Antioxidants and You

By now you have heard about antioxidants and how good they are for you. However, you may not be sure as to why they are so good for you. Antioxidants benefit your body in so many ways. They help maintain your immune system, help keep one looking young and fight free radicals that float around the environment, according to the book "Lipoic Acid, written by Richard Passwater, Ph.D. Free radicals result in 75 to 80 age-related diseases, such as heart attacks, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis and cataracts. This research also shows that antioxidants have the power to help maintain your body's immune system.

Giving your body the antioxidants it needs to be healthy is very easy. Vitamin supplements are a good way to get the antioxidants you need. Doctors recommend drinking Green Tea, because it's full of potent antioxidants called polyphenolic catechins. You may have heard of molecules like EC, EGC, ECG and EGCG. These four molecules work together to neutralize the free radicals within your body. In 1997, a study presented to the American Chemical Society, proved that EGCG was 100 times more potent than vitamin C, and 25 times better than vitamin E. The polyphenols in green tea increases the activation of the natural killer cells within our bodies called macrophages, B lymphocytes, T lymphocytes, also known as white blood cells. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration even produced an article in a 1996 issue of the FDA Consumer, about how good the polyphenols in green tea are for you and your body.

Grape Seed Extract also contains powerful antioxidants called OPC's. These are 20 times more potent than vitamin C and 50 more than vitamin E. OPC has other benefits called the antimutagenic effect, this inhibits the mutation of DNA. It is believe that many degenerative diseases are believed to come from the result of environmental mutagens, (substances that cause mutation), the OPC's in grape seed extract may counter act these mutagens.
OPC's have a cosmetic value as well; they are believed to protect collagen and elastin, which is the makeup of your skin. OPC's help restore skin that's been damaged or loses it's elasticity, which causes wrinkles and helps protect them from further damage.
.