Antioxidants and oxidative stress

Written By Chouhab on mercredi 7 janvier 2009 | 04:59

By Haiyan Lai-Heskin

The search for a way to anti aging has been going on for centuries. And the supplements containing antioxidants to slow, stop or reverse the effects of aging enjoy great success in the marketplace.

Vitamins that have been particularly noted for their antioxidant properties include Vitamins A, C, and E. Aside from the fact that these are a wound to the pocket, antioxidant products offer a delight to those who would like to look young in a flash. But how does this free-radical sponge really work?

Free radicals are produced naturally in your body and are perfectly safe if they stay below a certain level. They are known as "reactive oxygen species", or ROS and first identified by Moses Gomberg in 1900. Free radical creation is part of living and as the cells produce energy (for function and survival), the also create oxygen molecules that are unstable because its electrons are unpaired.

Free radicals are highly reactive as they try to steal electrons from other molecules, including DNA and cellular membranes. Drinking, the radiation coming from TVs and computers, drugs, and cigarette smoking spawn free radicals.

It is very important that we don't give way to the formation of free radicals. In order to reduce the production of more free radical we should have enough sleep(at least seven hours) and stay active, exercise and live right.

Free radicals cause damange to healthy cells and are associated with signs of premature aging, they hurt the body by initiating chain reactions of electron scavenging that damage the body's cells. All these damages would mount up and cause our body to accelerate aging.

Upon breathing, oxygen induces a process called oxidation. And it is in here where free radicals form. This process is likened to the oxidation of metals. Once oxidized, aluminum turns to be white, iron becomes rusty, and copper transforms into green. In the same logic that oxidation damages metals; free radicals are also detrimental to our body.

Antioxidants are molecules that have the capability of preventing oxidation of other molecules (by the name itself: antioxidant). In the light of anti-aging, antioxidants prevent the formation of free radicals.

Antioxidants were named by 15% of participants as "potentially reducing the risk of specific diseases or health concerns. It helps preventing oxidation, may increase immune responses, and possibly decrease risk of infection and cancer.

Antioxidants can fight the effects of free radical damage by boosting the skins natural protection. And those substances also prevent glaucoma and the age-related degeneration of our macula, the part of the eye that is dedicated for superior acuity vision.

As we get older, Glutathione - is said to be the most powerful antioxidants as are naturally present in our body since we were young is depleted. Supplements like Vitamin A, E, C and selenium, are known to be powerful antioxidants, plays an essential role in the synthesis of collagen.

If antioxidant supplements are not your type, you may take some delectable bite of the super fruits such as blueberry and raspberry which are said to contain the most number of antioxidants.

Realizing why these antioxidants supplements cost a lot, as now you have the current understanding of how these miracle supplements work.

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