Antioxidants Can Help Fight Free Radicals

Free radicals are the main focus of research when the uses of antioxidants are being researched.  You have probably heard of these damaging free radicals and the problems they can cause in the body, but you might not know how they are formed.  What a free radical is made of is molecules in our body that have an unpaired electron which makes them unstable.  The free radical is attempting to become stable when it goes after another molecule in an effort to gain the missing electron.  What it creates by taking the missing electron is another free radical.  The damage to the body occurs when the chain of free radicals is created coursing through the body.

Free radicals are created in the body by a natural process in most instances.  There are other times when free radicals are created by outside influences such as pollution and smoking.  When the free radicals are in great numbers they will create oxidation in the body.  The attack of the free radicals on other molecules will continue until the cells eventually die.

The damage that is caused by free radicals in the body is heart disease, eye disorders, premature aging, arthritis and cancer.  Antioxidants can help with this difficult and dangerous problem.  They will prevent the damage to the cells by attacking the free radicals.  This will effectively end the chain of damage that is caused by the free radicals in your body.  The studies on antioxidants have shown that antioxidants will help with the immune system, will help with eye problems, keep the cardiovascular function healthy, keep cholesterol levels balanced, and may help with premature aging.

The body naturally produces antioxidant enzymes with glutathione peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase along with vitamins c and e.   

There are a great many fruits and vegetables that contain antioxidants.  There are some great resources you can add to your diet to get the benefits of antioxidants in your body.

Here is a partial list of the beneficial foods that contain antioxidants:

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Tags: antioxidants, Free Radicals, Immune System, Premature Aging, Stanley Home Products

This entry was posted on January 15, 2010 at January 15, 2010 and is filed under antioxidants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.