Most people have heard of antioxidants and their benefits for your health. They fight free radicals, keep your body healthy and full of energy. But what are antiaging antioxidants and how do they work? What would be the best source of antioxidants for you?

During antiaging research it was observed that people who consumed sufficient amount of antioxidant food showed lesser signs of aging than those who did not. Antioxidants make your immune system stronger and healthier, which combats the natural process of aging.

What are anti-aging antioxidants?

Antioxidants are certain vitamins, minerals and enzymes that fight free radicals. Some scientists believe that free radicals greatly contribute to aging and weaken immune system, so naturally antioxidants that neutralize them are called anti-aging food.

Here is the list of most commonly known antioxidants:
– Vitamin A – Vitamin B-6 – Vitamin B-12 – Beta carotene – Vitamin C – Vitamin E – Selenium – Folic acid

Antiaging diet – where can you find antioxidants

Raw fruits and vegetables are the best source of antioxidant vitamins and minerals. Almost any fruit or vegetable contains antioxidants, some more, some less.

Vegetables high in antioxidants are kale, spinach, Brussels sprouts, broccoli florets, beets, onions, corn.

Certain fruits and almost all berries also contain antioxidants; top performers are prunes, raisins, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, plums, oranges, apples, red grapes and cherries.

Vitamin C and B group vitamins are water soluble, so they could be destroyed if you soak or boil your food. They are susceptible to heat, so try minimizing cooking time of your vegetables. Also most vitamins are destroyed by light – that is why it is recommended that you keep all your veggies in the fridge. And, of course, the fresher the fruit is the more vitamins are preserved in it.

How helpful are antiaging antioxidants supplements?

There are also antioxidant supplements, ORAC for examples. You can even order it online. Some studies show positive results with it, but there is still no 100 percent proof that antioxidant supplement is as effective as vitamins you get with your food. Also, you should be careful with vitamin A and E supplements. These vitamins are not water soluble, which means that if there is too much of them in your body they can be toxic. It is a good idea to consult your doctor, before taking any antiaging antioxidant supplements.

If you are not sure how to fit antiaging food into your diet consult a dietitian, who can develop a diet plan for you. Or you can simply add one apple, orange or a bunch of grapes to your everyday menu. Not that hard is it? To make antiaging antioxidants really work for you, you will have to be persistent and consume them every day. Soon you will see how younger and more energetic you look and feel.

A great deal of publicity has been given to free radicals and antioxidants, but do you know what they are and how they can affect your ability to stay healthy?

Free radicals are unstable oxygen atoms. As you will be aware, from your high school days, an atom has a nucleus comprised of protons and neutrons, around which electrons travel. Everything is OK when the electrons are in pairs, but difficulties are present when an electron is not paired, as with unstable oxygen atoms. These free radicals steal electrons from normal, or stable body cells and create a sequence known as oxidation.

Antioxidants have been proven to limit the effect of oxidation in the body caused by free radicals, or to put it more succinctly, antioxidants protect you from free radical damage. It is unquestionable that antioxidants shield you from some of the most serious diseases, including cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and many more. There are those who actually suggest that an adequate supply of antioxidants in their diets can slowdown the aging process!

You could fairly wonder where the dreadful free radicals come from, but to be honest they may not be as terrible as you think. Free radicals can also assist the body to fight germs, so it is a surplus of free radicals that is responsible for health disorders, and not a balanced amount.

The Importance of Fruit and Vegetables

We are fortunate that antioxidants are readily obtainable to maintain the balance, and clean up any surplus free radicals. It ’s as simple as ABC. Just think of Apples, Berries, and Cauliflowers, because natural antioxidants are found within the 5 – 9 fruit and vegetables, that you are constantly being asked to take in your food.

Think of 5 fruits and vegetables as a minimum, because apart from anything else, you should get increased antioxidant protection against free radicals from 6 – 9 portions than the bare minimum! Although most fruits and vegetables have an abundance of antioxidants, there are other foods that don’t measure up.

It’s Not Just Cars That Get Rusty!

