5 Information Tips On Antioxidants

It seems that everywhere you look these days you read something about the benefits of antioxidants. Just what are they and how are they beneficial to your body?

Here are 5 tips about antioxidants and your health.

Tips #1: Antioxidants bind with free radicals: We all need oxygen to survive. And yet, oxygen can actually have long term negative effects on your body. Reasons: oxygen regularly creates oxidant substances called free radicals inside the body that can be damaging to cell structures. Antioxidants bind with these free radicals, effectively neutralizing the ones in which it comes into contact.

Tips #2: Antioxidants help reduce cell damage: By binding with free radicals, antioxidants can actually reduce the deleterious defects of oxidants on cells. This binding process reduces cell damage and can even repair past damage caused by oxidation.

Tips #3: Antioxidants help reduce cell damage and chronic disease: Cell damage caused by oxidation in the body can weaken immunological functions, speed up the aging process, and is linked to diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

Tips #4: Some antioxidants are created inside the body: Your body actually creates its own antioxidants in the form of antioxidant enzymes such as Superoxide Dismutase, Catalase, and Glutathione. These break some of the oxidants in your body down into hydrogen peroxide.

Tips #5: Another important source of antioxidants is food and fruit juices: Despite the body’s own production of antioxidants, they are not sufficient to block all of the oxidation-caused cell damage in the body. Excellent sources of antioxidants are dark green leafy vegetables, tea, coffee, soy, fruits, and vegetables.