The Benefits Of Antioxidants In The Diet
Probably you are aware of the news about antioxidants and their importance to good health and
proper nutrition. It seems the more scientists learn about antioxidants, the
more their value and potential increases.
Antioxidants have shown promise in everything from preventing heart
disease to slowing the degeneration of the eyes and brain.
Antioxidants
work in a fairly straightforward way.
What makes them so effective is their ability to neutralize a group of
highly reactive, highly destructive compounds known as free radicals.
The
production of free radicals is a normal bodily process, and it is part of the
process of breathing and living. Free
radicals are normally neutralized by the body’s natural defense system,
rendering them harmless.
However,
anything that weakens the body’s natural defenses weakens its ability to fight
off these free radicals. Those weakening
agents include environmental pollution, excess UV radiation and even excessive
consumption of alcohol.
When
free radicals are not properly neutralized, the body is left open to
damage. Free radicals can damage the
structure and function of cells in the body, and recent evidence suggest that
free radicals contribute to the aging process and may play a role in a great
many illnesses, including cancer and heart disease.
While
vitamin supplements containing antioxidants such as vitamin C can be important,
there is no substitute for a healthy diet.
It is estimated that foods contain more than 4,000 compounds that have
antioxidant qualities. Eating a healthy
diet is the only way to take advantage of these antioxidant properties.
In addition to the well known antioxidants
like vitamin C and vitamin E, healthy foods like fruits, vegetables and whole
grains also contain lots of lesser antioxidants. Scientists are only now discovering the
important role these lesser known antioxidants have in keeping the body
healthy.
Let’s
examine some of the dietary sources for the major antioxidant vitamins.
Vitamin
C
Vitamin
C is probably the most studied of all the antioxidant vitamins. Also known as ascorbic acid, vitamin C is a
water soluble vitamin found in all bodily fluids, and it is thought to be one
of body’s first lines of defense against infection and disease. Since vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin,
it is not stored and must be consumed in adequate quantities every day. Good dietary sources of vitamin C include
citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruits, green peppers, broccoli and
other green leafy vegetables, strawberries, cabbage and potatoes.
Vitamin
E
Vitamin
E is a fat soluble vitamin that is stored in the liver and other tissues. Vitamin E has been studied for its effects on
everything from delaying the aging process to healing a sunburn. While vitamin E is not a miracle worker, it
is an important antioxidant, and it is important that the diet contain
sufficient amounts of vitamin E. Good
dietary sources of this important nutrient include wheat germ, nuts, seeds,
whole grains, vegetable oil, fish liver oil and green leafy veggies.
Beta-carotene
Beta-carotene
is the nutrient that gives flamingos their distinctive pink color (they get it
from the shrimp they eat). In the human
world, beta-carotene is the most widely studied of over 600 carotenoids that
have thus far been discovered. The role
of beta-carotene in nature is to protect the skins of dark green, yellow and
orange fruits from the damaging effects of solar radiation. Scientists believe that beta-carotene plays a
similar protective role in the human body.
Sources of beta-carotene in the diet include such foods as carrots,
squash, sweet potatoes, broccoli, tomatoes, collard greens, kale, cantaloupe,
peaches and apricots.
Selenium
Selenium is one of
the most important minerals in a healthy diet, and it has been studied for its
ability to prevent cell damage.
Scientists see this ability to protect cells from damage as possibly
important in the prevention of cancer, and selenium is being studied for
possible cancer preventative properties.
It is important to get the selenium you need from your diet, since large
doses of selenium supplements can be toxic. Fortunately, selenium is easily found in a healthy diet. Good sources of dietary selenium include fish and shellfish, red meat, whole grains, poultry and eggs, and garlic. Vegetables grown in selenium rich soils are also good sources of dietary selenium.