It’s frightening, to imagine that anybody should have to be constantly told how to remain in good health? It seems that although most people are willing to do something to protect their cars from oxidation, and rust, they appear to be less keen to protect themselves, from free radical attack. Undoubtedly the car will soon decline if rusting is allowed to get worse, but our bodies will become “rusty” if free radicals are not held at bay. It’s good to tend to your car, but you should make your foremost priority looking after yourself. A great place to begin is eating 5 – 9 fruit and vegetables per day, and the antioxidants they include.

Watch Out For Fat

A high fat diet may significantly increase free radical production, and it is widely accepted that saturated fat is responsible for free radical problems. However, the situation is complicated as not all fats are loaded with free radicals. A sensible way to begin would be to seek to avoid saturated fats, including animal meat, and fried foods of any description. There are other fats, including fish oils, which current studies suggest are actually helpful, but trans fats, widely used in manufactured biscuits, cakes, etc. are best avoided.

The Environment and Free Radicals

Sadly, our intake of free radicals is not solely from our diets, but also from environmental contaminants, including industrial emmissions, tobacco smoke, and others. You could not possibly avoid them altogether, although an excellent way to guard yourself, is through a practical knowledge of antioxidants. There are delicious fruits and vegetables, in abundance, to help your cause, but you should be certain that you are getting sufficient, by aiming for the top of the suggested consumption, of 9 portions per day.

Vitamins and Supplements

Antioxidant food is vital to your well-being, but if you need extra protection you might consider vitamin supplements. You would usually get all your Vitamin C from your fruit and vegetable consumption, but it’s good to include Vitamin E as well. Good sources of Vitamin E are peanuts, walnuts, almonds, and green leafy vegetables. Of course the vitamins are particularly good if they are an integral part of the your healthy diet. Supplements are available, in a variety of forms, but are best considered under professional guidance.

You will appreciate from this brief commentary, that antioxidants will assist you to stay healthy, by counteracting free radicals. What you require is the determination to make sure there are sufficient antioxidants included in your diet. If you fail to give proper consideration to your eating habits, you will have to put up with the consequences. But, you know, that if free radicals are managed with antioxidants, the chance of being seriously ill is significantly reduced.

Disclaimer

This article is only for general information and is not intended to serve as a medical source of information. Please exercise your personal judgement to decide whether antioxidant foods and preparations are suitable for you. Those who are unsure about taking a particular food or preparation, be they antioxidant or otherwise, should obtain the advice of their doctor, or other qualified professional person.

The author does not accept any liability whatsoever, for any consequences arising from or thought to be arising from using this article.

Phytonutrients are powerful and healthy substances to include in your diet.They are plant compounds with health-promoting qualities and can also be found in liquid vitamin supplements.Their importance in your health regimen is unbelievably important!

Fruits and vegetables that are high in carotenoids appear to protect humans against certain cancers, heart disease and age related macular degeneration. Elderly men whose intake of dark green and deep yellow vegetable put them in the highest quartile for consumption of these vegetables had about a 46% decrease in risk of heart disease relative to men who ranked in the lowest quartile.While these phytonutrients aren’t essential by traditional definitions, they apparently reduce risks of diseases of aging. This can reduce cardiovascular disease risk by interfering with the clumping of blood plateletsthe first stagein clot formation. Lycopene from tomatoes can also be a preventive measure in regards to your health. Lycopene,for example,from tomatoes is in clinical trials for cardiovascular diseases and prostate cancer. A host of fresh fruits, especially berries

are rich in disease-fighting phytochemicals. Serious diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stomach ulcers. More than 80% of all chronic disease is preventable, but only if you know how.

