Why Are Antioxidants Vital To Me?

Are you aware that when we breath oxygen, it interacts with certain molecules in our bodies to create free radicals and that these free radicals damage important cellular structures such as DNA and cell membranes?  Well, it is true and this damage may lead to cells to function poorly and mutate.  Free radical damage may lead to disease and aging. 

We are exposed to huge amounts of free radicals from pollution, and insecticides.  Every time you breathe, you take in millions of free radical molecules made by cig smoke, radiation, and vehicle emissions.  Each time you eat, you consume free radicals in the form of pesticides and additives. 

This is where antioxidants come in.  Our bodies have a natural defense system against these free radicals.  Our immunity mechanism creates antioxidants which may be able to neutralize free radicals and stop much cellular damage.  We also need antioxidants from other sources such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, some meat, poultry and fish. 

I bet you will recognize these antioxidants : vitamin E, C and beta carotene ( a sort of vitamin A.  Others include luetin, lycopene, magnesium, and zinc. 

There has been much talk about antioxidants preventing heart problems which is so lethal that it ends in a median of one death every 34 seconds.  The American Heart Association says, ?Oxidation of low-density lipoprotein ( LDL or “bad” ) cholesterol is vital in the development of greasy buildups in the arteries.  This process, called atherosclerosis ( ath”er-o-skleh-RO’sis ), can cause heart attacks and strokes.  Increasing evidence proves that LDL cholesterol lipoprotein oxidation and its biological effects can be forestalled by trying antioxidants — both in the diet and in supplements.?  In 1993, Harvard University analysts said that supplemental doses of vitamin E essentially reduced the risk of heart disease by as much as 54 percent! 

And what effects can antioxidants have on the enormous ?C?  Word?  This is a question that every one of us are dying to understand since one Yankee in each 3 living today will get cancer, and one in 4 will expire from it.  The nation’s Cancer Institute announces, ?Considerable lab evidence from chemical, cell culture, and animal studies reveals that antioxidants may slow or possibly stop the development of cancer.  However, info from contemporary clinical trials is less clear.?  Selenium, an antioxidant mineral can help protect against breast cancer.  One expert, Dr.  Gerhard Schrauzer of the college of California at San Diego, mentioned “If every girl in America began to take selenium additions or had a high-selenium diet, then within a few years the breast cancer rate in this country would seriously decline.  And according to a study by Dr.  Larry Clark of the college of Arizona, two hundred micrograms daily of selenium cut the rate of prostate trouble by 69% and lung cancer by 34%. 

So obviously antioxidants are vital for all of us to brace and protect our immune systems and to help guard against illness.  Antioxidants may even help us live longer.  The concept is that if free radical damage causes aging, antioxidants in high enough quantities should be in a position to slow aging.  This concept is complicated in one California study of folks aged fifty or older, where it was discovered that those “…  With a higher intake of vitamin C were found to have a total death rate only 40% of that for those with the lower intake of C …  This decrease in the death rate corresponds to an increase by eleven years in the length of life.” Even small quantities of vitamin C can help .  According to one UCLA study only three hundred mg a day can add six years to a man’s life and two years to a girl’s life. 

Antioxidants are made naturally by your body but augmentation from food or other sources is required.  The highest concentrations of antioxidants are found in the most deeply or brightly coloured fruits and vegetables such as spinach, red bell peppers, raspberries, carrots, apricots, pomegranates, and tomatoes.