nutrition facts

Are you making the mistake of not eating enough antioxidants in your diet? I mean really
what is the harm? What
that is
aside from early aging
heart disease
cancer
and a host of other illnesses.

As someone who is concerned about your health
you should be very much aware of the foods you put into your body. But how many of us actually are?

If your health strategy is simply to eat what you want and hope for the best
you may be planting the seeds of your own future illnesses.

Antioxidants help to fight free radicals. But what are free radicals and why are they so harmful to your body? And why does your body need protection against them?

A free radical is a molecule with an unpaired electron. Because it has a free electron
it is highly reactive and very susceptible to oxidation.

Just think of how an exposed apple or potato turns brown when left uncovered. This is caused by oxidation. Well
this is what free radicals are doing to the inside of your body.

Free radicals are not useful as cells to the body. Instead
they steal nutrients from healthy cells - starving them. When healthy cells starve
they deteriorate
and in the process
weaken the body's immune defenses. This is why your body needs to rid itself of them as soon as possible.

Free radicals occur in our bodies every minute of the day. But environment has an effect also. The more you are in contact with toxic environments such as cigarette smoke
radioactivity
smog
pollution
and so on
the more free radicals your body will absorb.

So how can you slow the free radical onslaught against your body? The key is antioxidants.

Normally
a healthy body full of antioxidants
is capable of handling free radicals easily. But if your body is under physical or mental stress
your body's natural defense system may simply not have enough antioxidants available to fight the free radicals.

Antioxidants are believed to help protect the body from free-radical damage by interacting with free radicals in the body and short circuiting their harmful actions. They're scavengers
or garbage collectors. They help to rid your blood vessels and cells of radical cells that would harm you.

Clearly
with all the evidence so far
no reasonable person could ignore the wealth of evidence pointing to the importance of antioxidants.

Although
not conclusive
high antioxidants levels have lent to conclusions that they can slow aging
prevent heart attacks and strokes


The best way to ensure that your body is loaded with enough antioxidants is to eat the recommended five to eight serving of fruits and vegetables a day. Especially
those with high levels of vitamins E
A
and C.

But
really
how many of us do that? The only people I know doing that are hard core vegetarians.

Therefore
even though
it may not be the best choice
you should seriously consider making nutrient supplements a part of your every day dietary routine.

Taking vitamins or supplements daily that contain antioxidants are a good way to maintain cellular health.

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