Lignans especially is that substance in flax oil that has antioxidant properties. The Benefits of Flax Oil Lignans A natural plant chemical, lignans are antioxidant molecules with anti-cancer, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial properties. Flax oil is the richest source of lignans. Diets high in lignans can lead to a lower chance of getting colon, prostate, and breast cancer. This list of foods contained most of the very rich antioxidant foods as ranked by nutrition scientists at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and reported by the University of Alabama website on November 1, 2004. Wild blueberry was narrowly beaten out by the small red bean, which captured the red-blue medal. The function of antioxidant foods is to hunt down free radicals and destroy them. What are Free Radicals? Free radicals are highly reactive chemical substances that are produced when the body undergoes the process of oxidation. The reason that free radicals are highly reactive is that they lack electrons, which cause them to be highly unstable. This new disease-fighting substance is said to be found in red grapes, whose juice and skin may offer more than just wine. The antioxidant red grapes are contained in the seeds of the fruit. Scientists say that these antioxidant red grapes may offer significant protection against certain types of cancer, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, cataracts, and many other chronic and degenerative diseases. For the other study, Engeseth worked with yet another colleague, Nele Gheldof, a doctoral student in the department of food science and human nutrition. They measured the dietary antioxidant and phenolic contents in honey taken from sevel floral sources, such as acacia, buckwheat, clover, firewood, Hawaiian Christmas berry, soybean, and tupelo. Antioxidant Vitamins Did you know that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for African-American men and women? The disease claims the lives of over 100,000 annually. Perhaps due to this alarming number, much of scientific researches conducted in the US today have recently been focused on how antioxidant vitamins may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.