Alternative Health



What Is An Antioxidant?





During the process of oxidation, highly unstable substances called free radicals are produced. These free radicals react with other molecules in the cell by stealing their electrons and turning them into free radicals like themselves. When this happens, a chain reaction is created, one that when accumulated could result in massive cell damage. 

Anti Aging Antioxidant Research shows that cells are only allowed so many cell divisions in a human lifetime before they would have to give out. Based on their findings, scientists say that by the time you are 20 years old, most of the cells that make up your body have already used up half of their available cell divisions in their cell lifespan. 

In order to neutralize these free radicals, your body uses certain vitamins, minerals, and enzymes - collectively known as antioxidant antiaging. All these nutrients come from the food you eat, but they may also be available as supplements in the form of pills or capsules. Some antioxidant antiaging you might have heard of include: Vitamin A Vitamin B-6 Vitamin B-12 Vitamin C Vitamin E Beta carotene Folic acid Selenium All these antioxidant antiaging can be found in the food that you eat everyday. 

The minute your body starts to process oxygen in order to produce energy is the first step to potentially developing a disease or starting the slow process of aging. It's normal and it is a part of life. Certainly, it can't be completely dispelled. It can however be controlled. Now, by "control", we don't mean controlling the process of oxidation itself, but controlling the outcome of it. 

This antioxidant dietary supplement works best when taken with Vitamin C as it seems that both vitamins have synergistic effect when taken in combination. Besides vitamins, antioxidant dietary supplements may be in the form of botanicals. Green tea, for example, is a rich source of the flavonoid derivatives (polyphenols) epicatechin (EC), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). 

The term is familiar to us. 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.