It seems that since the start of time people have been searching for the elusive fountain of youth. As we age we all want to look and feel younger and continue the childlike energy that we grew up with. Could it be that the fountain of youth has been with us forever and we just didn’t understand it?
Science has demonstrated that the cause of the majority of age-related deterioration, most diseases and other disorders are caused by free radicals. A free radical is a vastly unstable molecule that is created during oxidative processes inside the body. A free radical is actually a molecule that has an unpaired electron. Since on the whole processes in our bodies require oxygen we are incessantly creating free radicals. The oxygen molecules that we take in are often compromised due to environmental pollutants, cigarette smoke and even the natural processes of our bodies similar to digestion. When the oxygen molecule loses an electron it will stabilize itself by pinching an electron from another molecule. This is what creates a free radical.
The unpaired oxygen molecule, or free radical is a very variable factor. In excessive quantities it can create many problems within our bodies. We cannot avoid free radicals totally and we in fact don’t want to because our bodies require a few free radicals for various functions but when they appear in undue quantities they become very injurious to our cells and they play a role to assorted disorders in including some serious diseases and decline from aging.
But nature has provided a solution for us. Antioxidants are potent nutrients that are found in the healthiest foods in nature. Antioxidants come into our bodies and they supply the missing electron to the free radical thereby stabilizing it and preventing further damage. That is why a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other healthy foods is a fountain of youth. Foods high in antioxidants soothe free radical damage in our bodies. Antioxidants lessen the quantity of free radicals in our bodies and therefore contribute greatly to the strong, vibrant youth that we long to sustain.
The retardation of free radical damage by antioxidants is a constant process. It is actually a cycle and more free radicals are created as the other free radicals are neutralized. For that reason antioxidants must be frequently replaced in our bodies. The most excellent and safest method to consume antioxidants is through the utilization of a healthful diet. A bare minimum of 5 fruits and vegetables should be consumed daily and 8 to 10 servings of healthful produce is even better.
The Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) is a manner of measuring antioxidant of different foods. A food is measured and given a number that corresponds to the antioxidant capacities of that food. Some of the peak ORAC scores have been found with berries, including blueberries and cranberries. One of the peak ORAC scores ever discovered belongs to the acai berry that is grown in the forests of Brazil.
To increase your antioxidant intake it is judicious to consume a significant range of healthy foods. One solo antioxidant will not give you the same results as many. The power of antioxidants comes from the synergy of the nutrients. They match each other and grow to be stronger when united in concert. That is one explanation why it has been established that it is much more useful to get your antioxidants from food and diet rather than supplements.
The fountain of youth that we have been searching for has been with us all along. We just didn’t know it. If you want to stop much of your age related weakening you should eat a large selection of nourishing antioxidants in your diet.
