What to know about taking antioxidants for good health?

According to a common belief, one should focus on including as many fresh fruits and vegetables to diet as one can. Our diet should also consist of meat, dairy products, fish and whole grains. What is the actual reason behind including these foods in to diet? What are antioxidants?

As the name suggest, antioxidants are substances that cease or prevents oxidation in human body. Oxidation is a process that a human body undergoes in order to break down cells.

Many health experts believe that eating a diet rich in antioxidants can prevent many diseases such as cancer. It develops immunity in the body and even stop infections.

Carotenoids are known to be the most common type of carotenoids. These are widely found in vegetables. Carotenoids are also responsible for giving vegetables, rich, deep colors. Some specific fruits such and vegetables are known to be high in antioxidants.

These include spinach and apricots. Fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin E and C are known to contain good amount of antioxidants.

How antioxidants work in your body?

Understanding about free radicals will let you know a lot about the functioning of antioxidants. The normal functioning of cells in your body tend to produce a by product. It takes shape of damaged molecules known as free radicals.

As soon as free radicals are released from your cells, these free radicals collect parts of other cells in order to survive. However, this also does not work for long and the cells cause damage. The damage spreads throughout the body.

Damage of cells in the body results in a type of chain reaction.

This means that healthy cells may lose their strength and die away. Free radicals can kill off older cells that require being replaced from the body so that they can easily attack germs and parasites.

The negative side of this process is that your body is at risk of damaging too many cells unless you are doing something to keep tabs on free radically and proper functioning of the body. This is certainly not good for your body.

Antioxidants are fabulous when it comes to preventing the risky process of cell damage in. your body. In case, you are not feeding your body with adequate antioxidants, there is a risk of damaging healthy living cells in your body.

Your body also becomes more vulnerable to illnesses and infection.

Feeding your body with good amount of antioxidants will allow it to repair the damage done to the cells. This is because antioxidants facilitate delay of oxidation in the body. You will feel better.

Including the following in your diet will help you give your body a good dose of antioxidants:

1. Colorful vegetables and fruits
2. Green tea
3. Tomatoes
4. Nuts
5. Seeds
6. Olive oil

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