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In addition, there is good evidence that bilirubin and uric acid can act as antioxidant support to help neutralize certain free radicals. Antioxidant support can be found in almost everything that we eat. More particularly, fresh fruits and vegetables are the richest sources of antioxidant support available.

There is some research though that antioxidant fruits may be taken better if you actually include them in your diet. Fruit, vegetables, and cereals in your diet have additional benefits compared to taking antioxidant fruits supplements. Scientists point out that this might be because consuming antioxidant fruits in food may provide a combination of lesser-known but potent antioxidant substances, which may afford greater effect than that of any single nutrient or individual antioxidant supplement.

The human body cannot produce its own supply of natural antioxidants; that is why we have to depend solely on our diet to get the amount of antioxidants our body needs. Groups of well-known natural antioxidants include catechins, coumarins, indoles, and carotenoids. All these are complex compounds found in almost every plant.

Some antioxidant antiaging you might have heard of include: Vitamin A Vitamin B-6 Vitamin B-12 Vitamin C Vitamin E Beta carotene Folic acid Selenium All these antioxidant antiaging can be found in the food that you eat everyday. The best sources are usually fresh fruits and vegetables. If you can't obtain all the antioxidant antiaging nutrients that you need from food, your doctor may recommend using supplements to make up for any deficiencies.

Based on a work done on human blood in the lab, a recently published study says that the dietary antioxidants present in honey slow the oxidation of low density lipoproteins (LDL). Too much LDL in the blood leads to atherosclerotic plaque deposition. Like a previous University of Illinois study in 1999, researchers found in both studies that dark-colored honey, especially buckwheat, provide more protective dietary antioxidant punch than lighter-colored honeys.

The data on antioxidant vitamins is incomplete for the most part but up to 30 percent of Americans are already taking some form of antioxidant vitamin supplement along with their diet. Due to the lack of sufficient data to support the success of antioxidant vitamins supplement against cardiovascular diseases and other such degenerative illnesses, the American Heart Association does not recommend using antioxidant vitamins supplements.

Our bodies will always be vulnerable to oxidation and it is something that is beyond our hands to control. During oxidation, certain chemical substances are produced and among them are those that are highly reactive and chemically unstable. These substances are called free radicals. Free radicals can be harmful to the body, especially if there is an excess of them.

The other aspect is more on the preventive side. Antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase prevent oxidation by reducing the rate of chain initiation. This time, instead of waiting for the free radicals to make a long chain of free radicals, antioxidants scavenge initiating radicals and destroy them before oxidation is set in motion.

Scientists point out that this might be because consuming antioxidant fruits in food may provide a combination of lesser-known but potent antioxidant substances, which may afford greater effect than that of any single nutrient or individual antioxidant supplement. In a recent issue of the Journal of Nutrition, the total antioxidant content of several antioxidant fruits, including fruits, berries, vegetables, cereals, nuts, and legumes, was analyzed.

The Top 20 list of antioxidants published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry shows the ranks of the capacity of berry foods, fruits, and vegetables to interfere with or prevent oxidative processes where free radicals are formed. Ronald L. Prior, a USDA nutritionist and research chemist based in Little Rock, Ark explains that berry antioxidants were ranked according to their total antioxidant capacity.

The Benefits of Flax Oil Lignans A natural plant chemical, lignans are antioxidant molecules with anti-cancer, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial properties. Flax oil is the richest source of lignans. Diets high in lignans can lead to a lower chance of getting colon, prostate, and breast cancer. As an antioxidant, the flax oil's lignans can help boost the body's immune system, keeping harmful, disease-causing germs from damaging the cells.

They are derived from molecular oxygen under reducing conditions, such as when a person breathes. However, because of their high reactivity, free radicals often participate in unwanted side reactions resulting in cell damage. Many forms of cancer are thought to be the result of reactions between free radicals and DNA, resulting in mutations that can adversely affect the cell cycle and potentially lead to malignancy.

If they are healthy molecules, well that's a different story all together. When free radicals start stealing electrons from healthy cells, that process causes many disorders to occur in the body. The cells will grow weak until they are eventually destroyed. Hence, diseases such as cardiovascular disease, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, senility, and cancer are often attributed to the contributing factor of free radicals.

Molecules consist of one or more atoms of one or more elements joined together by chemical bonds. A typical atom is comprised of a nucleus - neutrons, protons, and electrons. Electrons are those negatively charged particles that orbit the cluster of protons in an atom. When there are eight electrons in an orbit, it means that that particular orbit (or shell as it is called) is full which further means the atom is stable.

The data on antioxidant vitamins is incomplete for the most part but up to 30 percent of Americans are already taking some form of antioxidant vitamin supplement along with their diet. Due to the lack of sufficient data to support the success of antioxidant vitamins supplement against cardiovascular diseases and other such degenerative illnesses, the American Heart Association does not recommend using antioxidant vitamins supplements.

Antioxidant Supplements It's a continuing puzzle even for scientists why people who eat lots of fruit and vegetables are less likely to develop diseases like cancer and heart disease. Sure, fresh fruits are generally low in fat and high in fiber, but it's much more than that. Recent studies have shown that part of the benefit from eating fresh produce everyday comes from antioxidants.

That being said, free radicals, as by-products of oxidation, will always be present in our body. But what if there is a way for us to retard the development of free radicals? What if there is a way to break the free radical chain reaction? What if there is a way to prevent those diseases caused by harmful free radicals from developing?

Vitamins C and E were the next contenders but again, studies showed mixed results. Although Vitamin C antioxidant supplements didn't look as though it could reduce the risk of cancer or heart disease, it didn't have any adverse effects either. In fact, Vitamin C might even provide some protection against loss of sight associated with cataracts in older people.

Consuming lots of antioxidant fruits in your diet will help boost the body's defense against free radicals and oxidative stress (damage caused by free radicals). Oxidative stress is a process which many a scientist has linked with the development of chronic and degenerative diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

Free radicals cause a chain reaction of "electron stealing" because the minute they start taking away electrons from other molecules, those molecules become free radicals themselves. Massive destruction ensues, leading to such disorders as Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease, cancer, senility, and more.

Prior and his colleagues used the most advanced technologies available to tabulate antioxidant levels in more than 100 different types of berry fruits, vegetables, nuts, and spices. The Top 20 list includes small red beans (dried), wild blueberry, red kidney beans, pinto beans, blueberry (cultivated), cranberry, artichokes (cooked), blackberry, prunes (dried plums), raspberry, strawberry, red delicious apples, Granny Smith apples, pecans, sweet cherries, black plums, russet potatoes (cooked), black beans (dried), plums, and gala apples.

Catechins are the natural antioxidants found in the Camellia sinensis plant where we get our green tea, oolong tea, and black tea. In the carotenoid group, beta-carotene is the most common natural antioxidant. Another name for beta-carotene is vitamin A, that essential vitamin that helps prevent eye damage.

This antioxidant dietary supplement works best when taken with Vitamin C as it seems that both vitamins have synergistic effect when taken in combination. Besides vitamins, antioxidant dietary supplements may be in the form of botanicals. Green tea, for example, is a rich source of the flavonoid derivatives (polyphenols) epicatechin (EC), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).

Lignans especially is that substance in flax oil that has antioxidant properties. The Benefits of Flax Oil Lignans A natural plant chemical, lignans are antioxidant molecules with anti-cancer, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial properties. Flax oil is the richest source of lignans. Diets high in lignans can lead to a lower chance of getting colon, prostate, and breast cancer.