Antioxidants: A Must Have For Your Health
The term ‘antioxidants’ has created a lot of buzz in the world of health and wellness. A quick online search will give you hundreds of results with lists of foods and supplements that are antioxidant-rich. But do you really know what that means?
Few people are familiar with what exactly antioxidants are, let alone how they work within your body. But don’t worry, we’re here to clear things up for you. Let’s start with the basics.
What Are Antioxidants?
By definition, antioxidants are natural or man-made substances that can prevent or delay some types of cell damage. Generally, antioxidants are molecules that help fight off unstable molecules like free radicals within your body. We know, that sounds a little technical, so let us break it down for you.
Let’s start with what exactly free radicals are. Without getting too technical, free radicals are atoms that contain an unpaired electron, which makes them unstable. As a result, these unstable atoms are on a mission to become stable by finding another atom to steal an electron from. This theft makes the original atom stable but destabilizes the one that was stolen from, causing it to become a free radical. This chain reaction continues and results in something known as oxidative stress, which can cause damage to your body’s cells and tissues.
So where do free radicals come from? There are a number of lifestyle and environmental factors that contribute to the formation of free radicals, including air pollution, radiation, toxins, certain medications, and muscle and tissue injuries.
In an ideal world with a perfect diet, active lifestyle, no exposure to environmental toxins, and sheer luck, your body would be capable of handling the load of these free radicals. However, we don’t live in an ideal world. Lucky for us, antioxidants can help give our bodies a helping hand in the fight against oxidative stress.
So how do they work? Antioxidants have the unique ability to donate an electron to unstable molecules without becoming unstable themselves. By donating an electron, antioxidants are able to neutralize free radicals and end the electron-stealing cycle to reduce oxidative stress on the body.
Benefits of Antioxidants
By neutralizing free radicals and reducing oxidative stress, antioxidants come with a variety of benefits for your body. Here are just a few.
Encourages Healthy Aging
Many of the physical signs of aging, such as the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, can be accelerated by oxidative stress. Providing your body with plenty of antioxidants can help slow down the hands of time so that you look younger, longer.
Supports Brain Health
Oxidative stress can cause damage to any cell in your body, including your brain cells. Antioxidants combat this, which can help keep your mind sharp and memories clear.
Promotes Eye Health
Oxidative stress can take a toll on your eyes and contribute to the deterioration of eyesight that many people experience as they age. By neutralizing free radicals, antioxidants can help promote eye health by helping by protecting your eye cells from being damaged by oxidative stress.
Defends Immune Function
As your body’s first line of defense against pathogens, the last thing you want is for the cells that make up your immune system to be damaged. While they can’t prevent all types of damage, antioxidants can help defend your immune cells by fighting off free radicals that may otherwise harm them.
How To Get Enough Antioxidants
Certain vitamins, minerals, and phytopigments function as antioxidants, which means you can get a variety of these important compounds directly from your diet. Most natural foods like fruits, vegetables, and nuts are well-known for containing some of the most popular antioxidants. To better understand exactly what foods you should be looking for, here’s a closer look at some of the most common antioxidants and which foods you can get them from.
- Vitamin C: Arguably the most popular antioxidant out there, you can get vitamin C from a variety of foods, including oranges, cantaloupe, berries, broccoli, kale, tomatoes, cauliflower, and so much more.
- Vitamin E: This is another vitamin that is known for its antioxidant properties. Foods that are rich in vitamin E include spinach, kale, peanuts, almonds, and sunflower seeds. Some natural oils like sesame and canola oil are rich in Vitamin E.
- Beta Carotene: This antioxidant phytopigment is what gives certain plants their yellow or orange color. It is commonly found in fruits like mangoes, apricots, papayas, and peaches as well as veggies like carrots and sweet potatoes.
- Chlorophyll: Another antioxidant phytopigment is chlorophyll. This green pigment is abundant in foods like spinach, collard greens, broccoli, asparagus, kiwi, green grapes, and algae.
- Selenium: This is an antioxidant mineral that can be found in animal products like fish, chicken or beef, cheese, and eggs. It is also found in wheat products like bread, pasta, rice, and corn.
In addition to your diet, you can also provide your body with plenty of antioxidants by getting them in supplement form. With so much of the food that is available in the grocery stores today being processed or synthetically created, it can be difficult to make sure your body is getting all of the antioxidants it needs to keep up with the free radicals in your body. This is where adding an antioxidant supplement to your routine can help.
But keep in mind that not all supplements are created equal. When shopping for your new antioxidant supplement, take the time to read the labels to help ensure you are getting the best product available. Check the ingredients list to ensure that the supplement is all-natural, and look for safety and quality certifications like NSF’s Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and USDA certified organic. This way, you’ll be able to rest assured that your antioxidant supplement doesn’t contain synthetic or low-quality ingredients that may do more harm than good.
Harness the Power of Ancient Antioxidants With Earth
There’s no doubt that antioxidants play an important role in keeping your body as happy and healthy as possible. Give your body the support it needs to combat free radicals with Wild Earth from New Earth.
This all-natural supplement is made from a proprietary blend of sprouts and algae that combines Earth’s most ancient sources of antioxidants into a single supplement to provide antioxidant support to every system in your body.
The best part? You can put it to the test risk-free with our 90-day money-back guarantee.
At New Earth we are on a mission to positively impact the health of every body and soul we come in contact with. We specialize in producing third-party certified, organic whole food supplements including a variety of probiotics, and digestive support. Our supplements feature a rare, yet highly nutritious superfood, Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA). Also known as organic Wild Microalgae®, AFA is a unique type of microalgae that is available in many forms including tablets, capsules, and powders all designed to help you on your journey to holistic wellness. The best part? We offer a 90-day money-back risk-free guarantee on all of our products. Visit our website to learn more.
