Natural Antioxidant Supplement

What Are Antioxidants?

Antioxidants are like Santa's little helpers when it comes to boosting your immune system. More specifically, they're molecules that directly counteract the harmful effect of free radicals. Free radicals, in turn, are the toxic byproducts of life and our environment, created through stress, exercise (!) and eating unhealthy foods but also pollutants, exposure to the sun and other factors that start the oxidative process in your body.

This process puts strain on your cell membranes, and has the power to damage or even kill cells. Antioxidants directly counteract this by strengthening cell membrane integrity or disrupting the formation of free radicals. Some antioxidants are well-known, such as famous "good for all that ails you" vitamin C, while others, like popular sleep aid melatonin, are less known yet pack a considerable antioxidative punch.

Since the antioxidants work directly against this kind of cell death, they are increasingly touted as the magic bullets for preserving youthful-looking skin. Sure enough, it seems pretty obvious that a type of supplement that directly combats the impact of aging would have great benefits on looks and health alike. No wonder the "magic creams" found at the world's cosmetic counters are packed with antioxidants.

Overdosing And Negative Effects

The conclusion should be simple enough then: Buy every brand of antioxidant you can find and chug as much as you can manage, and immortality and eternal youth is just an arm's reach away, right? Unfortunately, things aren't that simple. In fact, some studies show that reckless antioxidant supplementation can have a downright negative impact on your health.

Some antioxidants, like the aforementioned vitamin C, are water-soluble and are almost impossible to overdose. Others, like vitamin E, are fat-soluble and can make you quite sick if you consistently overdose it for an extended period of time. The conclusion is simple enough, then; everything in moderation.

Where To Find Natural Antioxidant Supplements

A "supplement" can be interpreted as just a capsule or a "functional food," ie. a food product extremely high in the desired nutrient. Since capsules can be expensive and in many case quite "unnatural" with the added risk of potential impurities (Chinese imports have been found to cause quite a few scares lately,) we'll focus on the functional food angle.

For antioxidants, this means a lot of basic fruits and vegetables. Oranges may be the classic vitamin C carrier, but black currant has four times the amount of vitamin C per gram. Red pepper has almost that much. Kiwi is between the two, hovering at about twice the punch of oranges.

Vitamin E is a popular "fortification" vitamin for cereals and whatnot, but if you're going the natural route, leafy green vegetables, most kinds of nuts and vegetable oils are the way to go.

Carotenoids, a precursor to vitamin A, is another powerful antioxidant found in sources like carrots and winter squash. The effect can be further boosted by combining the intake with avocados, as the absorption rate has shown to be vastly increased.

Polyphenolic antioxidants, in which group flavonoids belong. This particular flavor of antioxidant is one of the main reasons you keep hearing about the benefits of green tea, wine, dark chocolate and most citrus fruits such as grapefruit.

Of course, there are supplement manufacturers that take pride in producing liquids and capsules with as unprocessed and undamaged antioxidants as possible, so you're not doomed to juggle an armful of semi-exotic foods every day if you just don't have the time. However, make sure to research the brand and don't expect bargains; if it's as cheap as the run-of-the-mill Chinese import bottles, odds are the quality isn't much better.