Antioxidants!! Why you can’t get enough!!
By: Kimberly Adams
Antioxidants have become such a buzzword lately, haven’t they? They are touted as being in everything from berries to chocolate to my personal favorite – coffee! What exactly are “antioxidants” and what are their benefits?
Antioxidants are a variety of nutrients that build a wall against free radical damage. Free radicals are produced in the body as a byproduct of utilizing oxygen to produce energy. We produce certain free radicals for specific use in our bodies but most are formed unintentionally and cause damage that leads to arthritis, cancer, heart disease, accelerated aging, and many other diseases and disorders associated with aging. Free radicals cause oxidative stress, hence the term, “anti-oxidants.” Antioxidants neutralize free radicals and can help to prevent and/or repair some of the damage they cause.
Some causes of free radical damage include:
Aging
UV Rays
Radiation – X-Rays
Cigarette smoke
Pollution
Chemicals in water
Chemicals in food
Fried, broiled or blackened foods
Stress
According to Bruce Ames, Ph.D., it is estimated that the nucleus in every cell sustains 10,000 “hits” of oxidative attacks by free radicals EVERY DAY. To help explain further, the nucleus of each cell has a set of paired electrons. Free radicals “steal” an electron from an otherwise normal cell which starts a cascading effect as each subsequent cell does the same thing to try to retain its balance. The problem is that when one cell steals another cell’s electron, it just doesn’t function quite as well as it did with its original partner. It would be similar to a couple that loves to go dancing and they dance beautifully together. Now, imagine that they go dancing one night but have an argument. They decide to steal another’s dance partner which causes everyone else to do the same thing. However, with their new partners, they just don’t work as well together. They step on each other’s toes and stumble over each other. Not quite as graceful as they were with their original partner. This is similar to free radical damage. It starts a cascading effect which alters the cells and this altered state is what causes most disease and aging. Cancer is spread by this cascading effect.
This is why the need for consuming antioxidants has never been greater. Antioxidants help to neutralize free radical damage by donating or contributing electrons to cells to curtail or prevent the cell from stealing another’s electron and causing the damage.
Antioxidants from our Food
Our systems are being attacked much more than in the past due to our environment, food supply and lifestyles. We need to protect our cells with as many antioxidants as possible. We need to begin by eating as healthy as possible and trying to obtain as many antioxidants that we can from our foods. Just do a google search for “foods with high antioxidant content,” and you will find hundreds of sites that have calculated or done studies to determine the antioxidant value of foods. Many times, it is based on the ORAC content which stands for Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity. This method was developed by scientists at the National Institute of Health.
It is important to eat locally grown produce as much as possible because food has its greatest nutrient content when it’s ripe so the less time between harvest and your belly, the better. Since most of our food is picked unripe and then shipped across country, it’s no wonder the nutrient value is a lot lower than it used to be. Consider the fact that a 100g serving of spinach contained 150mg of iron in 1958 but by 1973, that was down to 2.2mg! Or the fact that soil contains 84 nutrients, but farmers are only required to replace 4 of them. Unfortunately, unless you are growing your own food in your backyard like my Italian immigrant grandparents, your food does not have nearly the nutrients that it did years ago. It is, therefore, recommended that we also use high quality supplements to ensure an adequate arsenal of protection.
Antioxidant Supplements
The traditional sources of antioxidants are Vitamins A, C, E and Selenium. These sources are becoming the dinosaurs of antioxidants as much more powerful nutrients are being discovered. For example, vitamin E contributes one electron to vitamin C’s two electrons to help combat free radical damage but look weak in comparison to the 50 electrons that the Power House Antioxidants contribute. What is important to understand is the synergistic effect that combining antioxidants provides. By combining A, C and E with the below, you increase the efficacy and power of both types so the more the merrier!
Power House Antioxidants
OPC’s
This stands for a long word called Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins – that’s why we call them OPC’s! OPC’s are bioflavonoids (complex organic plant compounds) found in fruits, vegetables and certain tree barks. The strongest sources of OPC’s are in grape seed extract, Martime pine bark (pygnogenol), red wine extract, and bilberry extract.
Resveratrol – is a natural antioxidant that comes from red wine. You would have to drink too much wine, however, to receive the benefit of this antioxidant so better to take in supplement form. Preliminary animal studies show much promise in preventing or slowing down the growth of cancer cells with this baby.
ORAC
A good ORAC supplement should contain at least 3000 ORAC units in the form of high-ORAC value foods such as blueberries, cranberries and elderberries. As mentioned above, ORAC refers to Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity, which is a method for measuring the antioxidant capacities of different foods, and how many oxygen radicals a substance can absorb.
Acai Berry - is harvested from the rain forests of Brazil and is said to contain some of the highest levels of antioxidants on the market, with studies showing up to 33 times the antioxidant properties as red wine grapes. The dense pigmentation of açaí has led to several experimental studies of its anthocyanins, a group of polyphenols that give the deep color to fruits and vegetables and are high in antioxidant value.
The above are some of the most powerful antioxidants that we know of today. As the quest for health and the demand for holistic approaches to disease increases, I’m sure that the research will continue and our options will increase. Stay tuned.
Advice on selecting supplements
This is one area where you get what you pay for. To benefit from supplements, you have to make sure that you are buying a quality one without fillers and binders. Below are absorption rates for various types of supplements:
Pill – pressed tablet – 10 – 90%
Capsule 30 – 75%
Liquid 75 – 80%
Isotonic 90 – 95%
IV – 100%
Also, please make sure to check with your doctor before you take any supplements. They may not be able to tell you if it will help you but just ask, “Will this hurt me?” Many supplements are herb based as are pharmaceutical drugs so interactions are possible and it is best to check if you are currently taking any kind of medications.
Kim Adams, CPA, CFP is also a nutraMetrix® Consultant, a Transitions® Lifestyle Coach, a Competent Toastmaster with Toastmasters International, a co-author in The Power of Mentorship for the Home Based Business and a co-star in a movie called “The Journey” that features Brian Tracy, Bob Proctor and other successful leadership experts. She can be reached at kimberlybadams@gmail.com.