Super antioxidant foods
Antioxidants tend to be most plentiful in plant foods (although there are exceptions, such as wild salmon). Often the antioxidants are the pigments that give fruit and vegetables their colour. It’s one of nature’s great synergies that these colourful chemicals serve not only the plant but also humans who eat the plant. To understand why antioxidants are so crucial for good health we first need to see how some other chemicals known as free radicals affect you.
Cell-damaging free radicals
Free radicals are highly reactive molecules that travel around the body, attaching and binding to other molecules. This starts a destructive chain reaction, turning any molecule they come in contact with into an unstable free radical. Free radicals cause damage to proteins, DNA and other cells throughout the body.
When free radicals accumulate, oxidative stress occurs, which is associated with the development of chronic diseases such as cancer, atherosclerosis, heart disease, inflammatory conditions, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Free radicals building up in the body over time is also one of the major causes of ageing. Free radicals break down collagen and decrease the skin’s suppleness and elasticity, which leads to wrinkles and premature skin ageing.
What causes free radicals
Various environmental and dietary factors can increase the presence of destructive free radicals. These include
