25 Jan
All cells need oxygen to live and function properly. But is the same oxygen which can be responsible for damaging cells through a process known as oxidation. When oxidation occurs “free radicals” are formed with have the ability to damage cells. Free radicals are substances that contain unpaired electrons due to the fact they have either lost or gained an electron. Free radicals occur due to infection or inflammation, certain environmental conditions such as smoking or air pollution of exposure to pesticides and insecticides. When free radicals are allowed to do damage over prolonged periods of time they can lead to diseases such as cancer. Antioxidants are vitamins, minerals and sometimes enzymes which are used to reverse the affects of oxidation to some extent. In this article we are going to explore what antioxidants do, how they work to benefit us and what are some of the best sources of antioxidants.
WHAT DOES AN ANTIOXIDANT DO?
Our bodies need a constant supply of antioxidants... [Read more...]
Tags: Antioxidants, Benefits, Health
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14 Jan
Antioxidants are all the rage now a days. With the increased amount of knowledge, information and data available about antioxidants, the public is becoming more aware of why we need to include antioxidants in our diets. Our bodies are made up of thousands of unique combinations of substances and chemicals most of which have been identified through medical science. However, understanding what these chemicals do in our bodies is a different story completely. The term antioxidant was originally used for a chemical that prevented the consumption of oxygen. Now it is more commonly known as a chemical that reduces the rate of oxidation reactions.
Antioxidants have been around for millions of years originally adapted from marine life and plants. Now we know that antioxidants are widely available in food sources such as fruits, vegetables, meats, grains and are also made within the human body. Oxygen is one of the valuable substances that are necessary for sustaining life. However, oxygen is also... [Read more...]
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8 Jan
Vegetables are known to have substantial amounts of natural antioxidants that neutralize free radicals that are harmful to the body. This is one of the reasons why we are often advised to include a lot of vegetables into our diet and obtain balanced eating habits. Having a balanced diet will help improve your health a lot, and would literally save your life.
Researches have shown that vegetables can repair damaged cells and prevent several forms of degenerative disease. It is very important to eat a lot of vegetables regularly and take advantage of its natural antioxidant properties. Cell damage is something that we cannot avoid due to the high levels of pollution that we are exposed to everyday.
Not all kinds of vegetables have equal amounts of natural antioxidants. Some vegetables actually contain more natural antioxidants in them than most vegetables. In addition, cooking also affects the amount of antioxidants in vegetables. For example, cooking tomatoes can actually boost its amount... [Read more...]
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4 Jan
Understanding Basic Antioxidant Science
Q. What are antioxidants?
Since the earliest times of the food production industry scientist have observed that common foodstuffs when left exposed to normal room conditions deteriorated over time leading to spoilage and waste. Results from scientific experimentation suggested that it was the oxygen in the air that caused foodstuffs to deteriorate. In looking for means to prevent or preserve common staple foodstuffs from degradation or spoilage, trial and error research ultimately lead to the discovery of certain natural substances that increased foodstuff stability. Based on their observations and results these early scientist concluded that these natural substances must contain chemical components that reacted directly with oxygen, hence the name antioxidant was born. Today, we now know from many years of ongoing experiments and analytical evaluations that most antioxidants (A.O.) do not directly react with oxygen but instead react... [Read more...]
Tags: Antioxidants, Nutrition
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28 Dec
Although there are many different types of muscular dystrophy they all involve the degeneration and weakening of muscle tissue and most are associated with well defined genetic variants.
The degree to which genes influence the age of onset, severity and course of the disease depends on the type of muscular dystrophy that affects the individual. As scientists continue to discover genes related to specific diseases they are finding that we all have different levels of gene-based predispositions to many different degenerative diseases like cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, they have also established that the onset and severity of these diseases are strongly affected by environmental factors like diet, smoking, and occupation.
Because of the strong genetic influences that characterize muscular dystrophy it is only recently that researchers have begun to look at non-drug strategies to treat this group of diseases. At the moment antioxidants are attracting the most attention... [Read more...]
Tags: Antioxidants, Dystrophy, Muscular, Treatment
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