How Do Antioxidants Work?
Exactly how do antioxidants work ?
Everything from tea to carrots to vegetable oils are being promoted as being good for your health. This is due to the large proportion of antioxidants that these foods contain. Vitamin A, C and E (alpha-tocopherol) capsules are being consumed in larger and larger quantities in our western world because of their well established antioxidant properties.
Oxidation of a broad spectrum of chemical compounds and the manufacture of radicals in cells are believed to be involved in the cause of many cancers and may also be crucial factors causing cardiovascular disease. This is why there is so much interest in antioxidants. But exactly how do antioxidants work?
“What these compounds share,” explains
K. Sandeep Prabhu, Penn State assistant professor of immunology and molecular toxicology, “is the ability to neutralize harmful molecules in our cells.”
These harmful molecules, known as free radicals, contain unpaired electrons—which is unusual because electrons typically come in pairs. “The unpaired electrons make free radicals highly reactive, and in this state, they can cause damage by attacking the components of our cells, and can even cause cancer."
So where do free radicals come from? Some are created as a natural by-product of reactions in our cells, says Prabhu. Other sources of free radicals include cigarette smoke, air pollution, and exposure to UV light or radiation. And once free radicals are formed, they can make more free radicals by scavenging electrons from other molecules, “creating a domino effect,” he adds.
So how do antioxidants work? If you eat foods rich in antioxidants, you are supplying your body with natural resistance to these free radicals. Antioxidants combat oxidization and damage at a cellular level.
Many people take antioxidant supplements also in an effort to fight the effects of aging and cancer. Supplements can help you get the amount of antioxidants you need in tablet or capsule form if you are unable to eat enough fruits, legumes and vegetables.
One of the foods most high in antioxidants, including the very powerful egcg (Epigallo Catechin Gallate), is green tea. For more about the composition and numerous health benefits of green tea, click here.
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