Antioxidants

Can Antioxidants Protect against Illness & Premature Ageing?

Antioxidants mop up damaging chemicals in the body and guard against many chronic diseases. Heart disease, arthritis, cancer and many other common chronic diseases derive from the same source: fortuitous mutations, caused largely by free radicals. Under optimum conditions, our cells are protected against the free radicals and lipid peroxidation.

There is a complex defense system in the body, in which vitamins, minerals, amino acids and certain enzymes play a central role. This defense is called the antioxidant system. Antioxidants are substances which react chemically with free radicals and render them harmless. At the same time they break the vicious circle which involves the decomposition of fatty aids and proteins, the creation of new free radical and eventual cell death. Known antioxidants include:

• Vitamins A, C, E, some of the B vitamins, Beta-Carotene, canthaxanthine
• Co-Enzyme Q10 (ubiquinone/CoQ10)
• Selenium
• Zinc
• manganese
• Amino acids (e.g. L-Carnosine)
• Certain medicines

Each and every one of us can protect our cells from decomposition by ensuring that we receive sufficient antioxidants daily.

Researchers now consider that the following diseases are caused or aggravated by free radicals and lipid peroxidation: