Antioxidants are the Key to Long Life

You’ve probably heard that antioxidants are really important for your health but do
you know exactly what they do? There are lots of different antioxidants and some of them are known for giving fruits and vegetables their distinctive colors. For example, lycopene is found in red fruits and veggies and beta carotene is what gives carrots and other orange and yellow fruits and veggies their color.

They’re not just there to make things pretty though. The benefits of antioxidants extend to pretty much every area of your health and they can protect you against some pretty scary stuff.

Here’s what you need to know about what antioxidants can do for your body and why you need to make sure you eat lots of foods that contain them!

Fighting free radicals

One of the most important roles that antioxidants play involves free radicals. When cells use oxygen, free radicals are a natural byproduct. They may be natural but unfortunately, they can be pretty dangerous if they are enough of them in your body. They’re linked to lots of health conditions, including the likes of heart disease and cancer.

You’ll hear a lot about oxidative stress in relation to antioxidants. This is what happens when there is an imbalance between the number of free radicals that are roaming your body and the ability that your body has to cancel out their effects. Antioxidants give your body more power to affect this balance and make free radicals less damaging.

The real problems start with oxidization. This is the same process that helps cuts to heal and turns apples brown when they’re exposed to air but it’s a lot more of a problem where free radicals are concerned.

When oxidized cholesterol gets a “hit” from free radicals, it is much more likely to find its way into the walls of your arteries. From there, it sets the scene for plaques to become an issue. And that raises the risk of blocked arteries and heart attacks.

Antioxidants help to give this story a happier ending as in big enough numbers, they can mean that less cholesterol is oxidized. We are not powerless over disease.

Livestrong has a great list of Antioxidant foods.

Food is absolutely a gamechanger when it comes to our health so eat a wide variety
of whole clean foods.

To your beautiful wellness,
Joan Morrison, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach

Wellness.Journeytoholisticwellness.com