The (Free) Radical Truth About Antioxidants

Let’s take a look at the functions of antioxidants and free radicals in our body!

The function of an antioxidant is to fight compounds that can exist in our bodies and that have the potential to damage our cells if they exist in excess. These harmful compounds also known as free radicals do have an important function in our body, such as aiding in inflammatory responses, which is the way our body begins to repair itself against infections and injury. So yes, you read that right, free radicals are needed to a certain extent.

So now you are wondering "how can I avoid having an excess of free radicals in my body?" and the answer is that sometimes it depends on our lifestyle, but sometimes it's out of our hands.

For example, pollutants and pesticides, and the aging process are not exactly things you can easily escape from. They are part of our environment and our life cycle, respectively. What you CAN do is to avoid smoking and to avoid places where there is a concentration of cigarette smoke. Also, having a healthy eating lifestyle that is full of antioxidants will help you counter those free radicals damaging effects in your body.

We encourage our community to intake food rich in antioxidants because unfortunately, free radicals are involved in several diseases processes from neurological disorders to cardiovascular illnesses. Asthma, Diabetes Mellitus, and different types of cancers are included as well (Phaniendra, Jestadi, & Periyasamy, 2015). This is due to an increase in oxidative stress that these illnesses cause in our body that is generated as a consequence of the presence of free radicals excess. For example, there have been studies that suggest that hyperglycemia in diabetic people promotes free radical formation. While in cancer patients, excess free radicals cause cell damage by harming and modifying the cell’s DNA, and promote rapid cancer cell replication.

If you're wondering how you can increase your intake of antioxidants in your eating lifestyle, fruits and veggies will do! All types of berries, grapes, oranges, papaya, watermelon, guava, pears, mango...the list goes on! The veggies that contain antioxidants are artichokes, beets, beans, kale, and spinach. Oh! and let's not forget about dark chocolate!

You really can find antioxidants in your food, so supplementing might not be necessary! Remember anything in excess can be harmful and we just need to find a balance between the antioxidants and free radicals that co-exist in our body. There are many antioxidant supplements out there, so discuss the use of any of them with your health care provider to avoid toxicity.

References:

Phaniendra, A., Jestadi, D. B., & Periyasamy, L. (2015). Free radicals: properties, sources, targets, and their implication in various diseases. Indian journal of clinical biochemistry : IJCB, 30(1), 11–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12291-014-0446-0

Lobo, V., Patil, A., Phatak, A., & Chandra, N. (2010). Free radicals, antioxidants and functional foods: Impact on human health. Pharmacognosy reviews, 4(8), 118–126. https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-7847.70902

This blog post is not intended to replace medical advice. Always speak to your health care provider for any advice and questions you may have regarding a medical condition.