SLOW YOUR AGING PROCESS WITH ANTIOXIDANTS
BY NAOMI DELACROIX
Even as you're reading this,
you're rusting inside. Not literally of course. However, there are chemical
reactions in your body that are making you gradually wear out. These are called
"oxidation." There is a way to slow down this process. You will feel
young longer if you choose to help your body fight this "rusting."
Why are we all "rusting?" As you know, billions of chemical reactions
are going on every moment of your life in your body, bringing life-giving oxygen
to your cells. Generally, these reactions go on their merry way just perfectly.
But sometimes, one of these chemical processes goes wrong and becomes part of
a rogue reaction that damages our cells. It's sort of like rusting, and it's
called free radical damage.
Your body is good at minimizing this "rusting." It uses nutrients
known as antioxidants to do this. But, our lifestyles can easily overwhelm our
natural "anti-rusting" defenses. Radiation, toxins in our food, intense
exercise, pollution, aging, processed food and other influences challenge our
bodies every day. These influences make stopping these rogue chemical reactions
difficult.
Free radical damage is part of many degenerative disease processes, like heart
disease. It also gives you wrinkles. Cancer, too, is caused in part by free
radical damage.
How much help do our over-taxed bodies need in their fight against free radical
damage? There's a great deal of ongoing research about this subject. We do know
that common supplements such as Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Selenium help in the
fight to reduce free radical damage.
That's only the beginning. More exotic supplements are much more potent free
radical warriors. Some of these include grapeseed extract, green tea, glutathione
and alpha lipoic acid.
You can get plenty of extra antioxidants from certain foods, too. You don't
just have to pop pills to get them. Blueberries and cherries have been discovered
to be bursting with potent antioxidants! So treat yourself to some tasty little
bite-sized treats! Blueberries will also guard you against age related memory
loss.
Of course, you can also do like your mom told you. You can eat your vegetables.
Tomatoes, broccoli and leafy greens all offer up extra servings of antioxidants.
See, your mom was right. They are good for you! (But don't tell her that chocolate
also has a lot of antioxidants.)
How much will extra antioxidants slow the aging process and protect you from
disease? The answer to that question is still being hotly debated by scientists
because it's very difficult to measure the full effects of antioxidants. Perhaps
in a decade scientists will have some better answers. Of course, in that time,
you'll be a decade older as well. And at least with an extra dose of antioxidants
right now, you won't feel a decade older then.
About the Author: Naomi Delacroix is a nutrition major who has focused her work on supplements and foods that minimize aging.