Eat right, feel bright!
Antioxidants, the Smart Supplement
Discoveries happen everyday on the wonders of good nutrition and make the top headlines. Nutrition awareness has catapulted itself to a new level that not only occupies a primary focus for many but also has become a main topic of discussion and research.
The benefits of nutrition have been clearly established. One of the most recent revelations is the powerful role that antioxidants play in keeping some of the darkest diseases that plague human kind at bay. Antioxidants work to protect us against heart disease, cancer, arthritis, cataracts and brain aging. They do this by controlling free radicals that form as a by-product of burning energy as we function.
Antioxidants protect us from free radicals (which are unstable & highly reactive). They are made as byproducts from the way our bodies metabolize our foods. Free radicals do extensive damage.
Free radicals damage the DNA in the mitochondria that is contained in our cells. Mitochondria are the energy factory of the cell. Our cells can fix damage to the DNA but not in the mitochondria. When the DNA damage accumulates the mitochondria shuts down and causes the cell to die and the organism to age.(1)
Antioxidants protect the body against the destructive effects of free radicals by giving one of its own electrons to the cell, thus making the cell's electrons paired up again. The antioxidant nutrients dont become free radicals when it gives up an electron, because antioxidants are stable with even or odd electrons. They help prevent cell and tissue damage that could lead to disease.
Take heart disease as an example. Cardiovascular damage is done by free radicals to individual cells within the arteries. Vitamin E is the most abundant fat-soluble antioxidant in the body and is the primary antioxidant to battle free radicals. Vitamin E works on LDL oxidation and plaque in the arteries and thus can help protect against cardiovascular disease.
Without antioxidants, cancer cells may undergo changes that cause them to replicate uncontrollably. In other words, they may become cancerous. Vitamin C is the most abundant water-soluble antioxidant in the human body and works mostly in the cells' fluid. Vitamin C acting as an antioxidant scavenges ROS ( Reactive Oxygen Species) which stops oxidative damage from spreading. Studies have found that patients who have high levels of vitamin C have lower rates of cancer (2)
Some diseases that may be caused by the destruction of free radicals are:
Heart disease is damage done by free radicals to individual cells within the arteries. Scientists have found that free radical damage is the reason that LDL cholesterol begins sticking to the artery walls causing atherosclerosis.
Macular degeneration within the eyes is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in people over the age of 50. It is caused from UV light a high producer of free radicals.
Aging of the skin caused by UV rays is believed to be the perpetrator responsible for wrinkles, skin thickening, and other signs of premature skin aging.
Oxidative stress is a major factor in brain aging. Some scientists believe that these free radicals may poke holes in the barrier that usually shields the brain from outside invaders like viruses and bacteria. (3) Free radicals are the brain's most malicious enemies. Free radicals are thought to be responsible for brain diseases such as Alzheimer and Parkinsons. In spite of the heavy hits our brain cells take from free radicals hour by hour, antioxidants can repair 99% plus of this damage.
Rheumatoid arthritis is caused by inflammation within the joints that create radicals and then they go on to cause more damage that the actual disease itself. (4)
The best way to include as many antioxidants as possible in your daily diet is by eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. "There are hundreds, probably thousands, of different substances that can act as antioxidants. The most familiar ones are vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and other related carotenoids, along with the minerals selenium and manganese. They're joined by glutathione, coenzyme Q10, lipoic acid, flavonoids, phenols, polyphenols, phytoestrogens, and many more." (5)
Other super foods that are rich in antioxidants include: prunes, apples, raisins, all berries, plums, red grapes, alfalfa sprouts, onions, eggplant, beans. (6) Beta-carotene is found in the orange and yellow vegetables like carrots and can be found in several fresh fruits as well. Kale, brussel sprouts, spinach, artichokes, asparagus and watercress are all strong sources of antioxidants. Foods with the most antioxidants are the ones grown locally, because they can make it to your table before they have lost their nutritional value. If you can eat them without cooking, you may be able to assimilate many more of the antioxidants.
1. Takayuki Ozawa in Understanding the Process of Aging, edited by Enrique Cadenas and Lester Packer (Marcel Dekker, New York, 1999), pp. 265-292.
4. The antioxidants: the amazing nutrients that fight dangerous free radicals by Richard A. Passwater
see below for some further sources and notes on living the brightest life.
More information on anti-oxidants:
2. http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/t040300.asp
3. http://ezinearticles.com/?Please-Read-The-Damage-That-Free-Radicals-Do-In-Your-Body
5. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/antioxidants/
6. http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/antioxidants-your-immune-system-super-foods-optimal-health
http://www.livestrong.com/article/27857-list-antioxidant-foods/#ixzz0pGTiBJvF
http://tuberose.com/Antioxidants.html
http://www.foodinsight.org/Resources/Detail.aspx?topic=Functional_Foods_Fact_Sheet_Antioxidants
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