Antioxidants and Your HealthWritten by Hamoon Arbabi
Get back to basics - eat fresh at home and neutralize free radical oxidation, which is rusting away your body, by eating a variety of foods high in antioxidants every day. Why? Antioxidants, as name implies, help prevent oxidation, may help increase immune function and possibly decrease risk of infection and cancer. A few of better known antioxidants include carotenoids-- substance that gives fruits and vegetables their deep rich colors. Apricots, broccoli, pumpkin, cantaloupes, spinach and sweet potatoes, are some good choices in addition to lycopene in tomatoes. Vitamin C and E are also good antioxidants. What's a Free Radical Anyways? As cells function normally in body, they produce damaged molecules called free radicals. These free radicals steal parts from other molecules such as fat, protein, or DNA, thereby spreading damage. This damage continues in a chain reaction, and entire cells soon become damaged and die. This process is useful because it helps body destroy cells that have outlived their usefulness and kills germs and parasites. However, this damage, when left unchecked, also destroys or damages healthy cells.
| | Protect and Improve Your Health With AntioxidantsWritten by Hamoon Arbabi
Every minute of every day cells of our bodies are assaulted by particles called oxygen free radicals, also called oxidants. We can’t escape free radicals because our cells produce them during normal metabolism. Additionally, our every day environment contains an abundance of free radicals.Unfortunately these radicals produce chain reactions that lead to damage of DNA in our cells. The aging of our cells is partly result of free radical damage, also called oxidation. Fortunately there are some simple steps that we can take to minimize damage and to promote and prolong health of our cells. Oxidation Free radicals are molecules that have an unpaired electron. They are chemically active and can be thought of as scavengers. They easily bond with molecules of our cells in a process called oxidation. We are familiar with normal oxidation process of metals such as iron. Iron oxide is called rust, and we know that rust can deteriorate quality of metal. Other metals also can exhibit oxidation which we generally call corrosion. We normally take steps to prevent corrosion of metals. Damage to our cells caused by oxidation is often called inflammation. And we can take steps to protect ourselves from cellular oxidation. Antioxidants There are numerous chemical compounds that will neutralize effects of oxidation. An antioxidant will bond with free radical, creating a stable molecule, and prevent radical from causing oxidation of cell. This new molecule can then be removed during normal bodily processes. The best known antioxidants are nutrients, vitamins A, C, E and mineral selenium. Numerous other vitamins, minerals, and enzymes perform important protective antioxidant functions. Many of these substances, most notably above mentioned vitamins A, C, E and mineral selenium, cannot be produced by our cells but must be ingested through foods we eat or supplements we take.
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