Antioxidants have received a lot of hype over the past few years, but few people actually know what these substances are or how they work. Antioxidants are dietary substances that significantly slow or prevent the oxidative (damage from oxygen) process. Antioxidants prevent the chemical reaction oxidation, which enables molecular fragments called free radicals to join together. Free radicals are created when body cells burn oxygen, when you eat unhealthy food, or when exposed to environmental factors like tobacco and radiation. These free radicals are unstable molecules that have a missing electron; they can damage body cells and tissues, and may play a role in heart disease, cancer, and other diseases. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals by donating an electron which results in the prevention or repair of damaged body cells.
Antioxidants are found in many everyday foods that contain the following vitamins and minerals:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Beta-carotene
- Lutein
- Lycopene
- Selenium
Antioxidants are more plentiful in fruits and vegetables that are dark in color like blueberries and kale. Many fruits and vegetables are rated on the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) scale. The higher the ORAC value, the more valuable the antioxidant potential of the food.
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