Free radicals "attack" your cells by stealing electrons away from them. This process of taking electrons away from other cells is referred to as oxidation. According to the free radical theory, aging is caused by the oxidation of your cells. So if that's the case, what do you think would be needed to prevent this from occurring; ANTI-oxidation, the opposite of oxidation, right? And what do you think has the ability to cause anti-oxidation?
ANTIOXIDANTS
Surely, you must have heard this term before. As the name suggests, their purpose is to prevent the oxidation of your cells. They are your cell's bodyguards. They are molecules that can repair cell damage caused by free radicals, by diminishing the impact of oxidative stress. When they scavenge free radicals, they have the ability to stop them from causing widespread destruction in your body.
For this to occur, they act as a shield and protect your cells from free radicals. Not only do they give one of their own electrons but they also allow themselves to be oxidized instead, putting an end to the free radicals oxidation process chain reaction. When they lose one of their own electrons, they do not become free radicals themselves as they are able to remain stable, even though an electron is now missing. In essence, these free-radical fighters protect your body from all its degenerative effects.
For you to get a clearer and more concrete understanding of the oxidation process, you can do a very quick and simple experiment. You have probably experienced this before but have never paid full attention to what was truly happening:
Take a fresh apple and cut it open. Leave one half on your kitchen counter for several hours... What happened to it? Well, you probably noticed that after a while, this half turned brown. This is the oxidation process in action.
Now, take some lemon juice and squeeze it on the other half of the apple before actually leaving it on your kitchen counter. Several hours later, what have you noticed? Chances are, you have noticed that unlike the previous half, this one has been preserved! The browning or rotting either significantly slowed down or stopped altogether. Why? Because lemon juice is known to contain a powerful antioxidant: Vitamin C.
Similar to the apple oxidation process, inside our bodies as well as our skin deteriorate in the same fashion if not preserved properly.
Quite scary wouldn't you say?
The good news is that some of them are already naturally produced by our bodies. That's a relief! BUT... Although this may be true, often this production is insufficient to handle the accumulation of free radicals over time. Under those circumstances, this insufficiency becomes even more important as we are continuously at risk due to external sources such as: our lifestyle, our bad eating habits, our environment and so forth and so on... That being said, the higher the level of free radical buildup in your body, the more antioxidants will be needed to fight them and to protect your body and skin from deteriorating and showing signs of aging.
For this reason, it is crucial to reduce free radicals in your body in order to slow down the aging process, both externally (your skin) and internally (your cells).
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Most people do not seem to realize that it is mainly our lifestyle that is the biggest factor that affects the degree to which free radical damage occurs in our cells.
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There has been a lot of "hype" concerning antioxidants and their benefits to the skin. Keep in mind that aging is a natural process of life. Hence, they (unfortunately) do not have the ability to completely eliminate fine lines or other sign of aging! Certain visible symptoms simply cannot be avoided. Nonetheless, although they cannot completely eliminate them, they surely have the ability to help significantly decrease the rate at which they begin to appear. If you are in your thirties and you are starting to worry about staying beautiful and looking young, this is definitely music to your ears!
Thus far, do you see how antioxidants play an important role? One question that may pop into your mind right now is, "What is the best way to take them?" As you may already know, they are normally ingested orally, meaning in what you take in through your mouth. But did you know that you can also take them in directly through your skin? Yes, your body can benefit from them in 2 different ways; first, from what you eat; second, from topical applications.
To learn more, read my articles entitled "Sexy Skin Revealed" and "Antioxidants To Feed Your Skin".
If you found this article helpful and would like to read more of Nadine's articles and tips on how to look and feel great in your thirties, visit her blog at http://www.naturalglowingskinover30.com/.
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