Antioxidants - Role In Life

Antioxidants are frequently mentioned in everyday conversations.These are nutrients (vitamins and minerals) as well as enzymes (proteins in your body that assist in chemical reactions). They are believed to play a role in preventing the development of such chronic diseases as cancer, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease and Rheumatoid arthritis.

Oxygen is essential to life, but as our bodies use oxygen, we generate by-products known as (reactive oxygen species) ROS or, more commonly, free radicals. These compounds are a normal part of the body's stress response, but they can damage healthy cells and are especially likely to attack the fats that provide structure to the membranes surrounding body cells.

Antioxidants and Free Radicals Are Both Important

Free radicals are constantly being formed during metabolism.

Without antioxidants, they would destroy our bodies very quickly.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that free radicals also serve important functions that are essential for our survival .

For example, the body’s immune cells use free radicals to kill bacteria that try to infect us.

As with so many things in the body, we need a certain balance.

we need the right amount of free radicals, and the right amount of antioxidants to keep them in check.

When this balance gets disrupted, things can start to go wrong.

When the free radicals (pro-oxidants) outnumber the antioxidants, this can lead to a state called oxidative stress.

During oxidative stress, important molecules in the body can become severely damaged… sometimes even leading to cell death.

Several stress factors and lifestyle habits are known to promote excessive free radical formation and oxidative stress:

• Air pollution.
• Cigarette smoke.
• Alcohol intake.
• Toxins.
• High blood sugar levels.
• Consuming large amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids 
• Radiation, including excessive sunbathing.
• Infections by bacteria, fungi or viruses.
• Excessive intake of iron, magnesium, copper, or zinc .
• Too little oxygen in the body .
• Too much oxygen in the body.
• Intense and prolonged exercise, which causes tissue damage .
• Excessive intake of antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E .
• Antioxidant deficiency.

Antioxidants Are Essential for Life and Are Found in All Sorts of Foods

Antioxidants are essential for the survival of all living things. 

The human body even generates its own antioxidants, such as the cellular antioxidantglutathione. 

Plants and animals, and all other forms of life, have their own defenses against free radicals and the oxidative damage caused by them. 

Therefore, antioxidants are found in pretty much all foods of plant and animal origin.

Getting antioxidants from foods is important. In fact, our life depends on the intake of certain antioxidants – namely, vitamin C and vitamin E. 

The health benefits associated with a diet rich in plants is, at least partially, due to the wide diversity of antioxidants they provide . 

Meat products and fish also contain antioxidants , but in smaller amounts compared to fruits and vegetables. Berries are a particularly good source . 

Then there are plenty of other good sources of antioxidants… including green tea, coffee and dark chocolate.

Antioxidants can increase the shelf life of both natural and processed food products. Therefore, they are frequently used as food additives . For instance, vitamin C is often added to processed foods to act as a preservative.

Types of Dietary Antioxidants

There is a huge variety of different antioxidants found in foods.

They can be broadly categorized into two groups, water-soluble and fat-soluble antioxidants.

Water-soluble antioxidants perform their actions in the fluid inside and outside cells, whereas fat-soluble antioxidants act primarily in cell membranes.

Here is a list of a few important dietary antioxidants:

• Vitamin C: One of the most important water-soluble antioxidants and an essential dietary nutrient.
• Vitamin E: The main fat-soluble antioxidant that plays a critical role in protecting cell membranes against oxidative damage.
• Flavonoids: A large group of antioxidants found in plant foods. They have many beneficial health effects .
• Many substances that happen to be antioxidants can also have other important functions.

There are many different types of antioxidants in the diet, including vitamins C and E, as well as flavonoids. These substances can serve various other functions that are not related to the antioxidant activity.

Should You Take Antioxidant Supplements?

Dietary intake of antioxidants is essential for optimal health.However, more is not always better.

Excessive intake of isolated antioxidants can have toxic effects and may even promote rather than prevent oxidative damage.

In fact, some studies have shown that high doses of antioxidants increase the risk of death .

Therefore, you should avoid high-dose antioxidant supplementation.

In addition, studies show that foods reduce oxidative damage more than supplements.

For example, a study using blood orange juice showed that it had significantly greater antioxidant power than a drink with sugar water that contained the same amount of VitaminC.

The best (and healthiest) strategy to ensure adequate intake of antioxidants, is a diet rich in various vegetables and fruit , along with other healthy dietary habits.

However, low-dose supplementation, such as in multivitamin tablets, may be beneficial if you are deficient in certain nutrients or unable to follow a healthy diet.

Stay Healthy,