Antioxidants have gotten a lot of buzz in the health industry over the past several years, but what exactly are they? Do they have actual health benefits that make a difference?
On the most basic level, antioxidants are molecules in your body that fight free radicals. Why is that important? Well, free radicals are linked to several illnesses and diseases. If too many of them are in your body, you risk things like heart disease, cancer, and other diseases.
A great thing about antioxidants is that you can find them in many places. They’re found naturally in a lot of foods like fruits and vegetables. Vitamin C and E are popular antioxidants great for physical health.
Let’s explore a bit to find out what antioxidants are, how to get them, and why they’re so important.
Antioxidants vs Free Radicals
Like most things in your body, too much of something can become harmful. Free radicals serve an important role in your body’s immune system, for example. When your body has an infection or is being attacked by a virus, it tells free radicals to go and combat whatever is attacking your body.
However, oxidative stress occurs when your body has too many free radicals and not enough antioxidants to balance them. If this situation goes on too long, it can have negative health consequences. One of the results of too much oxidative stress is the breakdown of cells that can lead to cancer. This happens because, once you have too much oxidative stress, it can lead to the deterioration of DNA.
While taking antioxidants in any form helps the balance of free radicals, there are also things people can avoid to prevent too many free radicals from occurring in their bodies. For example, people shouldn’t:
Drink excessively
Smoke
Eat too much sugar
Expose themselves to high radiation levels
Likewise, a high level of free radicals can also occur when people aren’t intaking enough antioxidants. Remember, it’s all about balance.
BPC-157 & Antioxidants
The peptide from peptidesciences.com BPC-157 is a synthetic form of the naturally-occurring Body Protective Compound-157. In research done on rats, it showed that BPC-157 can neutralize oxidative stress markers. It’s a very strong antioxidant. BPC-157 also reduced the production of reactive oxygen species in the rodents’ gastrointestinal tracts and reduced inflammation in the GI tract.
Eating an Antioxidant-Rich Diet
Eating a healthy diet is another great way to get the antioxidants that your body needs to be healthy. Plants and animal products all contain antioxidants, so consuming healthy whole foods is a great source of antioxidants. Things like berries, dark chocolate, and green tee are excellent sources of antioxidants as well. Grapes and dark vegetables also serve high quantities of antioxidants. Some health experts suggest fruits and vegetables with edible peels are great sources of antioxidants. If you have the opportunity to eat them, go right ahead.
Juicing is another terrific way to consume large amounts of antioxidants without having to eat a ton of fruits and vegetables. With juicing, you’re compressing a large amount of antioxidant matter into juice form that’s easier to eat than if you sat down to eat an entire bowl of oranges. It’s a fast and convenient way to get the vitamins you need.
Finally, seeds help people mix up the texture of foods and raw seeds deliver plenty of antioxidant-rich Vitamin E.
In addition to natural foods, you can find supplements high in antioxidants that you can take on a daily basis to get the levels you need to keep free radicals in your body balanced.
The bottom line is that eating healthy foods will get you the antioxidants you need to keep your cells and DNA in great shape.