What Do Antioxidants Actually Do?
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Antioxidants serve as a powerful first line of defense against damage to your cells from aging, stress, and inflammation. Moreover, antioxidants appear to contain cancer-fighting properties and to support the immune system (among many other benefits).
Many, many foods, especially colorful vegetables, contain a range of valuable antioxidants. We've listed a few of the most potent and popular choices for each class of antioxidants. Here, we'll go through the most important ones.
What Do Antioxidants Do?
Antioxidants are molecules that capture free radicals, or harmful oxygen atoms, that occur in response to normal body processes and environmental conditions. Even the simple act of digesting your food produces free radicals.
Over time, an overabundance of free radicals can slowly damage healthy cells, and then healthy tissues and eventually organs. You want to minimize the damage as much as possible, and antioxidants can help protect you.
Your body can make some antioxidants, and you get others from food.
Antioxidants can be broken into two general categories: antioxidant enzymes, and antioxidant nutrients, which include vitamins, minerals and the various "noids" are listed below . . .
