Medical Questions » Anti Aging Questions » Question No. 1580
| Question: | Why are antioxidants so important for anti-ageing? |
| Answer: | Antioxidants are especially important for ageing because they quench oxidants, often called free radicals, that damage cells and DNA. Oxidants can cause errors in structure and function in cells and DNA that we generally call symptoms of ageing, such as declining vision, wrinkling skin, poor digestion, lack of energy, a decrease in cognitive function, worsening cardiovascular health and so on. You can slow down (perhaps even reverse!) this process from both inside and out using antioxidants. Oxidation occurs from converting food into fuel in the body, and even from breathing, but you speed this process up rapidly by smoking, eating fried and burnt foods or getting too much sun.
You can slow it down by taking in large amounts of antioxidant nutrients - vitamin A from carrots and tomatoes, vitamin C ffom fruits and vegetables (especially broccoli and peppers), vitamin E from seeds, nuts and fish and anthocyanidins from berries and red grapes. As well as eating these foods it' s well worth supplementing an antioxidant complex, the best of which contain all of these key nutrients. You can also take additional powerful antioxidants such as CoQ10 (30-60mg/day), alphalipoic acid (50-60mg/day) and pycnogenol from grape seed or pine bark extracts (50-100mg/day away from food). One of the most powerful antioxidants is the amino acid glutathione. The best antioxidant formulas also contain this. |
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