24 October 2019
At this point, we all know that antioxidants are important, but do you know how they work? In simple terms, antioxidants are “good guy” molecules that can fight off free radicals, a bunch of “bad ones”. The latter are oxygen molecules that have split into single atoms with unpaired electrons. As electrons are like magnets and like to pair up with others, these free radicals scavenge your body looking for a partner. Alas, this process causes “oxidative stress”, something that damages your cells, proteins and even your DNA. Because of this, free radicals are associated with premature ageing as well as a string of diseases including cancer, Alzheimer's, asthma and diabetes.
Unfortunately, it’s challenging to avoid exposure to free radicals as, much like oxygen, they’re pretty much everywhere – in the air, the water, our food. What we can do, however, is load up on as many free-radical fighting antioxidants as we can. These help delay the ageing process as well as protect our bodies from the damaging effects of oxidative stress.
Read more in this month's newsletter: Harness the power of Antioxidants