We hear so much about antioxidants being good for us, but what are they really, and how can they help us become healthier? Here’s all about it.
What Are Antioxidants and Free Radicals?
Antioxidants are substances that can fight off the damaging effects of free radicals in the body. To understand this further, let’s first take a look at free radicals.
Free radicals are compounds that can harm healthy cells and may cause extensive damage over time. They are called as such because they lack an electron.
This makes them unstable and leads them to grab an electron from another compound in the body.
The loss of an electron can cause oxidative stress, which is associated with cancer, heart disease, immune disorders, Parkinson’s, joint deterioration, and other health problems.
We can get free radicals from external sources, such as UV rays, chemicals, cigarette smoking, and pollution.
Free radicals are also produced in the body in response to every day metabolism and stress. Basically, they’re everywhere and we can’t escape them.
What Do Antioxidants Do and How Do They Prevent Disease?
Free radicals aren’t always bad for us. The body can use free radicals to target invasive, disease-causing organisms and fight off infection.
However, when the body contains more free radicals than antioxidants, we become at risk for oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress is a condition in which our DNA is damaged by free radicals. If too much DNA is damaged, it can lead to cancer, inflammation, degenerative diseases, and even accelerate aging.
Our bodies are more than used to being attacked by free radicals. We can naturally produce antioxidants, which can donate electrons to free radicals without becoming unstable.
Once the free radical is neutralized, it can be eliminated from the body without further problems.
We can also get our antioxidants from food. Some types of food are particularly excellent sources of antioxidants (more on that later).
Antioxidant Benefits
By protecting the body from oxidative damage, antioxidants can help reduce the risk of many diseases. Many comprehensive studies prove the effectiveness of antioxidants.
Some examples include:
Lutein. Derived from corn and spinach, lutein can delay the progression of macular degeneration and promote healthier vision.
Lycopene. This is a widely known antioxidant found in tomatoes.
It can help prevent heart disease and improve prostate health in elderly men. In addition to its antioxidants benefits, lycopene can also prevent damage from sunburn and reduce nerve damage.
Resveratrol. A plant compound found in the skins of grapes and berries, resveratrol lowers high blood pressure and prevents the oxidation of LDL or “bad” cholesterol.
Since red wine contains grape skins, it naturally contains a good amount of resveratrol.
This is said to be the reason why French people stay relatively slim and heart-healthy compared to their American counterparts though they consume plenty of red meat in their diet.
Polyphenols. These are found in coffee and dark chocolate, making them powerful antioxidants.
Polyphenols help to lower blood sugar, prevent heart disease, and protect against certain cancers. They have also proven to boost brain function.
Types Of Antioxidants
Antioxidants are classified as either water- or fat-soluble. Your cell has a fatty outer membrane that protects the contents, which is where your fat-soluble antioxidants will act.
Meanwhile, the intra- and extracellular fluid will be protected by water-soluble antioxidants.
A popular water-soluble antioxidant is Vitamin C, while the most well-known fat-soluble antioxidant is Vitamin E. As such, both are important but have different functions.
Taking a variety of antioxidants will make sure that you get the protection your body needs.
Foods High In Antioxidants
The best source of antioxidants is all-natural food sources. Food contains phytonutrients that work together with antioxidants to help improve your health.
For instance, we know that vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant found in many citrus fruits. Bioflavonoids are a lesser-known group of antioxidants that are also present in many citrus fruits.
They have a synergistic effect with vitamin C; taking them together promotes a better immune response.
Here’s some of the foods that are particularly rich in antioxidants:
Goji berries. Goji berries have a reputation for strong antioxidant abilities. Studies show that they contain significant amounts of beta-carotene, zeaxanthin, phenolic acids, and flavonoids.
These compounds account for the anti-tumor, anticancer, and immunomodulating effects of goji berries.
In addition, eating goji daily can improve your eyesight, lower cholesterol and triglyceride values, and blood sugar.
Blueberries. Anthocyanins give blueberries their characteristic color and also their notable antioxidant effects.
The health benefits of blueberries include protecting against heart disease, preventing cancer, and boosting mental health by slowing mental decline and improving short-term memory.
Blueberries also contain ample amounts of vitamin C.
Pomegranate. The red color of this fruit’s juice is due to its anthocyanin content.
Pomegranate also contains ellagic acid, which is a potent antioxidant used in cosmetic surgery to prevent the deterioration of skin flaps that have been pulled back during procedures.
Studies show that pomegranate fruit extracts are strongly anticarcinogenic. They can prevent cancer cell growth and induce cell death effectively.
