Antioxidants Your armour against disease

Anjali Mukerjee

Oxygen, the stuff that gives life, can also steal life and become destructive. A good oxygen molecule has its electrons paired up and is stable. The environmental pollutants such as smog, toxins, herbicides, pesticides, food additives, radiation, cigarette smoke, rancid oils, prescription drugs, etc. enter our bodies and make the oxygen molecule unstable, creating a ‘free radical’ or a bad oxygen molecule with a missing electron. These unstable oxygen molecules go to war in the body, causing cellular destruction. Every time a free radical stabilizes itself by attacking another cell (for want of an electron), it damages that cell. That cell, in turn, damages other neighbouring cells (in an effort to stabilize itself), creating a chain reaction. This is a process called oxidation. This is the process that precipitates age and degenerative diseases.

The only way to snuff out or stabilize the free radicals is to neutralize them with the help of antioxidants. Actually, these antioxidants aren’t new. We just know more about them now than we used to. There are thousands of antioxidants found in nature particularly in fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs. Antioxidants are also found in seafoods and in some animal foods. The human body can also manufacture a small number of antioxidants like glutathione and coenzyme Q10.

If one is living life in moderation, exercising regularly and eating whole unrefined, unprocessed foods, then his body is capable of handling the free radical assaults. But what we have today in the metros is a situation where we end up with more free radicals than our bodies can handle. These free radicals are the cause for oxidative stress to the body which leads to damage, disease and eventually death.

It is primarily due to this that antioxidants are an important armour against disease and aging. The three basic antioxidants are Vitamin C, E and beta-carotene. These antioxidants help you stay healthier and they stop or slow down the oxidation process by neutralizing the free radicals. They make other antioxidants like selenium, bioflavinoids, PCOs (Proanthocyanidins), etc. more effective as they work hand in hand with each other.

Vitamin C: It is one of the most powerful antioxidants and it enhances the benefits of most other antioxidants. A regular intake of about 500 mg of Vitamin C would help lower the cost of medical care because of its benefits in preventing disease and increasing immunity. Vitamin C helps reduce risk of cancers, cataracts, cardiovascular diseases and hypertension. It helps to increase resistance against pollutants and helps manufacture white blood cells and interferon, which are the soldiers of our body. Vitamin C helps reduce allergy symptoms and is helpful in the treatment of asthma and it helps strengthen blood vessels.

Beta-carotene: When you eat just one carrot a day you get 15,000 IU of beta-carotene and also the entire spectrum of carotenoids. The body uses beta-carotene to make Vitamin A which helps boost the immune system, improves rate of wound healing, improves skin quality, prevents dryness of skin, prevents hair loss, and reduces cancer risk.

Vitamin E: Protects the blood vessels. It thins the blood and prevents strokes. It prevents oxidation of ‘bad’ cholesterol LDL and thus lowers risk of atherosclerosis. It dissolves existing clots. It helps protect the lungs against pollution and is a powerful wound healer. It prevents growth of breast tumours and reduces cancer risk. A dosage of 100IU to 400IU a day is recommended in order to get protection against heart attacks. But because Vitamin E is fat soluble, it is concentrated in vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, whole grains and wheat germ. It is virtually impossible to get 400IU just by way of food. You will have to eat eight cups of almonds or eat six pounds of wheat germ or impossible amounts of peanuts to get the recommended dose and that is a lot of calories. Therefore, it is wise to take it in the form of supplements, which are available as alpha tocopherol.

A word of caution here. People who are taking blood thinning medications should avoid taking Vitamin E supplements.

By feeding your cells with antioxidants, you can revitalize them, make them powerful and this will, in turn, give you the basic insurance to live a longer and healthier life.

The writer is a nutritionist and founder-director Health Total