Monday, October 27, 2014

ANTIOXIDANTS, BODYGUARS FOR YOUR CELLS

antioxidant and free radical

ANTIOXIDANTS HEALING POWER 

CAN HELP:
Reduce the risk of heart disease
Prevent certain cancers
Reduce the risk of macular degeneration
Prevent muscle soreness

If you want to know how the antioxidant vitamins work, take yourself back to World War II.


Japan had a fleet of airborne fighters so dedicated to defending their island nation that they would sacrifice themselves, dive-bombing from the sky and crashing into invading ships in the sea below. Antioxidants are to your body what these kamikaze pilots were to 1940s Japan—your bravest, most aggressive servants.

Every day, your body faces about 10,000 attacks from cell -damaging forces known as free radicals, which are unstable oxygen molecules that have lost an electron through exposure to sunlight, pollution, and everyday wear and tear. These volatile molecules cruise around your body trying to stabilize themselves by stealing electrons from other molecules. When they succeed, they create still more free radicals, damaging healthy cells in the process.

Free radical damage is what causes low -density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol to adhere to artery walls, leading to hardening of the arteries and heart disease, for example. When free radicals damage DNA inside the cells, the result can be cell mutations that lead to cancer. Free radical assaults on your eyes may lead to cataracts and macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in people over age 50. And many scientists believe that free radicals are the primary force behind aging itself.

Unless something steps in the way, this free radical free-for-all can cause irreparable damage. That's where antioxidants come in. Every time you eat fruits, vegetables, or other antioxidant -rich foods, a flood of these protective compounds enters your bloodstream. They travel throughout your body, stepping between your body's healthy molecules and the pillaging free radicals, offering up their own electrons. This neutralizes the free radicals and keeps your cells out of harm's way.

THE BIG THREE

Just as your body produces free radicals, it also produces antioxidants some of these arc enzymes created solely to squelch free radicals. Like the kamikaze pilots of yore, however, these defenders can be overwhelmed if you're under serious attack—from car exhaust or cigarette smoke, for example, or even from engaging in strenuous exercise.

That's when you need to call in the reserves—antioxidant compounds. There are literally hundreds of natural food compounds that act as antioxidants in the body. And the nice thing about them is that you never have to run out. because you can just cat more.

Though researchers are investigating new antioxidant compounds every day, most scientific study has focused on three in particular—vitamins C and E and beta -carotene.


"There is no doubt that antioxidants play a crucial role in reducing the risk for all kinds of diseases," says Alfred Ordman, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry at Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin. "The scientific evidence is simply overwhelming."

What is BIG 3 of ANTIOXIDANTS? TO BE CONTINUED

Title Post: ANTIOXIDANTS, BODYGUARS FOR YOUR CELLS
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