Green tea. Perhaps one of the most well-known beverages to contain antioxidants benefits. Green tea contains polyphenols that have been studied for their anticancer and cardioprotective effects.
Green tea also contains a catechin known as epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which is thought to be responsible for the drink’s unique antioxidant profile.
The benefits of drinking green tea include prevention of neurodegenerative conditions, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
Olive leaf extract. It is extracted from the leaves of an olive plant. It contains oleuropein, which is thought to be responsible for its anti-inflammatory and strong antioxidant activity.
Researchers believe olive leave extract can have positive effect on a number of health aspects e.g. heart health, blood pressure, anticancer properties etc.
Best Natural Antioxidant Supplements (my 2 personal favorite)
Although food is the best source of natural antioxidants (aside from the ones our body produces itself), this doesn’t mean that getting antioxidants benefits from a supplement is bad.
Since it is getting harder and harder to consume enough high quality food containing antioxidants from e.g. fruit and vegetables, taking antioxidant food supplements everyday may be just as important as eating healthy.
In our modern society, we can’t be expected to always have access to a variety of fruits, vegetables, and organic meats.
We also have constant exposure to pollution, chemicals, radiation, injuries, and UV rays to worry about. Think of your antioxidant supplement as life insurance in a juice.
But be forewarned, not all supplements are made the same.
Make sure you’re getting reputable, all-natural supplements that give you exactly what is put on the label. Taking synthetic supplements is not advisable since this would be similar to taking chemically-laden medications.
Natural antioxidant supplements can help fill in the nutrition gaps that you may have in your diet.
I personally use two natural antioxidant supplements to boost my existing healthy diet:
1. NingXia Juice (pros and cons of NingXia Red)
It’s all natural antioxidant supplement made with mainly red fruit (aronia, cherry, plum, blueberry, pomegranate, exotic wolfberries (goji berry)), pure vanilla extract, stevia and some essential oils (Orange, Yuzu, Lemon and Tangerine) grown in pristine locations across the world.
This delicious berry-tasting juice is “packed with powerful antioxidants to help against oxidative stress, support normal cellular function, and promote healthy energy levels for the perfect way to start your day”.
It is recommended to have 70ml of NingXia Juice in the morning and in the evening which is what I started off with myself and was happy with it.
However, later on I discovered Olife (another natural antioxidant supplement) and decided to have both of them once a day for diversification reasons since NingXia is packed with Vitamin C and Olife with Vitamin E (representing each type of antioxidants).
You can buy NingXia Juice on Amazon.
What I dislike about NingXia Juice
I’m not a fan of stevia, and honestly, that’s about it. I was told stevia is there as otherwise the juice, which is packed with citrus fruit, would be too sour in taste for the regular consumer’s palate.
I guess it’s not the end of the world since stevia is considered a natural sweetener. When I feel it’s too sweet, I just water it down a bit and it’s fine.
2. Olife (pros and cons)
Olife is an extract from olive tree leaves, produced in Italy. It is a powerful antioxidant and is said to have many health benefiting properties (see 2min video below).
I was introduced to it by my Italian friend Daniela who was so impressed by the results she got from using it that she hired herself in the organization producing this antioxidant supplement (not joking!).
Taste-wise, to me it tastes like lipton green iced tea with a touch of ‘smokiness’ 🙂 (this is my personal opinion).
It was actually quite a positive surprise as considering Olife is made from olive tree leaves I expected it to be somewhat oily in taste (kind of like cod liver oil I guess:)
In fact, to me it tastes quite nice (it beats 100% the taste of spirulina with water-if you know what I mean 🙂 )
Olife’s ingredients: Olive tree leaves’ water infusion and Calendula flowers (OLIVUM) 93%, fructose, glycerin, potassium sorbate, acidifier: citric acid, natural flavours.
You can Buy Olife online.
What I dislike about Olife:
I don’t particularly like the fact it contains potassium sorbate, which is there to preserve this supplement.
I also don’t like the addition of sugar (i.e. fructose) in it. And again, I was told that without sweetening, the supplement would be too sour to consume.
Having said all that, I was quite impressed by the stories I heard from people using it for various health reasons and the fact it also helped my friend, I decided to give it a go too.
Are Antioxidants Good For You: Final Word
Antioxidants are highly beneficial in supporting our immune system against a disease and benefiting our overall health.
I highly recommend consuming foods high in antioxidants as these are natural sources and mainly come from fruit and vegetables which are part of a healthy diet anyway.
If you decide to use antioxidant supplement though, be sure you ONLY use natural antioxidant supplements and always consult your medical practitioner prior.
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