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If you want to know how antioxidants work, picture yourself as the president, a king or queen, a movie star, or another well-known figure. A threat to your safety could pop up at any time - and that's why you have a team of bodyguards surrounding you. If a source of danger comes your way, your bodyguards are trained to swoop in and get between you and this threat. Your protectors are willing to suffer the consequences themselves, just to keep you from getting hurt. Every day, the DNA in each cell in your body faces about 10,000 attacks from cell-damaging forces known as free radicals , which are unstable oxygen molecules that have lost an electron. They are naturally produced as your body turns fuel to energy, but you also get them from pollution in air and water, stress, smoking and radiation from the sun. These volatile molecules cruise around your body trying to stabilize themselves by stealing electrons from other molecules. When they succeed, they create still more free radicals, causing a sort of snowballing procession of damage. They don't just occasionally pop up here and there. Up to 5% of the oxygen that each cell uses is converted into free radicals. Free radical damage is thought to play a role in the accumulation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and the lining of your artery walls. This can lead to a narrowing of the arteries called atherosclerosis, which contributes to heart disease. And when free radicals damage DNA inside the cells, the results can be cell mutations that lead to cancer. Free radical assaults on your eyes may lead to cataracts and macular degeneration, which are common causes of vision loss in people over 50 years of age. Researchers think that free-radical damage - also called "oxidative stress" - play an important role in Alzheimer's disease. And many scientists believe that free radicals are the primary force behind aging itself. Free radicals can develop and quickly attack your cells faster than the blink of an eye. And unless something is immediately available to "step in," this free-radical free-for-all can cause irreparable damage. That's where antioxidants come in. Remember that analogy, in which you where a famous person preyed upon by harmful threats? Those bodyguards forming a human shield around you are the oxidants in your system. Every time you eat fruits, vegetables, or other antioxidant-rich foods, a flood of these protective compounds enters your bloodstream. They travel throughout your body, stepping between your body's healthy cells and the pillaging free radicals, offering up their own electrons to neutralize them and keep your cells out of harm's way. The Big Antioxidant Nutrients Just as your body produces free radicals, it also produces antioxidants. Some of these are enzymes created solely to squelch free radicals. But these defenders can be overwhelmed if you're under serious attack - from car exhaust or cigarette smoke, for example - and they may be insufficient to handle rising levels of free radical attacks as you get older. Every day, a small percentage of free radicals slip past your natural antioxidant defense, allowing them to do damage. That's why you regularly need to call in the reserves to supplement your own forces: antioxidant compounds from your diet. There are literally hundreds of natural food compounds that act as antioxidants in your body. Though researchers are investigating new antioxidant compounds every day, most scientific study has focused on three types in particular - vitamin C and E and carotenoids. There is no doubt that antioxidants play a crucial role in reducing the risk for all kinds of diseases," says Roc Ordman, PhD, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin. "The published scientific evidence is simply overwhelming." Adrian Joele became interested in nutrition and weight management while he was an associate with a nutritional supplement company. Since 2008 he wrote several articles about nutrition and weight loss and achieved expert status with Ezine Articles.com. He has been involved in nutrition and weight management for more than 12 years and he likes to share his knowledge with anyone who could benefit from it. He enjoys helping other people solve their problems. There is no better way to protect yourself against free radical damage than to take a multi vitamin from USANA Health Sciences. Get his free report on nutrition by visiting: http://www.nutrobalance2.net Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Addrian_Joele
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