They reduce the harm from exposure to free radicals, compounds around us that cause cellular stress.
Antioxidants are predominantly found in colorful plant foods like leafy greens, nuts, and berries.
This article explores why antioxidants are good for you and the best places to find them in your diet.
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They triggeroxidative stress, which is hard on our cells and can promote disease and aging.
However, free radicals also serve some beneficial purposes for our health.
Antioxidants neutralize free radicals through a process of transferring electrons.
This helps turn free radicals “off” to prevent them from harming our cells and DNA.
Without antioxidants, free radicals would have devastating effects on our health.
What Are Free Radicals?
Free radicals are unstable compounds that can cause damage at a cellular level, promoting disease and aging.
The same goes for plants, animals, and other living things with antioxidant defense mechanisms.
As such, antioxidants naturally occur in many foods you may already include in your diet.
While they are predominantly found in whole plant foods, there are also some animal-derived sources of antioxidants.
The best sources are fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, and certain fish.
Without antioxidants, your cells are more vulnerable to damage from free radicals.
Comparing Antioxidants in Food vs.
Supplements
Antioxidants are also sold insupplemental form, often advertised as “ultra” or “high dose.”
While the marketing can be intriguing, more antioxidants aren’t always better.
And, there aren’t necessarily antioxidants that are better than others.
A combination is optimal.
For example,glutathione(GSH) is an antioxidant your body produces.
While it has anticancer benefits, research shows that excess GSH promotes cancerous tumor growth.
Summary
Antioxidants are compounds that help protect us from disease and the effects of aging.
While your body makes some antioxidants, it’s important to incorporate them into your diet regularly.
Find them in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, and certain fish like salmon.
You probably already consume antioxidants and can add others to your meals and snacks with little effort.
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