If you want to accelerate your aging process, and shorten your life, the way to do that is to do what most Americans are doing already: avoid physical exercise, eat a large percentage of your diet from fast foods and junk foods, consume large quantities of white flour and refined white sugar, eat brand-name groceries sold in beautiful boxes and made with dirt-cheap ingredients that lack any nutritional content whatsoever, and of course, avoid supplementing with super foods and other nutritional supplements. Protein and carbohydrates are the chief components of nutrition. These protective plant compounds are becoming an emerging area of health and nutrition, with new research reported almost daily. Scientists are finding that foods once considered to be low in nutritional value are actually packed with powerful antioxidants. We believe phytonutrients are an inexpensive and convenient way to get the nutritional benefits of eating fresh fruits and vegetables — and to get these benefits each and every day. Still,a true nutritional role for phytochemicals is becoming more probable every day as researchers uncover more and more benefits. Research has brought the plant-disease connection to the attention of the world.

For those of you in my situation, we are probably not consuming the necessary dosage of vitamins and minerals that our bodies need to stay healthy, unless we are taking some form of vitamin supplement. Libraries of information exist about vitamins, but phytonutrients are newcomers to the health-food table. Dietary fat is necessary for absorption of vitamins, nutrients and phytochemicals from fruits and vegetables. A fascinating new study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that dietary fat is necessary for the absorption of nutrients from fruits and vegetables. However, phytonutrients go beyond vitamins and minerals they are more obscure, are present in much smaller amounts and usually have profound effects on our health. Today, numerous researchers worldwide are endeavoring to investigate and confirm possible functional properties in foods, phytonutrient or otherwise, beyond the more familiar vitamins and minerals, that could be efficient in preventing the common diseases of aging such as macular degeneration, heart disease, atherosclerosis, diabetes, dementia, and cancer. Even if you are eating the recommended daily amounts of fruits and vegetables, you’re STILL not getting all of the phytonutrients and vitamins your body MUST have to function properly. RELATED ARTICLE: Tracing Elements and Vitamins A Chinese document dating back 5,000 years described goiter–an enlarged thyroid gland–and recommended that afflicted people eat seaweed and burnt sponge–both good sources of iodine. In the 20’s & 30’s,11 of the 15 vitamins were discovered. Some vitamins, such as vitamin C, are antioxidants in their own right.

Antioxidant phytos can interfere with the damaging effects of LDL cholesterol on arteries. Antioxidant phytos, especially beta carotene, can block this process and thus prevent cardiovascular disease. Antioxidants also help to prevent damage by carcinogens, such as ultraviolet radiation, tobacco smoke, and environmental pollutants. Cellular damage can be prevented when antioxidants attack the carcinogens and render them useless. One of the most important roles of phytos is acting as antioxidants. Your body needs more antioxidant police officers as you get older, since the body’s ability to repair itself diminishes with age. There are hundreds, if not thousands of them, and they have effects such as antioxidants, boosting the immune system, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, and cellular repair. In numbers of studies, these antioxidant pigments have been found to reduce heart disease, cancer, and other ailments that are the result of oxidative damage.

Processing green tea differs from the way black tea is processed. Antioxidants in the tea leaves are nearly exhausted after black tea is processed whereas in green tea, almost all of its antioxidants are left in the leaves after processing.

Antioxidants in an apple

Antioxidants are active when an apple is sliced. You must have noticed that after slicing an apple, its flesh slowly turns into brown. That is because the apple’s flesh is reacting to oxygen when it is exposed to air. This reaction produces free radicals and could create a chain reaction.

All fruits have antioxidants. Different types of fruits have different types of antioxidants. This is nature’s defense for the fruit from oxidizing.

Let’s get back to the apple. When free radicals are formed in the exposed flesh, the antioxidants in the apple quenches these free radicals to prevent a chain reaction. All of the exposed area of the flesh reacts to oxygen and therefore all these areas forms free radicals which are then quenched by the apple’s antioxidants. Chain reaction cannot continue to the inside flesh as antioxidants quench these free radicals.

The discoloration you see in the exposed flesh are the result of molecules which reacted to oxygen. Scrape off that layer and you will see what the antioxidants in the apple has accomplished. It stopped the oxidation from going further inside the flesh.

Black Tea Processing

The following are the basic processing of black tea.

1. Harvesting

2. Withering – the leaves are spread and left to dry.

3. Rolling – the leaves are twisted and rolled either by hand or machinery. This process breaks or cracks the surface of the leaves exposing it to oxygen.

