What’s an antioxidant vs. what is an antiradical?
You may be aware that squeezing lemon or lime juice on a salad or fruit salad will keep it from oxidizing or turning brown. In a sense, the lemon or lime juice is like an antioxidant to prevent your body from oxidizing or turning brown. Antioxidants are the anti agers of the nutrient world working to protect your body
from oxidative stress. It is estimated that every cell in our body takes 10,000 oxidative hits to its DNA daily! These hits can come from chemicals in our environment, breathing, or from sunlight. It is antioxidants that work to counteract that damage caused by free radicals. Antioxidants and antiradicals are found mostly in fruits and vegetables such as berries, broccoli, spinach, and green tea. These antioxidants protect plants and consequently us, when we consume
them.
Antiradicals are molecules that neutralize free radicals in our bodies. Free radicals are highly reactive and short-lived uncharged molecules that have an unpaired electron. Since electrons like to be in pairs, these unpaired varieties seek out other electrons so they can become a pair. When they pair up with electrons in
our bodies it causes damage to cells, proteins, DNA, by stealing an electron. This process has been linked to various human diseases including cancer, atherosclerosis, neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and premature aging.
