How Do Antioxidants Help The Body
Most everyone has heard about antioxidants and how important they are when it comes to having good health but exactly what are they? How do antioxidants help the body? Antioxidants are nutrients that are found in many of the foods you eat. They prevent or slow down the damage caused by “free radicals”, which are produced naturally when the cells in your body use oxygen. In order to understand antioxidants and how they help the body, you need to understand what free radicals are and how they can damage the body.
The body needs oxygen in order to function correctly. However, when the body uses oxygen it creates free radicals or oxidants as a side effect. These oxidants cause cell damage which can lead to many different chronic diseases. Simply put, free radicals are molecules that are unstable because they have one too many electrons or they’re missing one.
In an attempt to become stable, they will try to take away or give electrons to other healthy molecules. This changes the structure of the healthy molecule making it unstable. This in turn creates a chain reaction that can spread throughout the body over time. Antioxidants have the ability to neutralize free radicals by giving or receiving an electron without being turned into one. However, they will become inactive once this transaction takes place. For this reason, it’s important to continue providing the body with antioxidants so it can continue to prevent and repair damage done by free radicals.
Medical conditions associated with these include the following:
* Cataracts
* Heart Disease
* Diabetes
* Macular Degeneration
* Cancers
* Weakened Immune System
* Premature Aging
Some studies indicate that free radicals may be responsible for certain types of arthritis as well.
Not only are these created naturally but they can also enter the body through external sources such as pollution, stress, cigarette smoke, radiation and even too much exposure to the sun. Since you cannot avoid coming in contact with free radicals, it’s important to make sure you keep them under control with antioxidants.
The body naturally produces some antioxidant enzymes. The three most common ones are listed below along with a brief description of how they can help the body stay healthy.
1. Superoxide Dismutase – This enzyme changes the structure of the free radicals or oxidants and then breaks them down into hydrogen peroxide.
2. Catalase – This enzyme will break down the hydrogen peroxide turning it into water, very small oxygen particles or gases.
3. Glutathione – This enzyme acts as a detoxifying agent that will bind the different toxins changing their form. This in turn helps them to be removed from the body in the form of waste.
Other antioxidant agents can be found in different foods, culinary herbs and medicinal herbs. By supplying your body with a proper diet that includes foods containing antioxidants, you can help improve your health, extend your life and reduce premature aging. Taking care of your body has many benefits. You’ll look better, feel better and have more energy to enjoy all that life has to offer.
