The Health Benefits Of Antioxidant Fruits

It has been proved beyond doubt that antioxidant fruits are beneficial to health and well-being. However all antioxidant fruits do not provide the same level of health benefits. It could be said that some antioxidant fruits are more equal than others. They have a higher percentage of antioxidants and offer more health benefits than some of the other fruits. Some fruits may offer you nutrients along with antioxidant properties, while other fruit may have only vitamins.

The human body is designed to derive its energy requirements by utilizing oxygen as well as nutrients as fuel. However oxygen, though it does provide a lot of benefits and has a lot of positive effects, could possibly be accompanied by a negative ripple effect. When oxygen is processed in the body by a process known as oxidation, there is a simultaneous production of oxygen byproducts known as free radicals. The highly reactive free radicals may cause a certain amount of damage to cells. The antioxidant substances that are present in antioxidant fruits work by neutralizing these free radicals. In this process they are prevented from causing any damage.

The Benefits of Antioxidant Fruits

With so much being said in recent times about antioxidants and health benefits they provide people are becoming more and more aware of this radical substance. By now everybody knows that citrus fruits are rich in Vitamin C and apples have a high beta-carotene content. A daily diet that focuses on a high consumption of antioxidants helps give the body a stronger defense mechanism in its fight against free radicals and consequently oxidative stress, which is damage that free radicals cause. Many scientists have linked the process of oxidative stress to the development of degenerative and chronic diseases including cancer and heart disease.

Including cereals, vegetables and fruit in your diet give you additional benefits that you would not get if you took antioxidant supplements. Scientists suspect that this could be due to the fact that the consumption of antioxidant fruits in the form of food probably creates a combination of antioxidant substances that are lesser known but just as potent. These antioxidant combinations would probably have an effect that was far greater than that provided by any individual antioxidant supplement or any single nutrient.

In one of the recent Journal of Nutrition issues, the analysis of the antioxidant content of many different antioxidant fruits was published. According to the charts, strawberries, sour cherries, blue berries, crowberries, black currants, raspberries and black berries had the highest antioxidant content of all fruit in the berry family. Other important antioxidant fruits include grapefruit, plum, pomegranates, kiwi, lemon, orange, grape, dates, pineapple and Clementine. Broad beans were first in the list in the legume category, whereas walnuts occupied first place in the nuts category and sunflower seeds were second. Other foods that are rich in antioxidants include barley, red beets, kale, corn, red cabbage, ginger, chili pepper and millet.

Natural Antioxidants

Over the years man has depended on nature as his main source of nutrients that are essential for his well being and good health. Plants are the main source of our food as well as our medicines and we depend on them almost completely so that the body can develop to its full potential while at the same time also decreasing the incidences of degenerative diseases.

Scientists have recently discovered the substance that is responsible for some of the many health benefits that man has been deriving from plants. Vegetables as well as fruits appear to contain certain chemical substances that react with specific, harmful molecules that are present in our bodies and stop them from causing any damage to our cells. These substances have come to be named natural oxidants because they mainly work on free radicals, which are by-products of oxygen.

The body is protected against free radicals by natural oxidants. Of the many functions that natural antioxidants perform, one of them is to prevent the occurrence of cellular damage that is brought about by free radicals. The oxidation process that our body undergoes when we breathe produces chemical substances that are highly reactive. These chemical substances are called free radicals.

When they are released, free radicals immediately get latched onto other molecules and steal their electrons. This results in the molecules turning as unstable as the free radicals themselves. A rapid chain reaction soon ensues and if left unattended this can lead to numerous other degenerative diseases including Alzheimers disease, heart disease, memory loss, cancer, Parkinsons disease and stroke.

The primary sources of natural antioxidants are plants. The human body is incapable of producing the natural oxidants that it needs. That is the reason why we are solely dependant on our diet so that our body gets the necessary amount of antioxidants.

Some of the more well-known natural antioxidant groups include carotenoids, indoles, coumarins and catechins. All of these are complex compounds and are present in almost all plants. Carotenoids form the biggest group of antioxidants that occur naturally, closely followed by coumarins and indoles. Catechins are antioxidants that occur naturally in the plant Camellia sinensis, which gives us our black tea, oolong tea as well as green tea.

The most commonly found and well-known natural antioxidant within the carotenoid group is Beta- carotene. Another name for the antioxidant Beta carotene is Vitamin A, which is an essential vitamin that plays an important role in preventing damage to the eye. This natural antioxidant provides support to the immune system, increases lung capacity, supports healthy levels of cholesterol and potentially reduces the risk of skin damage from sun exposure. Some studies have been done that prove beta-carotene is also good for a healthy heart.

The natural antioxidants that are present in catechins help promote health by giving the immune system a boost thereby lowering the chances of infection. Catechins are also great inducers of weight loss.

Anti Aging Antioxidants

Extensive studies have been done on cell division in the human body and these show that cells can divide for a certain fixed number of times during the lifetime of a human being. Based on these studies scientists have concluded that most of the cells in the body will have finished using about 50% of their quota of cell-divisions by the time a person reaches the age of 20. Furthermore, by the time a person reaches the age of 40, the cells will have used up about 70% of their cell-division quota and have just 30% remaining. This explains why a person undergoes the physical changes that they do on the outside as well as the inside of the body as they age.

When these cells eventually use up the cell divisions that were naturally allotted to them, it results in the death of the person. This is an unavoidable occurrence that cannot be stopped. However scientists have discovered a way that this process may be retarded. Researchers have raised everyones hope by finally succeeded in finding a way to rejuvenate the lifespan of the cells and rejuvenate them.

So what are the causes of aging?

In recent days a large amount of scientific research is focused on trying to find a solution to the age-old dilemma of aging. From these studies it appears that the main culprits are free radicals- the higher the number of radicals that are present in your body, the more rapidly your body ages.

Free radicals are unstable, harmful substances that are a product of oxidation, a process that occurs naturally in the body. By themselves free radicals do not cause any harm. In fact, free radicals could benefit your body in some ways. The only problem with them is that they are incapable of distinguishing between harmful molecules and unhealthy molecules. This means that the possibility is very high that your healthy cells could also be attacked by them, causing massive tissue damage as well as cellular damage. This could eventually result in various chronic disorders or diseases, including aging.

Anti Aging Antioxidants The Answer to Aging

The anti-aging-oxidants discovery has finally given Scientists a breakthrough in their continuous search to find the perfect solution to aging. Anti aging antioxidants are very distinct substances whole only function is acting on free radicals and preventing them from causing any damage to cell tissues. Though anti aging antioxidants substances that occur naturally, the body is incapable of producing them without any help. In fact human beings are dependant on plants for getting their supply of anti aging antioxidants.

Vegetables such as carrots, squash, potatoes, cabbages and cauliflower are the main sources of vitamins that behave like anti aging antioxidants.