I am sure you have heard of antioxidants..but do you know what they are?
Antioxidants are mentioned and advertised everywhere. Everyone is told that they should be eating them and buying certain foods because they are high in antioxidants. How ever, when I talk to my clients, no one knows what they are or why they should be eating them. So let’s clear the air and give you guys some clarity on the topic.
Here is a quick and dirty summary to help you follow along. We are exposed to a lot of free radicals that can lead to cancer and chronic illnesses. Think of antioxidants as the pacman going around our body eating all of these nasty buggers before they harm us.
Not so fast though, keep reading, because there is more you need to know.
Free Radicals
Before we get into the details of antioxidants, we first need to understand what we are trying to protect ourselves from, free radicals.
Firstly, what exposes us to free radicals?
A few of the top exposures include:
- Smoking
- Toxins
- Pollution
- Sun (UV rays)
- Alcohol
- Infection
- Processed and fried foods
- Hydrogenated oils, trans fats
- Radiation
- Heavy metals
- Drugs
Free radicals are unstable molecules that enter our body, so as a result, once they enter our body they start looking for somewhere to steal an electron from in order to be satisfied and become stable. They can steal an electron from cells, membranes, proteins or enzymes. These effects that free radicals have are referred to as oxidative damage/ or oxidative stress. In the case of a cell or cell membrane, they have the ability to attach themselves to the inside of the cell, permanently damaging and altering the cell’s DNA. This means that when that cell replicates, as all cells do, it will create the same damaged cell. This will continue on until our body is hopefully able to find those cells, determine they are damaged and remove them.
In order for our body to do that, we need a strong immune system that is able to handle that task. As the number of damaged cells increase, our immune system becomes overloaded, and our inflammatory response increases. This is where a lot of damage can occur, and why we want to reduce our exposure to free radicals as much as possible. We also want to ensure our body is functioning optimally so that it can handle SOME oxidative stress.
Oxidative Stress, as a result of free radicals is linked to:
- Cardiovascular disease
- Diabetes
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Macular degeneration
- Parkinson’s
- Autoimmune disease
- Arthritis
- Irritable bowel disease
- Liver damage
- Memory loss, brain fog, fatigue
- Many more
Another reason to ensure our body is well balanced and functioning optimally, is because if it isn’t it can actually produce free radicals itself. Many toxins and free radicals can be produced as a result of a poorly functioning digestive system.
Surprisingly, there are such things as good free radicals. They are also produced by our body, but as a defense mechanism against invaders. Just as they can damage our cells, they can also damage the armour of invaders so that our body can fight it more easily.
Antioxidants
“Substances that can prevent or slow damage to the cells caused by free radicals” - Medical News Today
Antioxidants conveniently offer up electrons to the free radicals to prevent them from stealing electrons from cells and causing damage. In order for them to do this, there needs to be a variety of antioxidants in the body so that they can offer electrons when needed without becoming unstable themselves.
There are 5 key antioxidants needed for this:
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin C
- Glutathione
- Lipoic Acid
- Niacin
But it isn’t that easy. These antioxidants get worn out and need to be recycled, and for that to happen, they need a few other important nutrients.
- Carotenoid
- Flavonoids
- Selenium
- Sulfur
There is also another LONG list of antioxidants out there that you might hear about. Each of them has a more specific role in certain health conditions and illnesses, not so much everyday antioxidant effects, so I am not going to discuss them here today.
So now onto the good stuff.
How can I avoid those nasty free radicals to begin with:
- Get a healthy amount of sun daily but let’s try and cut down on the suntanning. Sunscreen will help prevent you from getting burned, but sun protection is the best way to protect yourself.
- Avoid using harmful cleaning products and personal hygiene products. Try switching to more natural products that don’t have harmful chemicals.
- Reduce or stop smoking. Advocate for your health when you are exposed to secondhand smoke, it is a free radical, so stop that exposure.
- Reduce consumption of alcohol, processed foods, fried foods, trans fats, and hydrogenated oils.
- Monitor your intake of foods high in heavy metals (this will be a future discussion point).
- Check out how well your digestive system is working. If you aren’t having a minimum of 1 bowel movement a day (ideally 2-3), or have bloating, gas, abdominal discomfort or food sensitivities, consider booking a consultation with me to see if you need some help balancing your systems.
What do you eat and drink to ensure you are getting the antioxidants you need to fight off those free radicals.
Luckily, there are a lot of foods that can provide us with antioxidant nutrients. There is a long list below for you guys to look through but to summarize it; fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and wholegrains. Basically, try and eat things that are as close to their natural state (as they were grown) as possible. For example, kale chips will not provide you the same number of antioxidants that raw kale would.
Antioxidant Kings
- Dark leafy greens
- Citrus fruits - oranges, lemons, limes, tangerines, grapefruit
- Acerola cherries
- Papaya
- Cantaloupe
- Berries
- Green peppers
- Broccoli
- Brussel sprouts
- Tomatoes
- Asparagus
- Cabbage
- Onions
- Oily fish
- Whole grains
- Nuts- brazil nuts
- Seeds
- Flaxseeds
- Matcha
- Green tea
- Raw green beans
- Sprouts
- Goji berries
- Mint
- Turmeric
If you have any questions or concerns about the content, you will have an opportunity to ask questions this month during one of the two video chats. Otherwise, please feel free to comment on the chat board, the coinciding Instagram post or contact me directly via email or Instagram.
Sources:
https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/antioxidants-in-depth
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/what-do-we-really-know-about-antioxidants#Antioxidants-in-food-vs.-supplements