How Do Free Radicals Harm the Body and Antioxidants Help?

Before I get into how it works, you should understand a bit about cells and molecules.

We as humans don’t actually age, we don’t get sick and we don’t get diseases…our cells do. Our’s body’s health is dependant on our cells health. So to slow down aging, limit sickness and prevent disease we must protect and properly feed our cells.

Cells are made up of many atoms and when the atoms are healthy, the cells replicate and keep the body young, well and disease free.

Atoms missing an electron are not just ‘bad’, they destroy surrounding atoms by stealing their electrons. An atom missing an electron is called a Free Radical. Free Radicals destroy cells. Cells that die, and cells that replicate in a damaged state are the cause or contribute to premature aging, sickness, and diseases such as cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis and many more.

Free Radicals come from smoking, stress, sunlight, pesticides, pollution, medications, x-rays,, airline travel, and even food additives.

The solution is to consume foods high in antioxidants, as they have extra electrons that help eliminate the Free Radicals harmful effects. Antioxidants are your body’s defence against destructive free radicals, which in turn defends against aging, sickness and disease.

You know when you leave an apple or banana exposed to the air for any length of time, it turns brown or oxidizes. That is the same thing that happens to the inside of your body, you get oxidation, or internal rust. To combat this you have to consume antioxidants. Imagine a million little sponges invading your body and mopping up all the internal rust that is in your body…that’s what antioxidants do.

A person requires 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables per day to supply the body with the proper nutrition to give the body healthy tissue and plasma. There are products out there that can supply you with 7-10 servings of fruits and vegetables in a single serving. Some foods with a high antioxidant value are blueberries, elderberries, blackberries, boysenberries, black currants, cranberries and raspberries, All these berries contain a high ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) rating which is the industry measurement of Antioxidants in a food product.

There are also vitamins and minerals that fight Free Radicals. Vitamins C and E help protect the body against the destructive effects of Free Radicals. Vitamin E protects against cardiovascular disease by defending against LDL oxidation and artery clogging plaque formation. Vitamin C helps protect against forms of cancer: particularly cancer of the mouth, larynx and esophagus.

The key is to change your diet to include foods with a high antioxidant rating. As you can see, dark berries are best.