Why Are Antioxidants Crucial To Me?
Monday, August 31st, 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 significant 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 huge amounts of free radicals from pollution, and insecticides. Every time you breathe, you take in millions of free radical molecules made by fag smoke, radiation, and automobile 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 mechanism creates antioxidants which can neutralise free radicals and prevent much cellular damage. We also need antioxidants from other sources like fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, some meat, poultry and fish.
I bet you’ll recognize these antioxidants : vitamin E, C and beta carotene ( a form of vitamin A. Others include luetin, lycopene, magnesium, and zinc.
There was much talk about antioxidants stopping coronary disease which is so deadly that it leads to a median of 1 death every 34 seconds. The American Heart Association claims, ?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 cause heart attacks and strokes. Enlarging evidence suggests that LDL cholesterol lipoprotein oxidation and its biological effects can be stopped by trying antioxidants — both in the diet and in supplements.? In 1993, Harvard varsity analysts claimed that supplemental batches of vitamin E basically reduced the chance 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 each one of us are dying to understand since one American in each three living today will get cancer, and one in four will die from it. The nation’s Cancer Institute announces, ?Considerable laboratory proof from chemical, cell culture, and animal studies implies that antioxidants may slow or possibly forestall the development of cancer. However, info from contemporary trials 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, stated , “If each girl in America began to take selenium supplements 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 school of Arizona, 200 micrograms daily of selenium cut the rate of prostate trouble by 69% and lung cancer by 34%.
So clearly antioxidants are important for all of us to brace 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 able to slow aging. This concept 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 mortality rate only 40% of that for those with the lower intake of C … This decrease in the mortality rate corresponds to an increase by eleven years in the length of life.” Even small quantities of vitamin C can be helpful. According to one UCLA study only three hundred milligrams a day can add 6 years to a man’s life and 2 years to a lady’s life.
Antioxidants are made naturally by your body but reinforcement from food or alternative sources is required. The highest concentrations of antioxidants are found in the most terribly or brightly colored fruit and vegetables such as spinach, red bell peppers, raspberries, carrots, apricots, pomegranates, and tomatoes.