ANTIOXIDANTS: THE BASICS | Nutrition 101 Ep. 4

Vitamins C and E were the next contenders but again, studies showed mixed results. Although Vitamin C antioxidant supplements didn't look as though it could reduce the risk of cancer or heart disease, it didn't have any adverse effects either. In fact, Vitamin C might even provide some protection against loss of sight associated with cataracts in older people. 

One of the studies shows that part of the dietary antioxidant qualities of honey has preservative properties that work on meat without compromising the taste. Based on a work done on human blood in the lab, a recently published study says that the dietary antioxidants present in honey slow the oxidation of low density lipoproteins (LDL). 

If there is one other thing you need to know about herbal antioxidants, it is that they are not naturally found in the body. Human beings are one of the few organisms that cannot produce their own herbal antioxidants for the body's use. That is why we have to depend on our diet in order to get our dose of herbal antioxidants. 

Free radicals are blamed for even the simplest of illnesses, such as colds. There is an increasing body of evidence that oxidative stress is linked to many diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, neurological disorders, cataracts, and arthritis. Our strongest defenses against these harmful free radicals are antioxidant vitamins which are contained in the foods that we eat. 

Chain-breaking is also called Stabilization. The other aspect is more on the preventive side. Antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase prevent oxidation by reducing the rate of chain initiation. This time, instead of waiting for the free radicals to make a long chain of free radicals, antioxidants scavenge initiating radicals and destroy them before oxidation is set in motion. 

This is now and it's perfectly okay to whip out your spoons, forks, and mats because today is decades in the making; today is the day you are permitted to salivate. A recent food Olympics has been conducted and out of the 100 different varieties of foods, vegetables, and nuts, 20 antioxidant rich foods came out at the top.