The power of antioxidants
Studies throughout the last 30 years reveal that many of the so-called
degenerative diseases such as
cancer,
diabetes,
heart disease, Alzheimer’s, cataracts and arthritis arise because of a deficiency in
antioxidants – nutrients that protect the body against the harmful and damaging effects of chemicals called ‘
free radicals’. By increasing your daily intake of antioxidants through diet and supplementation, you reduce the amount of free radical activity within your body, and significantly lower your risk of developing degenerative disease.
What is an Antioxidant?
Antioxidants are substances that neutralise free radicals (the highly unstable chemicals that get produced in our bodies). These destructive chemicals wreak havoc by damaging cellular
DNA (our genetic material), destroying cells and corroding cellular membranes. This sort of damage is the number one cause of ageing and a significant contributor to over 60 diseases. Free radicals enter our bodies through breathing in polluted air and cigarette smoke, and are generated during prolonged stress or illness and through every metabolic reaction involving
oxygen. When oxygen molecules become unstable they seek to stabilise by reacting with other chemicals. If left unchecked, this leads to inflammation and arterial wall damage – which can lead to disease and premature ageing. Antioxidants can ‘mop up’ free radicals and prevent this damage from taking place. The key to good health, disease prevention and anti-ageing is therefore to make sure that our antioxidant levels are consistently high enough to neutralise the free radicals within our bodies.
Where are Antioxidants found?
The body’s main
antioxidants are
Vitamins A, C and E and Beta-Carotene (the precursor of Vitamin A), as well as the likes of Glutathione, Lipoic Acid and Co-Enzyme Q10, all of which are found in the food that we eat. The best way to increase your antioxidant intake is by eating antioxidant rich foods such as blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, plums and broccoli, as well as nuts, grains and some meats, poultry and fish. As a general rule of thumb you should aim to eat at least 5 to 9 portions of vegetables and fruit a day and try and mix them up, so you don’t keep eating the same foods every day. Variety and consistency in eating those 5-9 portions is the key! However, in most cases this is unrealistic, unpractical or unaffordable. The answer?
Supplementation…
Which Antioxidant supplement should I take?
The key to choosing an
antioxidant supplement is taking one that combines a number of antioxidant ingredients or alternatively, taking a combination of supplements. In
holistic medicine we use combinations because of a phenomenon called ‘
synergy’ (where the ingredients
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