

Free radical production is actually a normal part of life; the very act of breathing takes free radicals into the body. Free radicals are highly unstable because they lack electrons so to achieve maximum stability free radicals steal electrons from other molecules around them and as a result destroy weaken the cell. Because free radicals or by-products of oxidation, they will always be present in the body.

The vegetarian diet helps to retard the development of free radicals as fruit and vegetables can neutralize free radicals before they damage the bodys cells. Why? Because fruit, vegetables, berries fresh or frozen are packed full of other complementary nutrients and phytochemicals.

Here are some good food sources of the four most studied antioxidants.

Vitamin C -- Important sources include citrus fruits, green peppers, broccoli, green leafy vegetables, strawberries, raw cabbage and potatoes. Vitamin C is also called ascorbic acid, vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin found in all body fluids, so it may be one of our first lines of defence. It is important though to continue topping up with these because this group of antioxidants cannot be stored by the body.

Vitamin E -- Important sources include wheat germ, nuts, seeds, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, vegetable oil and fish-liver oil. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that can be stored with fat in the liver and other tissues, vitamin E is promoted for a range of purposes -- from delaying aging to healing sunburn.

Beta-carotene -- Carrots, squash, broccoli, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, kale, collards, cantaloupe, peaches and apricots are particularly rich sources of beta-carotene This group is the most studied of more than 600 different carotenoids that have been discovered, beta-carotene protects dark green, yellow and orange vegetables and fruits from solar radiation damage.

Selenium -- . Good food sources include fish, shellfish, red meat, grains, eggs, chicken and garlic. Vegetables can also be a good source if grown in selenium-rich soils. This mineral is thought to help fight cell damage by oxygen-derived compounds and thus may help protect against cancer. It is best to get selenium through foods, as large doses of the supplement form can be toxic.

By consuming a wide variety of antioxidant enzymes, , minerals, and herbs the vegetarian is building up for themselves the most complete protection against free radical damage.