Everybody these days is talking about healthy nutrition. And antioxidants are all the rage. Antioxidants are well known for their reputation for improving overall health and wellness. Their benefits are well documented, and numerous studies have shown them to assist with everything from anti-aging to anti-cancer. Antioxidants protect the body by neutralizing free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules that harm the body. In this article, we take a look at the Top 10 Proven Health Benefits of Antioxidants.
What Are Antioxidants?
Antioxidants are compounds that help to prevent cell damage by neutralizing free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules that can cause damage to cells and DNA, and they’re always around us in our environment.
In the body, antioxidants work to destroy these free radicals before they can damage cells. They donate an electron to the unstable molecule, which helps stabilize it and makes it less likely to react with other molecules around it.
Top 10 Proven Health Benefits of Antioxidants
These are the 10 proven health benefits of antioxidants.
Help Fight Free Radicals
Antioxidants are essential because they help fight free radicals and prevent them from damaging cells. Free radicals are unstable molecules that can cause damage to DNA and cells, leading to premature aging. Free radicals can be produced by the body in response to exercise, exposure to pollution, or a poor diet. Even if you are eating a healthy diet, it is possible that you are not getting enough antioxidants.
Antioxidants prevent free radicals from damaging your body by neutralizing them before they can do any harm. The best way to get antioxidants is through fruits and vegetables since they contain many different antioxidants that work together to protect your body from free radicals.
Prevent Neurodegenerative Disorders
Neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s are characterized by the progressive loss of neurons in the brain. Antioxidants may help prevent these diseases by reducing free radical damage to DNA and cell membranes.
Antioxidants also reduce oxidative stress in the brain, improving cognitive function in older adults. A recent study found that people who took antioxidant supplements for three months had improved memory compared to those who did not take the supplement.
Improve Fertility in Women
Improving fertility in women is very important, and antioxidants help achieve this in many ways. Antioxidants can protect the body against free radicals and prevent them from damaging the reproductive system. Antioxidants are essential for women who are trying to conceive. Poor nutrition and stress can increase oxidative stress in the body, making it harder for a woman’s body to produce healthy eggs that lead to pregnancy and healthy babies.
Antioxidants have been shown to improve fertility in women by improving egg quality and reducing oxidative stress in the ovaries. These nutrients may also help reduce common fertility problems such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, irregular menstrual cycles, and other causes of infertility.
Reduced Cholesterol Levels
Antioxidants can help to reduce your cholesterol levels. This is especially true of antioxidants in polyphenols, such as flavonoids like epicatechin and catechin, which have been shown to decrease LDL cholesterol levels while increasing HDL (the good kind) by up to 10%.
When you eat foods high in antioxidants, your body uses these compounds to defend against free radicals and other toxins. This can lower your heart disease and stroke risk by helping to prevent plaque buildup in your arteries. The more antioxidants you consume, the more likely you will be able to lower your LDL cholesterol levels.
Stabilizes Blood Pressure
A study published in the Journal of Hypertension found that people with high blood pressure who took antioxidant vitamins for three months had lower blood pressure readings than those who did not. Antioxidants help to reduce high blood pressure by preventing damage to the lining of arteries caused by free radicals. This reduces their chance of becoming clogged with fatty deposits, leading to heart disease and stroke.
Heart Health
The best way to protect your heart is to eat a diet that includes antioxidant-rich foods. The best antioxidant supplement may help prevent heart disease in two ways. The first is reducing the risk of atherosclerosis, or plaque buildup in your arteries. Plaque buildup can lead to blood clots and heart attacks if not treated in time.
In addition, antioxidants may reduce other risk factors for atherosclerosis, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Antioxidants may also lower your risk for stroke by helping prevent blood clots from forming in the brain or coronary artery.
Good For Skin and Hair
Antioxidants are essential for maintaining healthy hair and skin. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps protect against sun damage, while vitamin E helps keep your skin’s elasticity. Beta carotene is the best antioxidant that helps fight the effects of aging, such as wrinkles and other signs of premature skin aging. It also protects against sun damage and helps reduce skin cancer risk.
Whereas it helps prevent hair loss and breakage. It also protects your hair from the damaging effects of the sun by avoiding sunburned, dry, or brittle hair. We can get antioxidants from foods such as berries, red and yellow bell peppers, broccoli, kiwifruit, and spinach. However, you can also take it in supplement form.
Improve Digestion
Antioxidants are believed to improve digestion. Antioxidants help your body break down foods in your stomach, which helps to make sure that your body absorbs the nutrients in your food. If you are having trouble digesting food, antioxidants might be an excellent way to help with that.
Antioxidants can also be helpful when you are trying to lose weight. Many people decrease their weight when they start taking antioxidant vitamins tablets. One reason is that antioxidants help your body burn fat more efficiently. Another reason is that antioxidants can help you feel fuller, which helps you eat less. Antioxidants are essential for your health and well-being.
Eye Health
Eye health is essential to overall health, and studies have shown that antioxidants can help prevent and treat conditions. Antioxidants help prevent macular degeneration and cataracts, two serious eye diseases that can lead to blindness. AMD occurs when tiny blood vessels in the retina, which send light signals to your brain, become damaged by free radicals that are generated by exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun or other sources.
They also reduce the risk of glaucoma, which causes optic nerve damage and loss of peripheral vision. Glaucoma is an eye disease that occurs when the fluid pressure inside your eye increases. This pressure can damage the optic nerve at the back of your eye, resulting in vision loss. With early detection and treatment, most people with glaucoma can maintain good vision for many years.
May Reduce Inflammation
Antioxidants have been shown to reduce inflammation in the body’s response to injury or infection in several studies. They may also help protect against cancer and heart disease. These substances have also reduced symptoms associated with inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. Additional studies have shown that antioxidants can improve joint function and reduce pain.
Conclusion
It has been found that high intakes of antioxidant-rich fruit and vegetables are associated with a reduced risk of many cancers. Antioxidants help to neutralize the harmful effects of free radicals in the body, thereby helping to protect tissues from damage. As part of a healthy balanced diet, eating fruits and vegetables high in antioxidants and maintaining an active lifestyle can make a massive difference to your health.