Why are antioxidants important? -
Antioxidants neutralize the free radicals within the cells. Free radicals are highly-reactive molecules which can lead to damaging chain reaction in cells. For example, sunlight can produce free radical. That is why we need sun block to protect our skin. Free radicals lead to oxidative stress which is the root cause of more than 70 chronic degenerative diseases such as cancer, stroke, diabetes and much more.

What Harmful Effects Will You Get Without Antioxidants?

To understand the importance of antioxidants, let’s look at what free radicals can harm you:

• Damage to your DNA. DNA is the building blocks of the human race and it is the material that your genes are made of. Damaged DNA can cause certain genes to be turned off, turned on or destroyed and if your body repair system has failed, you may develop cancer at later stage.
• Speed up the ageing process. This is caused by the damage to telomeres. A telomere is a region of repetitive DNA at the ends of chromosomes, which protects the end of the chromosome from destruction. As you age, they get shorten until they reach a certain point which lead to the death of cell. Free radicals accelerate this process. This is where ageing comes to the picture. Your body function starts to decline and slowly they lose the ability to function properly. This is a natural process, however, there is a way to slow down this process.
• Damage to cells. It depends on which part of your cells have been damaged, this damage can cause arthritis, wrinkles, cataracts and blindness. For examples, if the damage is your pancreas cells, you could possible develop diabetes; joint cells, you could be getting arthritis; artery cells, you could potentially get stroke or heart disease; kidney cells, you could get kidney failure.
• Oxidation of LDL (bad cholesterol). Oxidised LDL can lead to blood vessels blockages, blocked arteries and eventually heart attacks and strokes. These molecules are also found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

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The 5 Risk Factors of Free Radicals – Are You at Risk?

Fortunately, your cells have very efficient mechanisms to neutralise free radicals. Why are antioxidants important? Antioxidants have ways of countering these free radicals. Problems occur when the free radical production is greater than the body’s ability to neutralise the free radicals. Under what circumstances would your body produce more free radicals? Here are the 5 risk factors that increase the production of free radicals:

• Ageing. The older you get, the more free radical your body produces. Your body’s natural defence system decreases as you age.
• Pollution. Environmental pollutants such as chemicals and cigarette smoke increase free radical production.
• Increased of food consumption. Fast food and fried food are usually high in calories. Cells produce free radicals when converting food into energy. The more you eat, the more free radicals produced in your body. Try to cut down the high calorie meals with proper food choice.
• Excessive physical exercise. Intense exercise increases free radical production. However, exercise helps to strengthen your body’s immune system. The solution is to have a regular moderate exercise rather than bursts of intense activity.
• Inflammation. Inflammation increases free radical production. Inflammation is part of your body’s healing process, in response to an invasion by an infectious agent, toxin or physical, chemical or traumatic damage. The symptoms of inflammation are redness, swelling and pain on the infected areas.

Why Are Antioxidants Important?

Antioxidants prevent free radical damage from external and internal sources and help to protect us from the above mentioned harmful effects. 10,000 oxidative hits to every cell in our body each day is reason enough to consider antioxidants as an important factor in achieving optimum health.
To obtain antioxidants from the foods and get the tips of minimising free radicals, please return to the following link for further details.

5 Simple Steps to Maximize the Benefits of Antioxidants

• Enjoy 5 servings of fruits and vegetables with variety of colors daily. Have some grains, nuts, seeds, herbs. You may want to take 1 -2 cups of your favourite coffee. Refer to: Foods High in Antioxidants for a full list of foods (e.g fruit, herbs, beverages etc.) rich in antioxidants and the tips on balancing and choosing the antioxidants food.

• Cut down on fried foods and saturated fat. Do not eat burnt foods.

• Quit smoking and stay away from second hand smoke.

• Avoid strong sunlight between 10am – 4pm. If you need to go outdoor, remember to bring umbrella and use sun block.

• Manage stress, since stress is one of the factors causes free radicals formation.

Free Radicals, Oxidation, and What Can Antioxidants Help You

To appreciate the value of antioxidants, you must first understand the oxidation process. For example, if you cut an apple, it turns brown, this is an oxidation process. The surface of apple reacts with the oxygen in the air which causes the surface to turn brown gradually. Oxygen can work to break down other substances, creating what are called free radicals which are extremely damaging. If you do not know what antioxidants are, you may want to learn more here:





Similar to the example of apple turns brown, the oxidation process takes place in your body as well. When you eat, talk, breath, work and exercise, your body produces free radicals, causing the damage to your cells. Antioxidants offer a defence against cell damage. To further understand how antioxidants work in your body and how the free radicals damage your cells, here is a simple explanation by using the analogy of burning charcoal: How do Antioxidants Work in Human Body?
Research and expert shows that antioxidants have strong property to fight against free radicals’ damage. The possible benefits of antioxidants are:

• Enhance immune system - you have less chance of getting sick

• Lower the risks of having cancer, infection, degenerative diseases, neurological illness and heart problems which are caused by the damage of free radicals. Antioxidants work by reducing the number and effect of free radicals, and may even work to inhibit the spread of cancerous cells.