4. Oxidation or fermentation – the leaves are left to dry for several hours until it is about 80% dry.

5. Drying – the leaves further dried by applying heat without burning the leaves. This stops the oxidation process.

Just like the apple when the membranes of the leaves cracked in the rolling process, it exposed the insides of the leaves to oxygen. The free radicals produced are quenched by the antioxidants inside the tea leaves. Therefore those antioxidants that quenched the free radicals are already spent and will not be available in the finished product.

Green Tea Processing

This process differs a little bit from the way black tea is processed.

1. Harvesting

2. Withering

3. Drying

As you can see, the steps that can oxidize the leaves, rolling and oxidation, are omitted leaving the antioxidant content of the leaves almost intact.

Which do you prefer?

Now that you have seen the difference in processing and the final outcome of antioxidant content, what do you prefer? Tea with more antioxidant content? Others prefer the stronger taste of black tea against the milder taste of green tea. Others prefer green tea because of its healthful benefits.

How to get more antioxidants from tea

Our body can absorb only a small percentage of the antioxidants in tea. By combining it with citrus juices or vitamin c, our body’s absorption of the antioxidants in tea can multiply more than 5 times.

The emerging market for products claiming to slow aging is undeniably astounding. Among these, supplements containing antioxidants perhaps give the best promises to the consumers. Aside from the fact that these are a wound to the pocket, antioxidant products offer a delight to those who would like to look young in a flash. But how does this free-radical sponge really work?

Free Radicals Defined

First identified by Moses Gomberg in 1900, free radicals are molecular species that are highly reactive. These tiny things play a role in chemical reactions including that of the human. As the cells produce energy (for function and survival), the also create oxygen molecules that are unstable because its electrons are unpaired. These unpaired electrons make this thing to be highly labile.

In the human body, if these unstable molecules go together with other molecules, they would kill their newly acquainted fellows, thereby speeding up the aging process. Drinking, the radiation coming from TVs and computers, drugs, and cigarette smoking spawn free radicals. If we persistently have stress and do not take them away by way of exercise, we give way to the formation of free radicals. If we don’t have a good sleep at least seven hours, we are actually exciting production of more fee radicals.

A lot of changes in our body are as a result of the activities of the free radicals. They damage the DNA and impair other vital functions of cells, causing premature death to these cells. Over time, all these damages would mount up and cause our body to accelerate aging.

Upon breathing, oxygen induces a process called oxidation. And it is in here where free radicals form. This process is likened to the oxidation of metals. Once oxidized, aluminum turns to be white, iron becomes rusty, and copper transforms into green. In the same logic that oxidation damages metals; free radicals are also detrimental to our body.

How Antioxidants Work

Antioxidants are molecules that have the capability of preventing oxidation of other molecules (by the name itself: antioxidant). In the light of anti-aging, antioxidants prevent the formation of free radicals. Antioxidants are naturally occurring substances found in plants. If our body has an abundance of antioxidants, we will be able to prevent the harm brought about by free radicals.

Benefits of Antioxidants

Antioxidants can help you look younger, live longer, and be at your optimum health. Foods rich in antioxidants like fruits and vegetables can give you great protection from coronary heart diseases, and age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.Antioxidants can also strengthen our immune resistance to diseases such as influenza and other bacterial and viral infections.

These substances also reduce a person’s risk of acquiring cancer, an incurable disease. Antioxidants also prevent glaucoma and the age-related degeneration of our macula, the part of the eye that is dedicated for superior acuity vision. Antioxidants also beat down the passing of the aging clock making your skin and other organs rejoice.

Carotenoids, zinc, selenium, and the Vitamins A, C, and E are some of the main antioxidants. Glutathione is said to be the most powerful among all forms of antioxidants. They are naturally present in our body since we were young but depletes as we get older.

If antioxidant supplements are not your type, you may take some delectable bite of the super fruits such as blueberry and raspberry which are said to contain the most number of antioxidants.

So now that you have understood well how these miracle supplements work, you would realize why these wonder tablets cost a lot. May you have a healthily long and young life!

