What are Antioxidants and Why Are They Important?

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What are Antioxidants and Why Are They Important?

• http//www.nutrafruit.com.au

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• Everywhere you look today you will see something
  about antioxidant food, these magical somethings
  that have suddenly appeared in the most expensive
  food types to help us fight everything from aging
  to athletes foot. What are they? Why are they
  and are they really important? Are antioxidant
  recipes going to save us?

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What are antioxidants?

• Antioxidant covers a very wide range of molecules
  that are bound together by chemical bonds and
  have the ability to protect other molecules from
  oxidation.
• Oxidation can damage vital molecules in our
  cells, this includes our DNA and proteins, both
  of these are responsible for many essential body
  processes.
• DNA molecules allow cells to function properly,
  if too many become damaged, those cells can
  malfunction or die. Antioxidants help prevent or
  even reduce damage. In our body, uncontrolled
  oxidation is usually caused by free radicals,
  highly reactive molecules.

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What is oxidation?

• Oxidation is when electrons are transferred from
  one molecule to another. Electrons basically make
  up everything. When electrons move as a result of
  an oxidation reaction, the structure of the
  molecules is changed.
• Oxidation is a vital part of our life cycle and
  involves many important processes.
• Cellular respiration is where glucose becomes
  oxidised by oxygen as we breathe in. This is a
  life force reaction that produces energy to fuel
  our bodies, carbon dioxide and water.

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What are free radicals?

• Free radicals are molecules with unpaired
  electrons making them unstable and highly
  reactive. To become stable they need to balance
  their electrons by losing or gaining an electron.
• A free radical tries to steal an electron from
  some other molecule and starts a chain reaction.
  When this happens it can permanently change the
  structure of the molecules involved, causing
  irreversible damage.

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• Now when an antioxidant is present, it has a
  surplus of electrons so can donate an electron to
  any free radical. This immediately stabilizes it
  and stops the chain reaction. The antioxidant
  that has sacrificed itself is then oxidised
  instead, becoming a free radical. But the
  antioxidant has the ability to stabilize itself,
  even with an unpaired electron and so does not
  become reactive.

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Mother Nature is all about balance

• Free radicals are a necessary part of our makeup
  its the imbalance that is the problem.
• Our body uses free radicals as its mercenaries,
  part of our immune system uses some of the white
  blood cells called phagocytes to engulf any
  foreign bodies it finds that should not be there,
  it seals them off and sends in free radicals to
  destroy them.

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All antioxidants arent equal

• Almost all foods contain antioxidants, but some
  have much more than others. Our bodies also
  produce a number of different antioxidants.
• When a person has a healthy diet that contains a
  relatively high proportion on fresh fruit and
  vegetables, especially dark red, purple or orange
  varieties then you will be getting adequate
  amounts of antioxidants, this is the most
  effective way to ensure good health.

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• Antioxidants are a vital component of our bodies
  they only become a problem when there are many
  more of them that the body knows how to cope
  with. This is largely caused by man-made
  conditions such as pollutants and unnatural
  compounds introduced into our foods. Antioxidants
  are able to neutralize many toxins.

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THANK YOU

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• http//www.nutrafruit.com.au