Antioxidants. What you have to know?

Nourishment/17 January 2021

Antioxidants is one of the most common topics in the world of anti-aging and medicine.

Over the past couple years, questions about antioxidants have topped the top 10 most frequently asked questions: do I need to take additional amounts of antioxidants? are they that beneficial? should I consume them from food or should I take specialized nutraceuticals?
I will answer all of these questions in a simple and straightforward manner below.

Of course, the topic of antioxidants in the world of anti-aging is very important, because one of the theories of aging is related to the excessive action and formation of free radicals in our body, which contribute to premature aging, destroy cell membranes, and deactivate the efficiency of the enzyme system. That is, under certain conditions, more free radicals are formed in our body for one reason or another than we would like.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that free radicals are not an absolute evil, there is a positive effect of the formation of these substances. When there is a viral or bacterial invasion in the body, these free radicals, which are produced for example by the same nitrophils, inactivate pathological flora, which is useful or support inflammation processes for some time, as short-term inflammation promotes recovery. The most important thing is that this process is not prolonged. And yet, the more free radicals, the faster aging develops in our body and this is highly undesirable. It is antioxidants that level the effect of aggressive free radicals. They provide a free electron, making the free radical less active or just a neutral molecule.

The key point about free radical aging is that free radicals change the function, quality, and properties of the cell, and can turn a healthy cell into a pathologically altered cell or cause cell death. It is very important that the effects of free radicals are indeed associated with the processes of oncogenesis.

To date, the prevention of aging processes with the help of free radicals is a very marketing story. There is a huge amount of research that has shown both positive and negative effects of antioxidants on the body. Before you decide whether to drink extra antioxidants or diversify your diet with antioxidant-rich foods, it’s important to set some priorities:

• ORAC Index - is an index that shows how strong an antioxidant is. It is different for each product. ORAC index tables are available online and are very easy and convenient to reference and navigate. In particular, knowing what approximate amount of antioxidants an average person needs to consume, you can plan your diet competently and get the necessary amount of antioxidants from foods without additional fanatical ordering of nutraceuticals, there is no need.
  There is evidence that ill-considered and illiterate use of antioxidants can lead not just to the desired effect, but exactly the opposite.
  The ORAC index benchmark is 8-12 thousand units.

• Antioxidant absorption
  It is not enough to consume food or nutraceuticals with antioxidants, it is important to absorb them. For this purpose it is necessary to restore order in the gastrointestinal tract, normalize the acidity of the stomach and gallbladder, because it is these participants of digestion ensure adequate absorption of antioxidants in our body.

• High free radical levels
  There are situations when the amount of free radicals in our body increases. They are associated with pathologic insulin resistance, chronic sluggish inflammation, acute illness. In this case, indeed, as a therapeutic prescription temporary (I emphasize) additional intake of higher doses of antioxidants is very justified, but this situation is better to discuss with your doctor, so that each time the therapy is selected personalized, based on your individual situation.

Main findings:

• the average relatively healthy person only needs to include a certain amount of healthy foods like dark greens, berries, nuts, colorful vegetables and fruits, especially purple, red and orange - this is already a guarantee that they will be high in antioxidants
• make vegetable or berry smoothies (emphasis mine), not fruit smoothies with full-fat nut milk, because some antioxidants, such as lycopene, require the involvement of bile and a fatty environment in order for them to be maximally absorbed
• monitor your health closely and if your doctor believes that you have a condition that is related to excessive free radical formation, it is fine to include dietary supplements in your nutraceutical regimen if it cannot be compensated for with food

It should be understood that our body is able to synthesize antioxidants, such as alpha-lipolic acid, as well as many antioxidants we get from the outside, from food or from supplements. Everything is individual and there is no urgent need to drink a large number of jars. It is all about balance and a sensible personalized approach.

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