Antioxidants neutralize free radicals and stop them from impairing our cells. Free radicals are highly reactive chemical substances that can cause cellular damage if left unchecked, leading to premature aging and disease.

Are you looking for best sources of natural antioxidants and how to work them best into your diet? With so many dietary supplements around it seems that all you need to do to stay healthy is to take several of these pills a day. Don’t let the advertisement mislead you. Antioxidants are extremely important to our health, but no supplement can beat antioxidants we get naturally from food.

Antioxidants are substances that may protect cells from damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals. Free radicals come from a variety of sources such as air pollutants and cigarette smoke. Examples of antioxidants include Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin A, beta carotene, selenium and lycopene.

Even though a lot of people don’t actually realize it, a lot of antioxidant foods that we consume are from vegetables. Vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, and peppers are all excellent choices with some great benefits for your body. When consuming vegetables, you should always go for those that are rich in color, as they are high in what is known as phytonutrients.

Antioxidants can be found in a number of different foods or can likewise be taken in supplements and it can be found in tea. Both black tea and green tea has antioxidants that can be beneficial to the body by drinking a cup of tea at anytime of the day.

Foods high in antioxidants include specific fruits and vegetables – green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale delivering significant amounts of the antioxidant lutein; tomatoes and tomato products carrying the antioxidant lycopene; fruits such as blueberries and other berries, kiwi, prunes, and pink grapefruit; vegetables rich in the antioxidant beta-carotene including carrots and sweet potatoes; and foods high in antioxidants such as Vitamins A, C, and E.

Other delicious tasting and helpful antioxidant foods would include foods such as watermelon, spinach, apricots, pumpkin, carrots, sweet potatoes and nuts. One major benefit in taking supplements is that you do not have to worry about consuming many of the added chemicals that can be found in a variety of foods. You also will not have to worry about a high calorie intake or a high consumption of sugars.

Antioxidant rich foods are nature’s way of guiding us to a healthy life. Fresh fruits and vegetables should form an important part of our lives. It is not a question of whether we like them or not, it is a question of how we have evolved over thousands of years. It has only been in the last hundred years or so that we have changed our diets drastically; prior to that we had no option but to feed ourselves with natural foods

Antioxidants are advertised by many but few ever have the whole range of antioxidants that your body needs. Antioxidants are those chemical substances naturally found in plants. They serve as your first line of defense against illness and aging.

Oxidation is a process that our bodies normally undergo. It is that process which allows us to function properly, to breathe, to move. But what is good for us may also have negative effects to our bodies. Oxidative damage can result from the production of excess oxygen byproducts called free radicals that react with our healthy cells, causing cellular damage and leading to degenerative diseases. Our bodies are naturally protected by a defense system against oxidative damage, however, human beings are one of the few animals that cannot produce the amount of antioxidants necessary to combat the accumulation of free radicals in our bodies.

Antioxidants – The Right Prescription

Recent studies have shown that free radicals are linked to various diseases, such as cancer, arthritis, atherosclerosis, heart disease, and even aging. With the right antioxidant formula, you can very well prevent the onset of these diseases, even to the extent of age reversal. Several researchers believe that antioxidant formulas are best if derived from fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables.

Antioxidant Prescription- Vitamins and Vitamin-forming Compounds

Some antioxidant Prescriptioncontains substances that are familiar to us, like vitamins or vitamin-forming compounds. Vitamin E, vitamin C, vitamin A, Coenzyme Q, and carotenoids, these are but a few of the ingredients found in an antioxidant formula.

Vitamin E, C, A, coenzyme Q10, and carotenoids found in antioxidant formulas must be constantly replenished through the diet. The body manufactures others, but the levels of many of these can be bolstered through dietary supplements.

Vitamin A for instance is required for night vision, and for healthy skin. Many believe as well that consuming antioxidant formulas that contain vitamin A helps slow aging.

