Effects of High Antioxidant Foods on Antioxidant Capacity in Post-Menopausal Women

PURPOSE: To examine the effects of two types of foods high in antioxidants on antioxidant capacity in postmenopausal women. METHODS: Healthy post-menopausal women without hormone replacement, (N=16) were randomly divided into four groups: fruits (F), soymilk (S), fruits and soymilk (S+F) and control (C). The intervention included a one week wash-out period where participants refrained from a list of foods high in antioxidants. Spectrophotometric assays were conducted for antioxidant capacity by SOD (Cayman Chemical). RESULTS: SOD showed a significant main effect for Test with the mean for the pre-test (M = 0.28 units/ml, SD = 0.15) being significantly lower than the mean for the post-test (M = 0.39 units/ml, SD = 0.23). There were no significant between group differences in SOD.