Why Are Antioxidants Vital To Me?
Saturday, September 12th, 2009Do you know 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 cause cells to function poorly and mutate. Free radical damage may lead to illness and aging.
We are exposed to massive amounts of free radicals from pollution, and pesticides. Every time you breathe, you take in millions of free radical molecules made by cigarette smoke, radiation, and vehicle emissions. Every time you eat, you consume free radicals in the form of insecticides and additives.
This is where antioxidants come in. Our bodies have a natural defense system against these free radicals. Our immune system creates antioxidants which can neutralize free radicals and forestall much cellular damage. We also need antioxidants from other sources like fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, some meat, poultry and fish.
I bet you may recognize these antioxidants : vitamin E, C and beta carotene ( a kind of vitamin A. Others include luetin, lycopene, magnesium, and zinc.
There has been much talk about antioxidants forestalling heart disease which is so lethal that it ends in a median of one death each 34 seconds. The American Heart Association says, ?Oxidation of low-density lipoprotein ( LDL or “bad” ) cholesterol is critical in the development of greasy buildups in the arteries. This process, called atherosclerosis ( ath”er-o-skleh-RO’sis ), can end up in heart attacks and strokes. Enlarging evidence proves that LDL cholesterol lipoprotein oxidation and its biological effects can be forestalled by employing antioxidants — both in the diet and in supplements.? In 1993, Harvard University researchers said that supplemental doses of vitamin E basically reduced the chance of coronary disease by as much as 54 percent!
And what effects can antioxidants have on the big ?C? Word? This is a question that every one of us are dying to grasp since one Yank in each 3 living today will get cancer, and one in four will die 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 prevent the development of cancer. However, info from current clinical tests is less clear.? Selenium, an antioxidant mineral can help defend against breast cancer. One expert, Dr. Gerhard Schrauzer of the varsity of California at San Diego, mentioned “If each lady in America began taking selenium supplements or had a high-selenium diet, then within just 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, 2 hundred micrograms daily of selenium cut the rate of prostate cancer by 69% and lung cancer by 34%.
So obviously antioxidants are important for every one of us to strengthen and protect our immune defenses and to help guard against illness. Antioxidants may even help us live longer. The theory is that if free radical damage causes aging, antioxidants in high enough quantities should be in a position to slow aging. This speculation is complicated in one California study of folk aged fifty or older, where it was discovered that those “… With a higher intake of vitamin C were discovered to possess 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 tiny quantities of vitamin C can be useful. 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 lady’s life.
Antioxidants are made naturally by your body but reinforcement from food or other sources is needed. The highest concentrations of antioxidants are found in the most terribly or brightly colored fruits and vegetables such as spinach, red bell peppers, raspberries, carrots, apricots, pomegranates, and tomatoes.