Everyone has seen rust and how ugly it makes things look. It weakens and often prevents proper functioning of the item or tool. So what do we do?  We apply a rust inhibitor, something like WD40. What caused that rust to begin with? Oxidation. For example, when iron is exposed to moisture and oxygen it causes a chemical reaction and forms free radicals. It is called a catalytic behavior. A chemist looks at it this way.

The same process takes place in our bodies.  Scary? You bet!  When oxidants do their destructive job on our cells, all kinds of physical problems begin to show up, including, but not limited to, cancer.

Thanks to Mother Nature and of course medical research, we have a solution that is found in our food and supplements. Antioxidants are the substances or nutrients in our food that can prevent or at least slow down the oxidation damage that occurs in our body.  Our body cells use oxygen and they naturally produce what is called “free radicals” as a by-product. Free radicals can cause real damage. So we introduce antioxidants to our system which act as “free radical scavengers” and helps prevent and repair the damage the free radicals are doing.  Our health is vital to us and problems such as macular degeneration, diabetes, heart disease and cancer are caused in part by oxidation damage. Antioxidants enhance immune defense and therefore lower the risk of infection and cancer. Antioxidants can also minimize the effects and stress of smoking and sunburn.  

So where do we find antioxidants? A great place is in fresh fruits and vegetables. Also an abundant amount is found in beans and grain products. Look for bright colored fruits like the orange color in cantaloupe, butternut squash, mangoes, tomatoes, watermelon, and the purple in blueberries.

There are several antioxidant supplements that we can take. Just ask your local health food store or a whole foods market for an antioxidant supplement.