Antioxidants Are A Free-Radical Killer

We have known for a long time now that by reducing free radicals, antioxidants can help prevent cancer, but a recent study at John Hopkins published recently in “Science” shows how antioxidants may be doing even more.

What’s been found is antioxidants are interfering with the growth of cancers that are already established.  Potentially they are even reversing them once established, by knocking out communication signals between cancer cells that encourage cells to grow and divide.

Those communication signals out to be free radicals, which cancer cells produce in abundance.  Runaway cell division was actually slowed when cancer cells were introduced to the antioxidant N-Acetye-L-cysteine under experimental conditions.

This now represents a mechanism that can allow a simple antioxidant to slow down or reverse a cancer that is already in peace.

Kackabal Ironi cautiously summarizes his research by saying “Control of signaling pathways involving antioxidants may explain why some antioxidants appear to prevent development of certain cancers.”

There are plenty of sources of antioxidants in a good diet.  Fruits and vegetables are packed with powerful antioxidants that can lower your risk of heart disease, cancer; diabetes-related damage and even slow down the body’s natural aging process.  That brings me to the familiar saying “An apple a day can keep the doctor away.”

So you may ask what exactly are antioxidant and why do we need them?  Antioxidants are nature’s way of fighting off potentially dangerous molecules in the body.

Such molecules come in the form of synthetic chemicals such as pesticides, plastics, and chlorine, by products and are called free radicals.

Every day tens of thousands or fill radicals are generated within the body, causing cell damage that can lead to chronic and degenerative diseases if left unchecked.

The body sometimes creates its own free radicals to destroy viruses or bacteria.  To balance out these unruly molecules, the body also creates antioxidants, which have the sole purpose of neutralizing free radicals.

The body is only designed to create a certain amount of antioxidants on its own. However, as we are faced with an ever-growing number of environmental toxins, the body is less capable of fighting the unwanted harmful invaders.

Now here is where you personally come in.  You need to make sure you get a daily input of fruits and vegetables in your body.  That way you can help wage war against those free radicals.

Without the necessary intake of healthy fruits and vegetables, free radicals can spread and eventually lead to stroke, heart attack, arthritis, vision problems, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and various types of cancers.

The benefits of getting your daily dose of fruits and vegetables are numerous.  The antioxidant Vitamin E, is wonderful your heart, vitamin E has the ability to “mop up” the LDL (“bad”) cholesterol in you arteries, allowing for the necessary elasticity and blood pressure levels to keep your heart pumping safely.

Antioxidants can also protect you against diabetes related damage.  Free radicals thrive in the altered metabolic states of diabetics.  But with the necessary antioxidants that fruits and vegetables can provide, free radicals can be neutralized, protecting your kidneys, blood vessels, eyes and heart from harmful damage.

Here’s some more news about antioxidants.  They slow the effects of aging.  Free radicals damage the cells within our body that are vital to a youthful appearance and good health.

Eating fruits and vegetables can slow down the loss of muscle elasticity that leads to wrinkles, boosts your immunity making you less susceptible to illness, and put breaks on memory failure, as free radicals injure the brain cells necessary for retaining information.

Antioxidants are available in supplement form but are most powerful when found in whole foods.  It’s best to combine leafy vegetables, like spinach and collard greens with a good variety of colored fruits such as mangos, oranges and cantaloupe.

And last recommendation is it’s best to buy the organic stores instead of your local grocery store.  The produce available inmost stores no longer contains the level of nutrients that it did 100 years ago.

Because of pesticides and the diminished minerals levels in soils used today, eating non-organic produce will not provide you with the antioxidants or vitamins and minerals that you body needs.

Sounds like a smart thing to do. What do you think?