In recent years, free radicals and antioxidants become common terms when discussing about the development of modern disease. Almost all diseases are related to free radical reactions. When the body’s antioxidant capacity is insufficient to fight free radicals, oxidative stress will occur, which will further aggravate the severity of diseases.
What is the relationship between free radicals, antioxidants and oxidative stress?
Free radicals are highly reactive and unstable molecules that are naturally produced in the body as a by-product of metabolism or through exposure to environmental toxins such as smoking, air pollutants and ultraviolet rays. Free radicals are molecules with unpaired electron. Thus, they will always be looking for another electron to stabilize themselves. They will “steal” an electron from another molecule, and the molecule will lose an electron becoming a free radical, and so on. This eventually form a vicious circle.
Our body produces its own antioxidants as a defence system against free radicals by giving up some of their own electrons. By doing so, they help break the chain reaction that may affect cells and other molecules in the body. However, our modern lifestyle, such as excessive consumption of processed foods, exposure to a variety of chemical substances, and lack of exercise increase the production of free radicals and overwhelm the body’s ability to fight free radicals.
When this happens, our body is said to be facing oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is very serious as it means that the molecules and cells in the body are being severely oxidized. It damages the molecules that make up the body’s structure such as DNA (nucleic acid), proteins, lipids, cell membranes, etc. and eventually induce diabetes, age-related eye diseases, neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other related complications. The progression of the disease or the treatment of the disease, such as drugs, radiation, or chemotherapy further weaken the antioxidant system.
Therefore, food-derived antioxidants are extremely important for enhancing the body’s ability to fight free radicals. The popular antioxidant such as vitamin C, E, selenium, phytonutrients such as flavonoids, anthocyanins and etc have been scientifically proven to be more effective against free radicals. The best sources of these antioxidants are different kinds of fruits and vegetables. But nowadays, people’s intake of fruits and vegetables is insufficient, so there are many health supplements on the market that extract antioxidants components from specific fruits and vegetables.
The golden principle in choosing antioxidant product is to opt for a formula that contains multiple sources, because no one antioxidant will fit all conditions. Multiple antioxidant blend will provide a wide spectrum protection over oxidative attack.