Dr. Mercola: Why Are Antioxidants So Important?

Prior, a USDA nutritionist and research chemist based in Little Rock, Ark explains that berry antioxidants were ranked according to their total antioxidant capacity. However, they were surprised to find that besides berry fruits, antioxidants may also come from the most unexpected foods as well. Prior and his colleagues used the most advanced technologies available to tabulate antioxidant levels in more than 100 different types of berry fruits, vegetables, nuts, and spices. 

There is growing evidence that the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), including free radicals, is behind the aging process and initiation of age-related disease. The reason free radicals are highly unstable is that they have an unpaired electron which they try to recompense by stealing an electron from a stable molecule. 

We hear them mentioned all the time whenever there's a new scientific study being released in the American Health Journal or some such explaining how antioxidant juice from berries can aid in liver function or how antioxidant juice from red wine is the scientific reason behind the French paradox. Antioxidants, it seems, have far more benefits than we realize. 

The building block nutrients of antioxidant enzymes include the minerals manganese, zinc, and copper for SOD and selenium for glutathione peroxidase. In addition to antioxidant enzymes, many vitamins and minerals may also have antioxidant properties. These include vitamins C, E, A (beta-carotene) and nutrients such as lutein, lycopene, vitamin B2, coenzyme Q10, and cysteine (an amino acid). 

Flax oil is said to contain a high amount of lignans, protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Lignans especially is that substance in flax oil that has antioxidant properties. The Benefits of Flax Oil Lignans A natural plant chemical, lignans are antioxidant molecules with anti-cancer, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial properties. 

" However, studies on antioxidant supplements are for the most part inconclusive and so far, no one study has come up with the same results during antioxidant supplements tests. No problem though because you can always find antioxidant foods almost anywhere. The best way to lay an antioxidant-rich foundation that's inhospitable to toxins and free radicals is through a combination of whole foods.