Antioxidants, How They Can Help You!

Antioxidants are molecules of nutrients in food that prevent oxidation from damaging the human body. Oxygen is used by the human body which produces a by-product that causes damage. The antioxidants act in a way to repair the damage done by the by-products. Some of the damages done by oxidative damage are diabetes, macular degeneration, heart disease and cancer. Some of the most commonly known antioxidants are vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and caroteniods.

Antioxidants are very helpful to human health. Some research states that foods that contain antioxidants can actually delay many of the age related diseases. Continual research is always being done about the knowledge of antioxidants. Antioxidants neutralize the by-products of the body. By products can be created not only by oxygen but other factors as well. Radiation and tobacco smoke are two things that cause by products. After a long period of time the damage that is done by the by products can not be reversed this can create cancer. But the antioxidants come in and prevent the by products from taking from other molecules which might help to prevent against cancer.

Another thing that also creates more by products in the body is over exercising. It puts more oxygen into the body and the oxygen creates by product. This concerns some people because it might worsen the damage to muscles. Since it is not possible to measure the amount of by products that are in the body there is not way to tell if a dangerous amount is in the body and if extra antioxidants are going to need to be taken. The damages from exercising occur over time. Regular exercise can increase the antioxidant defenses and protect against the by products create by exercise.

There are a lot of foods that have antioxidants, fruits, vegetables, grains, even some meats have them. Leafy green vegetables have Lutein and carotene. Carotene is also found in things like sweet potatoes, carrots, cantaloupe, squash, pumpkins and mangos. Carotene is usually found in foods that are orange in color.

Lycopene is found in such foods as tomatoes, watermelon, grapefruit, papaya, and guava. Most people get there intake of lycopene from tomatoes and tomato products. The mineral selenium isn't antioxidants but have the same component. It is found in such foods as rice, meats, and bread. Brazil nuts have a high amount of selenium in them too

The vitamins A, C and E are also great in getting antioxidants. Foods that have a lot of vitamin A are liver, milk, egg yolks, carrots, mozzarella cheese and sweet potatoes. Cereals, beef, poultry, and fish are really high in vitamin C. So are many fruits and vegetables. Vitamin E is found in safflower, corn and soybean oils, wheat germ, and almonds. You can also find it in mangos, broccoli, and nuts.

A study has been done on antioxidants to see if they help to reduce the toxic effects of lead. The base of the research was that the main cause of lead being toxic is the oxidative stress. An imbalance was created between the by-products and the antioxidants in the body. This caused an excessive amount of by product in the body and resulted in destroying the tissues. Common symptoms of lead poisoning are anemia, irritability, headaches, weight loss, and motor impairment. Most lead poisoning is caused by eating foods with lead in them and by contact with an environment that has lead in it. The testing done to prove that antioxidants will reduce the toxins from lead was proven to be effective.