As the name suggests, anti-oxidants are molecules that work to stop the oxidation of cells around them. Oxidation is a natural process within the human body and is responsible for functions such as alcohol leaving the blood stream via the liver and cell repair after severe injury or a blow to the body. However, oxidation does become a problem when your body is but under large amounts of stress. This causes the heat that is generated from the natural oxidation process to go further than it is supposed to and start to damage cells . By supplementing your body with the correct amounts of anti-oxidants, you can keep this chemical process balanced, so that it still performs its natural functions, without detrimental effects to cells at the same time.

Cancer is such a prevalent disease in society today and we all know someone who has been affected by it in some way. But the good news is that even though we may not have the cure, there are nutritional preventative measures that can be taken. Antioxidants have been the subject of much discussion and research recently and experts believe that they have properties that can prevent the toxicity of cancer cells by averting free radicals from entering the body. However, remember to balance the amount of antioxidants as too much in your daily diet, if you are a cancer patient, can lead to the cancer cells being protected and immunised against the chemotherapy .

The macro-nutrients, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, research tells us is good for our heart, brain, lungs, liver & gastrointestinal track is also important for GOOD SKIN e.g.:

Antioxidants may be able to assist with the aging process as research shows they can have very positive outcomes with preventing Alzheimer’s. There are links between certain toxic protein plaque that forms in the brain cells and leads to this disease. These are free radicals that can be prevented by antioxidants found in Vitamin C and E, both antioxidant vitamins . Skin health is a constant cause of stress as you have to wear it every day! Antioxidants work from the inside out, constantly protecting cells from damage that may be caused by sun or toxins in your diet, e.g. alcohol. Physical exercise can be enhanced by consuming the appropriate amount of antioxidants as it play an integral part in food metabolism. Anti-oxidants are powerful enough to prevent insulin resistance, meaning that the oxygen and glucose cell explosions that give you bursts of energy can continue uninhibited pre, post and during exercise .

Finally, the question arises as to whether it is healthy to supplement your antioxidants with items other than food. This can be risky as an overdose of antioxidants can be detrimental to your health, causing the destruction of oxidating cells, some of which are imperative for your body to function. There is actually no research to support that supplemented anti-oxidants can have beneficial health effects , where as there is plenty of studies completed that confirm the natural antioxidants gained from foods high in Vitamin A, C and E will have positive results in improving your health and well-being.

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2. Goodman, M., Bostick, R. M., Kucuk, O., Jones, D. P. (2011). Clinical trials of antioxidants as cancer prevention agents: Past, present and future. Free Radical & Biology Medicine, 51(5), pp. 1068-1084.
3. Pocernich, C. B., Bader-Lange, M. L., Sultana, R., Butterfield, D. A. (2011). Nutritional approaches to modulate oxidative stress in Alzheimer’s disease. Current Alzheimer Research, 8(5), pp. 452-469.
4. Scott, S. (2008). Exercise for life: Cancer prevention with exercise and lifestyle modifications. ACSM Health & Fitness Journal, 12(4), pp. 35-37.
5. Bjelakovic, G., Nikolova, D., Gluud, L. L., Simonetti, R. G., Gluud, C. (2008). Antioxidant supplements for prevention of mortality in healthy participants and patients with various diseases. Cochrane Database System Review. Retrieved http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18425980 on 15th September, 2011.