Aging is big business, and today’s market is flooded with products that blur the lines between healthcare, beauty and simple fads. Many of these products contain antioxidants to fight aging and promote wellness. We’ve learned about the benefits of antioxidants from marketing, but it’s also important to understand what antioxidants are, and how they work.
Antioxidants are naturally occurring nutrients present in the human body, and in many plants including fruits and vegetables. Our bodies need antioxidants to function properly; as cell protectors, they maintain good health by slowing the destructive aging of cellular molecules.
When cells function normally, they produce damaged molecules called free radicals that can cause further damage to the body. They steal fat, protein, DNA and other vital components from healthy cellular molecules. If left unchecked, these free radicals can cause a multitude of serious health concerns including heart damage, cataracts, cancer and a weak immune system.
One of the main benefits of antioxidants is found in their ability to stabilize free radicals. By providing these stabilizing components, antioxidants can help to prevent widespread cellular destruction and reduce further damage to the system. Antioxidants return to the surface level and steady the cells, rather than causing damage to other components.
Despite some research contradictions, several studies have shown that antioxidants have the ability to improve immune responses and vaccine recognitions in cats and dogs. This is particularly useful in vaccinating young animals that lack fully developed immune systems.
In older animals, antioxidants are significant in reversing the reduction of immune cell functions. Further studies have revealed that a combination of many different antioxidants given in average amounts is likely more effective than high levels of one single antioxidant.
In the human body, and in plant life, naturally occurring antioxidants come in different forms. Vitamins A, C and E, and carotenoids including beta-carotene and lutein are all familiar sources of antioxidants. These nutrients are like the building blocks of our good health and are especially beneficial in preventing heart disease by blocking the spread of free radicals.
Vitamin E is a common source of antioxidants that protects us from cardiovascular disease by defending against LDL oxidation and artery-clogging plaque development. There have been numerous studies showing that antioxidants can also reduce the risk of cancer. Vitamin C has been shown to reduce rates of cancer of the larynx, mouth and esophagus.
If you’d like to boost your intake of antioxidants, fruits and vegetables are excellent sources. Choose brightly and deeply pigmented foods such as tomatoes, red bell peppers, carrots and spinach. These offer the highest concentrations of this essential health booster.
While there is no doubt that the benefits of antioxidants are many, it remains unclear as to exactly how much should be taken, or whether antioxidants should be supplemented at all. Further, the long-term consequences of taking mega-doses of antioxidants are not known. Antioxidants occur naturally but they are a chemical, and must be taken with due caution.
Speak with your doctor if you’re thinking about boosting your body with the benefits of antioxidants
by Myron Huett
Tags: cataracts, cats and dogs, cell functions, cellular destruction, cellular molecules, contradictions, fads, free radicals, fruits and vegetables, further studies, health concerns, heart damage, immune cell, immune responses, immune systems, recognitions, s market, serious health, surface level, vital components
