What
is the Role of Antioxidants?
The role of
antioxidants is to neutralize free radicals. Antioxidant
molecules have the ability to lose electrons without
forming a chain reaction. Antioxidants react easily with
oxygen and protects the other neighboring cells from
damaging reactions with oxygen. They quench free radicals
and promote healthy cells.
Without
antioxidant protection from free radicals you age faster,
develop stiff joints and wrinkle your skin sooner. Some
diseases associated with aging such as arthritis,
circulatory disorders, heart disease, and diabetes can
also be caused by free radicals.
Antioxidants
that Protect Our Cells:
- Vitamin C
-- Shaklee Vitamin C releases high potency essential
vitamin C continuously.
- Vitamin E
-- Derived from soybean oil.
- Vitamin A
(Beta Carotene) -- Made from organic Pro-Algantene, a
carotene-rich algae concentrate. Clinically proven to
be better than carrots at raising beta carotene levels
in the blood.
Article
on Antioxidant Activity of
Herbs
:
Researchers B.
Halliwell, et al., from the University of London King's
College and Nestec Research Centre in Lausanne,
Switzerland present a detailed description of "the
characterization of antioxidants" in a recent paper
published in Food Chemicals Toxicology. The
article is from the perspective of a food industry, and
the authors point out that the antioxidants "protect the
human body against damage by reactive oxygen species
(ROS)." "The relative importance of various antioxidants
in vivo depends on which ROS is generated, how it is
generated, where it is generated, and what target of
damage is being measured." Antioxidants can be very
specific. Cigarette smoke causes lipid peroxidation in
blood. Vitamin C inhibits this damage by cigarette smoke
to blood lipids, but not cigarette smoke damage to
proteins. Some antioxidants inhibit the ROS formation,
while others bind with and inactivate them.
Most of the
major herbs used today have good antioxidant effects.
Ginkgo makes the blood cells and blood vessels more
flexible by reducing oxidation of the cell walls.
Bilberry, an antioxidant for the eyes, shows identical
effects on microcirculation as ginkgo. Milk thistle
protects liver cells from damage by toxins. "Grape seed
extract, pine bark extract, reishi mushrooms, ginger,
ginseng, and garlic all have antioxidant effects as do
the major active phytochemicals in vegetables and fruits:
broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, berries, melons,
etc."
[Halliwell,
B., Aeschbach, R., Loliger, J., and Aruoma, O.I. "The
Characterization of Antioxidants." Food Chemical
Toxicology, 33:7, 601-617, 1995.]
Article
on Antioxidant Protection from Echinacea:
Alarming
increases in skin cancers are being found through
increasing solar radiation. Photodamage is the oxidative
damage to the skin caused by UV radiation. Scientists in
Italy invented a protective effect of polyphenols from
echinacea against free radical damage. Echinacea can be
used for the prevention and treatment of photodamage of
the skin. Collagen, the main connective tissue of the
skin and extremely sensitive to UV damage, loses its
contractile properties when damaged. This results in skin
wrinkling and roughness. Echinacoside and a class of
specific antioxidants known as caffeoyl derivatives are
the focus of current study. The authors comment: "The
results of this study, strongly support the view that
extracts from echinacea species can be used for the
prevention of skin photodamage, and since the commonly
used echinacea extracts local concentrations of the
compounds might be obtained by topical application."
[Facino,
R.M., M.Carini, G.Aldini, L.Saibene, P.Pietta, and
P.Mauri. 1995. Echinacoside and caffeoyl conjugates
protect collagen from free radical-induced degradation: a
potential use of Echinacea extracts in the prevention of
skin photodamage. Planta Med. 61: 510-514.]
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