What are ANTIOXIDANTS and why do I need them?

It’s a great question that I asked and have researched only to find they date back to the beginning of time! The oceans are rich with minerals and seawater provides a perfect condition for antioxidants to grow and they, in turn, protect the sea life from free radicals. Who knew? I knew seaweed was excellent for our bodies and eat it most every week, but I didn’t think much beyond that. Here’s what I have found.

The hunter/gathers got their food for thousands of years, mostly eating vegetables, fruits and lean wild meat, along with nuts and fish. We have called this time, “the survival of the fittest” and you know, they were right on target. It was the perfect diet for them and for us today.

Jump forward thousands of years to Emperor Hadrian (122AD), a Roman Commander who ate vegetables, fruits, fish, olive oil and nuts, we call the Mediterranean diet, which he shared with his military and people. Hadrian lived to be 62, pretty old for those days and by Roman standards. His diet may have had a positive affect!

Before antioxidants were known, engineers were using antioxidants to prevent metal from corroding. No one thought about how that principle might work on us humans. If it prevented corrosion on metal, what would it do to our system?  In 1954, Denham Harman, a Medical Physics at U.C. Berkeley discovered the role of free radicals and aging. He explored how this food type processed in our systems. He found numerous things happening and began to explore the role of antioxidants in our foods.

It wasn’t until the 1980s and into the 90s that antioxidants were fully understood and identified as phytochemical food components. Scientists began to measure the adsorption and the therapeutic values of antioxidants. Antioxidants were coming of age and coming out of the closet.

WHAT ARE ANTIOXIDANTS AND WHAT DO THEY DO?

They are nutrients in plant based foods, known as phytochemicals and you find them in deeply colored fresh veggies and fruit. They have this power to destroy free radicals and turn them into waste that the body then eliminates.  Antioxidants go around our system finding cells to destroy and save you from disease, cancer and aging. Eating them as part of your main diet you will protect yourself from getting sick, you’ll find your skin is clearer and the whites of your eyes are brighter, plus your fingernails will be whiter too. The effects are everywhere and are seen through our skin, eyes and nails. You’ll not feel better; you’ll be healthier and stronger when it comes to fighting off illnesses and more.

What is this thing called a “free radicals?” It is a molecule with one electron missing, which leaves free radicals very unstable. As you might imagine they attack stable molecules taking their electrons and thus making that stable molecule a new free radical (unstable) and making a new free radical to damage the body. It’s a crazy/viscous cycle.

Antioxidants support our cardiovascular system, supports our healthy cells, boosts our immunity, slows down the effects on aging and recent studies suggest they assist in weight management as well. We need to eat the dark leafy greens, deep colored veggies and fruits knowing they will fight off the harmful molecules in our system and protect us from disease and cancer. Knowing all this, doesn’t it make more sense to eat a plant based food along with fruits and nuts? Our ancestors ate this way and I believe it is the way our God created us. He knew what we needed. Make a decision to eat raw and slightly cooked foods, less meat (or no meat), more beans and nuts to boost your health and slow down the aging process. I now know what antioxidants are and how they work in my system, which helps me, understand why the food I eat make me a healthier individual. I need to know the “why” so I can use it to my advantage and now you can too.

To your health,

Bill