How Do Antioxidants Work?

How Do Antioxidants Work?

Antioxidants work by inhibiting oxidization at the cellular level. They are molecules in the human system that stop the oxidation process from happening in other molecules. Let's explore how this actually works.

If your body were made of metal it might get rusty

Using this analogy we can think of a piece of metal that is exposed to the elements. It is not treated with a protective varnish of any kind. 

Because of this, the weather will soon cause the metal to corrode or rust. Those little brown rust spots are actually a chemically activated chain reaction. 

In the human body this is known as the oxidation process and the "rust spots" are called free radicals. Oxidation can cause cells to become diseased or even worse die. 

Antioxidants stop the chain reaction caused by the free radicals and prevent the oxidation damage from ever happening.

Antioxidants need to work together

Antioxidants work together to keep our system balanced, healthy, and vibrant. Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E all contain certain antioxidant properties and along with certain enzymes are critical to good health. 

Without this balance of vitamins, enzymes, and antioxidants, the cells in the body can suffer oxidative stress, which attacks and kills cells. 

This in turn has been linked to many diseases, which include several different types of cancer as well as neurodegenerative disorders.

Oxygen is involved in oxidation, so how can that be bad? 

Most forms of life on earth needs oxygen to live, however oxygen can produce a reactive process that will break down molecules without protection from antioxidants. 

Cells that suffer from extreme inflammation, such as muscles, are at high risk of breakdown and oxidative stress. This condition can eventually lead to DNA damage and protein damage causing mutations and cancer.

Antioxidants are widely used

While there are a wide variety of dietary supplements that contain antioxidants, there are also several other industrial uses for them.

Antioxidants 

- work to prevent people from having motion sickness 

- are used to keep gasoline from degrading 

- are used as food preservatives by most large food production companies 

- are used in the vulcanization process of rubber

There is a debate among clinicians as to the overall effectiveness of antioxidant use in dietary supplements. Some medical experts claim that overuse of antioxidants in the system can be harmful.

No matter what the arguments are, there is no denying that knowing how antioxidants work is beneficial to our general health knowledge. 

They are an important part of our system. To learn more about Antioxidants and how they can help you Click Here

Edward Rosenberg is a professional health and nutrition expert. He has studied and researched dozens of various products over the past 4 years. 

For complete in-depth research about antioxidants and how they can help you Click Here

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