The Shield That Defends Your Cells

Aging. It's something none of us can fully escape, but some of us age faster than others. Have you ever wondered why that is? Why is it that some people in their 60s and 70s seem to look and feel younger than people 10 or even 20 years their junior? Aging is a complicated process, but one of the major factors that contribute to this process is the amount of oxidative stress the body has accumulated over the years.

Oxidative stress, like chronic inflammation, causes a lot of damage to our bodies over time but luckily antioxidants exist to act as a shield to defend our cells from the damaging effects of oxidative stress.

So What Exactly Are Antioxidants?

You may have heard of antioxidants and know they're supposed to be good for you but you may not know why or exactly what an antioxidant is. To fully understand we first need to understand what a free radical is.

Free radicals are molecules in the body that are missing an electron which makes them highly unstable and reactive. This causes them to attack cells and molecules in the body for the purpose of stealing an electron so they can become stable again. However, when they steal an electron this causes the molecule being attacked to become unstable and turn into a free radical themselves, causing a chain reaction. This process can heavily damage, or even kill, cells. When these free radicals damage the cells in our body, this is what's known as oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress accumulates over time and can be at the core of a host of different diseases from diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's, and autoimmune disorders.

Thankfully, there is a way to protect against oxidative stress which brings us to antioxidants. Antioxidants are molecules that have electrons to spare so they can donate electrons to free radicals without becoming unstable themselves. This stops the chain reaction and protects our body from the ravages of oxidative stress. Antioxidants help keep us healthy, young, and disease free.

How Do I Get More Antioxidants?

Your diet is absolutely key to ensuring you get enough antioxidants to defend against free radicals and the oxidative stress they generate. Some of the best sources of antioxidants are plant based foods you might already suspect such as: berries, beets, swiss chard, garlic, spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, lemons, oranges, grapefruits, bell peppers, tomatoes, avocados, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, etc.

Incorporate more raw plant based foods especially in juices and you'll ensure you age gracefully and stay healthy, happy, energetic, and disease-free.