About Antioxidants
Antioxidants are chemicals that protect your body's cells from damage caused by free radicals, unstable particles that attack otherwise healthy cells in your body. Cell and tissue damage from free radicals can be extensive and has been linked to asthma, high blood pressure, heart disease, and cancer, among other ailments.
Free radicals are unstable, charged oxygen molecules that collide with your body's cells. Not only do they physically damage cells, they can also alter the DNA genetic code that is contained within each cell.
In small numbers, free radicals actually benefit your body; they help strengthen your immune system by enabling cells to fight disease and inflammation more effectively. However, lifestyle habits may increase the number of free radicals in your body to a level where they begin to cause damage.
A variety of chemical interactions can spawn free radicals; they are created, for example, when your body absorbs tobacco smoke or ultra-violet radiation, or when it metabolizes certain drugs and medications.
But the free radicals that are most harmful to the human body are those that are by-products of oxidation, the normal chemical reaction that breaks down food for energy. Oxidation is what happens when a sliced apple is left ex-posed to the air; free radicals cause the apple's skin to pucker and its flesh to turn brown.
Free radical damage accumulates in your body's cells over many years, resulting in tissue damage. It may show itself as wrinkles, age spots, cataracts, or arthritis and is thus sometimes referred to as a potential cause of aging. Organ damage, heart disease, blood vessel damage, and strokes have also been linked to free radical damage.
Nature's antidotes to free radicals are antioxidants, which can keep the number of free radicals in check. Antioxidants act against free radicals in two ways: They prevent the formation of new free radicals, and they scavenge and then neutralize existing free radicals. By absorbing free radicals and then helping wash them out of cells, antioxidants prevent them from doing further damage to your body's cells and tissues.
Antioxidants include vitamins, some proteins, amino acids, enzymes, minerals, and compounds called flavonoids. They are found in fruits, vegetables, herbs, grains, and many other food products; they also occur naturally in your own body.
Among the most well known of the antioxidants are vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta carotene; the human body converts some beta carotene into vitamin A, another antioxidant. Also included in the antioxidant family are the minerals selenium, zinc, and manganese.
Fruits particularly high in antioxidants include citrus fruits, apricots, melons, man-goes, peaches, and papayas. Vegetables rich in antioxidants include carrots, tomatoes, leafy greens such as kale, cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower, squash, and red and green peppers. Soybeans, nuts, seeds, wheat germ, and green or black tea are also good sources.
If you consistently eat a variety of foods, especially fruits and vegetables, antioxidant supplements are not usually recommended, and in some cases they may even be harmful. Supplements should be used as recommended by your health professional.
By preventing damage to cells and tissues by free radicals, antioxidants may help slow down the rate at which you age and develop chronic diseases. Health disorders associated with aging that might be alleviated or per-haps even prevented by antioxidants include cataracts, rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure, heart at-tacks, and heart disease.
It has been thought that by blocking free radical dam-age of a cell's DNA, antioxidants can prevent the development of cancer; however, the most recent data does not support this conclusion.
Did You Know?
You may need more than the normal recommendation of antioxidant nutrients if you are at greater risk of having elevated amounts of free radicals. Risk factors include frequent exposure to environmental toxins such as air pollution, tobacco smoke, and ultraviolet radiation from the sun; use of oral contraceptives; and even aerobic excise. But don't overdo your consumption of antioxidant foods or supplements. High levels of certain nutrients, such as vitamin A, can be toxic. And while too much beta-carotene probably won't hurt you, over time it may temporarily give your skin an orange-yellow cast. When in doubt, speak with your doctor about your overall intake of antioxidants.
Include fruits and vegetables in your daily diet. Minimize the amount of fatty foods in your diet: Fats encourage free radical damage. Avoid air pollutants such as tobacco smoke; if you do smoke, quit.
Eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetable is an excellent way to obtain a natural supply of antioxidants. Leafy greens and yellow fruits and vegetables are some of the best sources of the antioxidant beta carotene.
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