ANTIOXIDANTS STOP FREE RADICALS

What is Antioxidants? Antioxidants are compounds in foods that can stop free radicals from doing harm in our body. Because they may also boost the immune system, they are a big help in lowering the risk of cancer and infection

What are Free radicals? Free radicals are the unstable oxygen molecules that have lost an electron through exposure to sunlight and pollution. They are free moving molecules that travel around the body trying to stabilize themselves by stealing electrons from healthy molecules. After a successful steal more free radicals are created and damaging healthy cells in the process.

Scientists believe that these free radicals are the primary cause behind heart disease, cancer, aging, loss of vision due to cataract, and other diseases. Free radicals cause cholesterol to stick to the artery walls, leading to the hardening of the arteries and damaging the DNA inside the cells. This results to cell mutation that, in turn, leads to cancer.

Unless something stops these free radicals from causing damage to the healthy cells, diseases continue to progress. This is where antioxidants come in. antioxidants are abundant in fruits and vegetables. When fruits and vegetables are eaten, these protective compounds enter the bloodstream, stepping between the healthy molecules and the free radicals. Antioxidants then offer their own electrons thus neutralizing the free radicals are freeing the healthy cells from being damaged by the free radicals. Although the body produces antioxidants, they are not enough to neutralize the free radicals, especially if the body is exposed to cigarette smoke, air pollution, and other pollutants that enter the body through food intake, stress, and strenuous exercises. Thus the body’s immune system is overpowered and needing help.

These are some of the fruits and vegetables that is rich in antioxidants. The apple, avocado, banana, basil leaf, beans, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupe, carrot, cassava, cauliflower, celery, cereals with no coated sugar, garlic, grapes, guava, mango, mongo sprouts, nuts, onion, orange, pineapple, potato, raisins, spinach, squash, sweet peeper, sweet potato, tofu, tomato, watermelon, wheat germ.

Antioxidants are not stored in the body, so they need to be replaced daily. Because antioxidants are found in fruits and vegetables, the latter should be eaten three times a day to protect the healthy cells from the damage caused by the free radicals.