If you have dipped a toe into the health and wellness world over the past few years you have undoubtedly heard about the mythical power of antioxidants. But what exactly are antioxidants? Put on your scientist hat, because I wanna get TECHNICAL (definitely just sang Olivia Newton John out loud…IYKYK).

Let’s get technical

Alright, so antioxidants are micronutrients found in foods that have the power to neutralize free radicals and other dangerous toxins in the body. A free radical is an oxygen-containing molecule (hence the name antioxidant) that is unstable and actually attacks body tissue, leading to inflammation in the body. Simply put, a free radical molecule is missing one of its electrons, so it goes on a rampage through the body to find an electron, destroying healthy tissue in the process (yikes!). Antioxidants, on the other hand, are the selfless heroes who sacrifice one of their own electrons to calm down the free radicals (Murray & Pizzorno, 2012).

The process of forming free radicals is called oxidation, and can occur from exposure to air pollution, cigarette smoke, pesticides, processed oils, trans fats, heavy metals, prescription drugs, and UV light or radiation. This oxidative stress has been linked to many serious diseases such as cancer, metabolic disease, diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, and neurodegenerative diseases such as parkinson’s (Liguori et al, 2018). So that’s not good news.

Now, oxidation is a natural process that an antioxidant-fueled body can easily keep in check. The problem arises when free radicals are formed too quickly and our antioxidant army can’t quite keep up. So who exactly makes up this antioxidant army?

The Big 5 that we hear the most about are:

Vitamin C | Vitamin E | Vitamin A | zinc | selenium

Let’s look at where we can find and build our army!

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Sources

Liguori, I., Russo, G., Curcio, F., Bulli, G., Aran, L., Della-Morte, D., . . . Abete, P. (2018). Oxidative stress, aging, and diseases. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 13, 757-772. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.jccc.edu/10.2147/CIA.S158513

Antioxidants: The Big 5 Defense Team