Antioxidants and Your Well Being

Have you ever wondered what your body is made up of? Have you ever stopped and thought about what our body uses to regenerate itself? It is the food we eat. You already know a lot about maintaining your good health. You know you should eat a balanced diet, and that you should be exercising, or at least adding more activity into your days.

Sleeping regularly is essential, too. Without a good night's sleep, your immune system won't work as well, and you will be at greater risk for catching a cold or the flu.

But let's be honest, knowing what to do is not the same as doing it. Few of us eat an essential and balanced diet every day. We often take the elevator instead of the stairs, we cruise around to find a close parking place rather than take the opportunity for a little walk, and we let stress, work, social gatherings and more interfere with the amount of sleep that we're able to get each night.

When your immune system starts to falter because you're not taking care of yourself, you may not notice right away. But soon enough, you'll feel sluggish, which not only slows you down but ages you prematurely.

Luckily, you can counteract some of these effects, maintain your vigor and reduce the risk of disease by adding antioxidants to your diet.

Antioxidants are compounds found in plants that help prevent cellular damage (oxidation) and repair it when it happens. Vitamin C, Vitamin E, selenium, lycopene and resveratrol are all examples of antioxidants that are found in fruits and vegetables. You can slow the cellular damage that leads to disease by adding fruits and vegetables with these antioxidants to your diet.

Antioxidants neutralize free radicals in your body. Excess free radicals are generated when you eat less healthy foods, drink alcohol, smoke or expose yourself to stress.

Free radicals act at a molecular level to damage DNA and other cell structures. Antioxidants in your body inactivate the free radicals. They are also useful in damage repair. A cell that is damaged by free radicals may die, malfunction or reproduce uncontrollably, such as in a tumor.

Fighting back against free radicals isn't hard. Just add more fruits and vegetables to your diet!

Free radicals are a natural by-product of your metabolism and you can't eliminate them completely. But you can keep them under control by eating food rich in antioxidants. Interestingly enough, the colors of fruits and vegetables (blue, purple, red, orange) are often caused by the antioxidants in them, so your strategy for boosting your antioxidants is to choose the brightest colors. To get a healthy range of antioxidants, eat a rainbow of bright-colored fruits and vegetables.

For some of us it is about eating well. For others, it is about eating better. As you improve your diet your whole life will improve. Food is essential to better health. Explore, experience, and sample new fruits and vegetables and your life and health will change forever.

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