Antioxidants are naturally occurring substances found in most plants and have the potential to help combat heart diseases and fight cancer. These compounds are found in fruits and vegetables we use regularly but can work with our own nutrients to provide help in protecting us from many illnesses, medical conditions and serious disease. Although only nine hundred if these phytonutrients have been discovered so far it is the scientist opinion that many more will be found and will change tomorrows health care needs; with these discoveries (and more to come), scientists believe the face of healthcare is changing, hopefully forever. To date a large number of health giving benefits of these phytonutrients have been found; the anti-aging power of blueberries and the effect that cherries have on reducing joint pain, are just two of the benefits found so far.

Blueberries are one of the top quality fruits containing plenty of antioxidants while maintaining lower sugar content then most other fruits. Currently the most efficient and pleasurable way to get the benefits of these fruits is by drinking their juice; some of the many benefits have been improvements in the body's capacity to heal itself and benefits to circulation. Antioxidants contained in these fruits can also help ward off and fight disease and infections we may suffer from. The health benefits of apples are now being researched with a reduced chance of coronary disease being one of these.

Lemons, limes and other citrus fruits to are proving to have many such phytochemical properties as well. The combination of phytonutrients in cherries is proving to have properties that can help sufferers of joint pain and fibromyalgia. Of course these fruits contain large amounts of vitamins B, C and E plus other which are already known to have beneficial effects on our health. A large group of common berries also contain specialized antioxidants called Phytoalexins (resveratrol); these have anti-viral and anti-fungal properties that can be of benefit to people.

Many aging conditions benefit from the use of these compounds including, strokes, heart conditions and Alzheimer's. Others found in tomatoes make this one super-food in the prevention of heart disease. Using tomato puree (which is the concentrated form of tomatoes) as the base for your chili utilizes the antioxidants without the bulk of a whole tomato. Nature has also blessed the watermelon with phytonutrients; in fact the most important discovered to date! The health benefits of plants are still in the early stages but why wait to appreciate the benefits this whole range of fruits can bring.