New studies show that antioxidants don’t often play its role in isolation. Scientists have found that antioxidants work best when they are working in conjunction with other antioxidants. There is in fact a dynamic interplay among the systems with various antioxidant cycles acting to prevent cell damage and disease. So, an antioxidant Prescriptionthat contains as much antioxidant types possible is the best way to go for.

The body’s defense mechanism is composed of various antioxidants with different functions. Antioxidant formulas have been formulated to contain all the antioxidants that research has found necessary for effective detoxification.

Antioxidants have many beneficial effects on the body. Antioxidants have anti-aging and skin clearing properties. In addition, antioxidants have been found to prevent cancer as well as repair cells that have been damaged by cancer. It is recommended that eating foods that have high content of antioxidants can help you reap many of the health benefits of antioxidants.

The Real Fountain of Youth

Over the centuries, man has been in search of the fountain of youth, because let’s admit it…no one wants to get old. Thanks to recent studies, it has been found that antioxidants may just be our ticket to looking young. It has been proven scientifically that antioxidants have properties that can preserve youth. Imagine being 50 years old with nary a wrinkle! And all because you made sure to eat the right amounts of antioxidant-rich foods to help you maintain a fresher and younger looking skin.

The Natural Way to Glowing Skin

Do you have acne-prone skin? Is your skin too dry or too scaly? Is your skin blotchy? Do you have that sickly looking pallor? Try to regularly eat foods that are high in antioxidants and you will see for yourself all the positive effects antioxidants have on your skin. Your complexion will clear and you will have naturally glowing skin…the kind of glow that no cream or medication can give you! Foods rich in antioxidants include berries, carrots, broccoli, tomatoes and wholemeal breads.

Antioxidants are the enemies of free radicals, which are agents that damage cells. Thus, when you consume antioxidant-rich foods, you increase the levels of antioxidants in your body, which in turn act to greatly reduce cellular damage in your body. The benefit shows through on your skin — your skin will be more supple, younger looking and have a natural glow.

The Cancer Fighter

Many tests and studies are ongoing to determine the effects that antioxidants have on cancer cells. It is known that antioxidants can fight free radicals, agents that damage cells and can cause cancer. By consuming foods rich in antioxidants, you are reducing the free radicals or the cancer-causing cells in your body. This greatly reduces your risk of developing cancer.

The health benefits of antioxidants to your body are many; there is practically no logical reason for you not to begin eating foods that are rich in antioxidants. So try eating at least one antioxidant-rich food a day. Make this a habit and you will reap the rewards soon!

Some people say that drinking of tea is good for health, but in fact, drinking green tea would be an ideal choice. The main constituent that makes the green tea so healthy is the antioxidants. First, what is antioxidant and why is it necessary?

Oxidation is a routine body process that causes destruction of human cells. Many studies proved that this accumulative destruction is what triggers aging and death. It takes place because of normal metabolism, but fastens due to too much exposure to sun, pollution, smoking and alcohol.

Antioxidants are chemical substances that protect body cells from injury caused by unstable molecules called free radicals. A free radical is a kind of charged atom or a part of a molecule.

Damage by these free radicals could lead to tumor. Antioxidants alleviate by interacting with free radicals. Effective antioxidants include lycopene, beta-carotene, vitamin E, A and C.

To re-establish their stability, free radicals take an electron from their surroundings. Normally they take electrons from one of human’s healthy cells. At this point, antioxidants come into play a vital role by offering its own electrons to the free radicals. Thus, they prevent the body from cellular damage.

Each time, when the free radicals take electrons, antioxidants give away an electron and eventually stop reacting as antioxidants. Thus, it is advisable to supply necessary antioxidant vitamins and other antioxidant supplements to act as antioxidants.

Antioxidant Supplements and Vitamins:

Antioxidants are rich in fruits as well as vegetables. It also found in abundance in foodstuffs such as nuts, poultry, fish, grains and meats.

• Beta-carotene is very useful as antioxidant supplement and found mostly in sweet potatoes, squash, cantaloupe, apricots, carrots, mangoes and pumpkin. A few green leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach, collard greens are also abundant in beta-carotene.

