Sunday, July 27, 2008 Paquiao: Antioxidants By Calixto S. Paquiao fitness & you
OXYGEN is the basis of all plant and animal life.
It is our most important nutrient, needed by every cell every second of every day. Without it we cannot release the energy in food which drives all body process.
But oxygen is chemically reactive and highly dangerous: in normal biochemical reactions, oxygen can become unstable and capable of oxidizing neighboring molecules. This can lead to cellular damage which trigger cancer, inflammation, arterial damage and aging. Known as free oxidizing radicals, this bodily equivalent of nuclear waste must be disarmed to remove the danger.
Free radicals are made in all combustion process including smoking, the burning of petrol to create exhaust fumes, radiation, frying or barbecuing food and normal body process.
Chemicals capable of disarming free radicals are called antioxidants. Some are known essential nutrients like vitamin A and beta carotene, and vitamins C and E. Others are not (like biofluvonoids pycnogenol and over a hundred other recently identified protectors found in common foods).
The balance between your intake of antioxidants and exposure to free radicals may literally be the balance between life and death. You can tip the scales in your favor by simple changes to diet and antioxidant supplementation.
In research studies conducted by scientist on animals in which they put them in low calories diets but high in antioxidant nutrients, they found that they only live up to 40 percent longer but are also more active during their lives.
So, there is every reason to assume that the same principles apply to humans. Already a large scale survey shows that the risk of death is substantially reduced in those with either high levels of antioxidants in their blood through high dietary intakes.
THE BEST FOODS
Antioxidants can be easily found in nature including substances in berries, grapes, tomatoes, mustard and broccoli and in herbs such as turmeric and ginkgo biloba. Also, the main essential antioxidant vitamins are A, C and E and the precursor of vitamin A, beta-carotene.
Beta-carotene is found in red, orange and yellow vegetables and fruits. Vitamin C is also abundant in vegetables and fruits eaten raw but heat rapidly destroys it. Vitamin E is found in seed foods including nuts, seeds, and their oils, vegetables like peas, beans, corn and whole grains. Eating sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli is a great way to increase your antioxidant provided that you do not fry them.