• Slow down the ageing process – stay young and age gracefully. Despite the unavoidable aging process, a lot of people still favour the idea of staying young. There is an interesting finding of scientific research: human cells are only limited to certain number of cell divisions in a human lifetime. By the time you are 20 years old, most of your cells already used up half of their available cell divisions. By the time you are 40, your cells may only left with 30% of cell divisions. At this time, you will notice the changes internally or externally. Death occurs when your cells at last use up their naturally allocated cell divisions. This is the natural process, however, there are many ways to slow down this process. Among these, one of the benefits of antioxidants is to help you age gracefully.

• Lower the risks of getting illnesses caused by physical activities.

Our body produces antioxidants in the form of antioxidant enzymes to stop these damaging free radicals. However, when the number of free radicals is too high, we need to get the antioxidants from the food to help remove the free radicals that attacks your body cells. The common antioxidants can be found in fruit and vegetables.
In conclusion, if you wish to stay young, age well in a healthy way, you need to minimise the free radicals formation with right amount of antioxidants. The amount of free radicals produce dependant on several factors. Knowing these risk factors and potential harmful effects of antioxidants’ enemy can help you to determine when you need to increase the antioxidants intake. Refer to: Why Are Antioxidants Important? for a explanation on harmful effects of free radicals and what causes the increase of free radicals production.

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5 Simple Steps to Maximize the Benefits of Antioxidants

• Enjoy 5 servings of fruits and vegetables with variety of colors daily. Have some grains, nuts, seeds, herbs. You may want to take 1 -2 cups of your favourite coffee. Refer to: Foods High in Antioxidants for a full list of foods (e.g fruit, herbs, beverages etc.) rich in antioxidants and the tips on balancing and choosing the antioxidants food.

• Cut down on fried foods and saturated fat. Do not eat burnt foods.

• Quit smoking and stay away from second hand smoke.

• Avoid strong sunlight between 10am – 4pm. If you need to go outdoor, remember to bring umbrella and use sun block.

• Manage stress, since stress is one of the factors causes free radicals formation.

How Do Antioxidants Work in the Body?

 

The body produces and ingests volatile chemicals called free radicals. We breathe these in from the air and acquire them when exposed to radiation. Free radicals are also a byproduct of converting food into energy. Once in the body, free radicals are destructive. They alter cellular structure and function. They initiate disease processes and damage the DNA, or genetic material of the cells, thus disrupting normal, healthy cellular function. Antioxidants are substances, ingested from foods that prevent free radical damage in the body, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants are in foods, and many substances act as antioxidants. These include vitamin E, vitamin C, vitamin A, beta-carotene, lutein, selenium, manganese, lycopene, coenzyme Q10, glutathione, lipoic acid and plant flavonoids, phenols, phytoestrogens and polyphenols, according to Medline Plus and the Harvard School of Public Health.

Free Radicals

The smallest particle in the body is an atom. When atoms join, molecules form. When molecules join, they create bodily tissues. Circling around atoms are electrons, small electrically charged particles that act as a magnet to attract other atoms. Free radicals lack the normal amount of electrons; therefore, they steal electrons from normal, healthy atoms. When free radicals steal electrons, this damages cells of the body, according to Dr. Gerard Tortora and Dr. Bryan Derrickson and the Harvard School of Public Health.

Antioxidant Effects

Free radicals damage body tissues by stealing electrons from the atoms that constitute the tissues. Antioxidants provide the free radicals with electrons, protecting body tissues from free radical damage, according to Penn State University.

Free Radical Sources

The body naturally produces free radicals when converting food to energy. Free radicals result mainly from a diet rich in animal fats, food preservatives and additives, and soft drinks. Free radicals also enter the body from air pollution, cigarette smoke, radiation, stress, infections and environmental pollutants such as pesticides, says Clemson University.

Antioxidant Sources

The top antioxidant-rich foods include blueberries, beans, cranberries, blackberries, artichokes, prunes, strawberries, raspberries, nuts, apples and potatoes. Fruits and vegetables that are naturally dark green, red, orange, yellow, blue or purple are typically high in antioxidants. Antioxidants are also available in supplement form, according to Clemson University.

Antioxidant Health Effects

Free radical damage can cause cancer, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease and vision loss. Although, scientific studies have not linked the benefits of antioxidant consumption to established disease processes, the consumption of fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants is beneficial for the prevention of disease, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.