Alternative Health

Hence, this aspect of antioxidant antiaging therapy focuses more on extrinsic aging, which is the aging process compounded by externally caused factors. On the other hand, the programmed theories are primarily concerned with the genetics of how long and how efficient our cells can maintain optimum health.

Scientists say that these antioxidant red grapes may offer significant protection against certain types of cancer, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, cataracts, and many other chronic and degenerative diseases. The new study on antioxidant red grapes, released in April 9, was conducted by researchers at Creighton University in Omaha.

Because it is the nature of free radicals, which is basically an atom with an unpaired electron, to achieve stability, they will try to do so by capturing the needed electron from other molecules. When the free radicals steel electrons from a stable molecule, that molecule will become a free radical itself, beginning a chain reaction.

This is probably not the first time you've heard about it. But for the sake of those who have only just stumbled on the term, free radicals are those unstable chemical substances that are highly reactive and are by-products of the process of oxidation in the body. Free radicals at a minimum can be good for the body since their function is to steal electrons from atoms of other molecules, but only if the molecule they're stealing the electrons from are foreign molecules in the first place.

A better way would be to supplement the body with the "building blocks" required in order for our body to manufacture its own SOD, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and other such antioxidant enzymes. The building block nutrients of antioxidant enzymes include the minerals manganese, zinc, and copper for SOD and selenium for glutathione peroxidase.

Principal researcher Nicki Engeseth, a professor of food chemistry in the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmenal Sciences, agrees with this. Published online on April 6 in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the newest study on dietary antioxidants was the first to look at honey's effect on human blood.

Fortunately, nature has provided us with a system to help control free radicals. Antioxidants are natural enemies of free radicals because one of their functions is to break the chain reaction and destroy free radicals. Therefore, while antioxidants can be found in many fresh fruits and vegetables, it still pays to take antioxidant dietary supplement along with your food.

Some of the basic food groups that prove to be rich sources of antioxidant vitamins are the following: Breads, cereals, pasta, and starchy vegetables (such as potatoes, yam, squash, etc.) Fruits and vegetables Fat-free milk and low-fat dairy products Lean meat, fish, and poultry Incidentally, if you pattern your diet after this basic food group, you not only ingest a high level of natural antioxidant vitamins, but you also keep fat buildup in your body.

The aging process brings with it not only wrinkly skin or tired joints and muscles. Those can be tolerated. After all, they are part of the natural cycle of life. But what isn't natural is disease. They are disorders - unnatural conditions of the body. Aging is caused by harmful molecules called "free radicals.

The Top 20 list of antioxidants published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry shows the ranks of the capacity of berry foods, fruits, and vegetables to interfere with or prevent oxidative processes where free radicals are formed. Ronald L. Prior, a USDA nutritionist and research chemist based in Little Rock, Ark explains that berry antioxidants were ranked according to their total antioxidant capacity.

Red wine has always been considered more beneficial compared to white wine in preventing heart disease. Apparently, the antioxidant red grapes are the reason for that since red wine is fermented with the seeds while white wine is not. This most recent discovery of significant antioxidant red grapes adds to the growing reputation of the red grape as a healthful food.

Worse, beta-carotene antioxidant supplements and pills seemed to increase rates of cancer for smokers in two large trials. And so, studies began to look towards other sources of antioxidants as possible antioxidant supplements. Vitamins C and E were the next contenders but again, studies showed mixed results.

) Fruits and vegetables Fat-free milk and low-fat dairy products Lean meat, fish, and poultry Incidentally, if you pattern your diet after this basic food group, you not only ingest a high level of natural antioxidant vitamins, but you also keep fat buildup in your body. Eating a variety of foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol will provide a rich natural source of antioxidant vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Free radicals cause a chain reaction of "electron stealing" because the minute they start taking away electrons from other molecules, those molecules become free radicals themselves. Massive destruction ensues, leading to such disorders as Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease, cancer, senility, and more.

Afterwards, they then compared the effects of the new antioxidant red grapes compound to the more popular antioxidants - vitamins E, C, and beta-carotene. Lead researcher of the Creighton team, Dr. Debasis Bagchi, announced that Activin seemed to exhibit more powerful potential compared to the other antioxidants.

In sum, the main function of antioxidant enzymes is neutralizing free radicals. For the past decade, countless studies have been devoted to the beneficial effects of antioxidant enzymes. It has been found that a substantial link exists between free radicals and more than sixty different health conditions, including the aging process, cancer, and atherosclerosis.

But for the sake of those who have only just stumbled on the term, free radicals are those unstable chemical substances that are highly reactive and are by-products of the process of oxidation in the body. Free radicals at a minimum can be good for the body since their function is to steal electrons from atoms of other molecules, but only if the molecule they're stealing the electrons from are foreign molecules in the first place.

This is probably not the first time you've heard about it. But for the sake of those who have only just stumbled on the term, free radicals are those unstable chemical substances that are highly reactive and are by-products of the process of oxidation in the body. Free radicals at a minimum can be good for the body since their function is to steal electrons from atoms of other molecules, but only if the molecule they're stealing the electrons from are foreign molecules in the first place.

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. Flax oil is the richest source of lignans. Diets high in lignans can lead to a lower chance of getting colon, prostate, and breast cancer.

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.

With the use of a much more precise method than the one used in 1999, the study found that the dietary antioxidants found in honey are equal to those in many fruits and vegetables in their ability to counter the degenerating activity of highly reactive molecules known as free radicals. "It's still too early to say definitely, but honey seems to have potential to serve as a dietary antioxidant," Engeseth said.

This new disease-fighting substance is said to be found in red grapes, whose juice and skin may offer more than just wine. The antioxidant red grapes are contained in the seeds of the fruit. Scientists say that these antioxidant red grapes may offer significant protection against certain types of cancer, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, cataracts, and many other chronic and degenerative diseases.

Beta-carotene antioxidant supplements generally come from orange, yellow, and green leafy vegetables and fruit. It has been observed that people who eat a lot of foods rich in beta-carotene are not generally prone to cancer. However, the beta-carotene antioxidant supplements didn't last that long in the industry.

Free radicals are highly reactive chemical substances that are produced when the body undergoes the process of oxidation. The reason that free radicals are highly reactive is that they lack electrons, which cause them to be highly unstable. To achieve maximum stability, free radicals therefore steal electrons from other molecules around them and in so doing, destroy the cell membranes and weaken the cell.