• Vitamin A plays an essential role in the antioxidant production. It is one of the effective antioxidant vitamins found abundant in sweet potatoes, mozzarella cheese, carrots, egg yolks and milk.

• Vitamin E is also one of the main antioxidant vitamins found commonly in almonds and in oils such as wheat germ, soybean and corn oil. It is abundant in mangoes, broccoli, nuts and other foodstuffs.

When our bodies use oxygen, the cells produce free radicals that cause damage to the body’s cellular make-up. Antioxidants are attracted to free radicals and basically will neutralize them.

Many of today’s health problems such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, macular degeneration and others, can be directly attributed to oxidative damage caused by free radicals ravaging the body. This is not only a theory, the role the antioxidants plays in neutralizing free radicals is well documented in medical journals as far back as the 1950s.

When we are young, the body seems to be blessed and can generally maintain at peek efficiency. By the time we reach the age of twenty five, the disease of aging begins. As the aging process slowly progresses, our bodies begin to need more assistance to stay in shape. We don’t feel this aging process actually happening because this actually begins happening at the cellular level of our bodies. In time, the muscle tissue gets less substantial, the bones start becoming more brittle and our immune system is compromised.

When our immune system becomes compromised, we are more prone to infection and disease. Why do our bodies begin breaking down at the cellular level? The main culprit is free radicals. Without enough antioxidants in our bodies to counter the free radicals, they slowly create the oxidative damage that leaves us open to the opportunistic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and many others.

A little more than fifty years ago, scientists found that heart disease, cancer, strokes, diabetes, cataracts, arthritis and many neuro-degenerative diseases were linked to the destruction caused by free radicals.

Free radicals are formed when weak bonds within a molecule split. These free radicals are highly unstable that attack and capture the closest molecule electron. After this happens, that molecule having lost it’s electron, turns into a free radical and the whole process keeps recycling as a chain reaction. Left unchecked, free radicals create molecular chains that breakdown the bodies ability to regenerate properly. Because antioxidants neutralize the free radicals, keeping enough antioxidants active within the body is paramount.

Antioxidants can naturally be found in many varieties of food sources. There are over 4,000 compounds in foods that have antioxidants. Some of the food rich sources are kidney and pinto beans, blueberries, cranberries, artichoke, blackberries, raspberries, prunes, strawberries, apples, pecans, sweet cherries, plums, russet potatoes and many more.

Also, vitamin A, C and E, the mineral selenium and betacarotene are rich in antioxidants. The non-nutrient antioxidants that come from pytochemicals, lycopenes in tomatoes, athocyanins in cranberries that are believed to have greater effects at fighting free radicals than either vitamins or minerals. Many supplemental vitamins can be purchased through the health and wellness industry.

Many of the experts in health and nutrition all agree that as we get older, we need more antioxidant rich foods in our daily diets to fight off the free radicals from compromising our body and immune system. It is also widely believed that certain antioxidants also aid in slowly down the aging process. Could it be that free radicals play an important role in the aging process itself?

Although nutritionists in the health field have been acknowledging the benefits of antioxidants for several decades, it has only been recently that the medical field has discovered scientific evidence that backs up the role that antioxidants do play in our health.

Today, many medical scientists worldwide are finding strong evidence that antioxidants to play a very large role in the anti-aging process. Many of the degenerative effects of aging can be countered by a combination of nutrients. One of those key nutrients found to be most effective in combating the disease of aging itself is antioxidants.

How much antioxidants do we need in our diet? How much is a recommended daily allowance? To date there is no medical agency within the U.S. that has a set guideline concerning antioxidants in our diet. A few agencies generically recommend 5 servings a day of fruit and vegetables that are rich in antioxidants.

How much is too much? Again, no one medical agency seems to have a figure on this. You could say the jury is still out. Although the medical field agrees on the role that antioxidants play in maintaining our healthy bodies, they do not necessarily agree on how much we should need.

There are some within the health and wellness field that believe we need a lot more antioxidants in our bodies than just consuming from natural sources. There are many nutritional, supplemental vitamins on the market today that provide the healthy antioxidants our body needs to effectively fight off free radicals.