How Do Antioxidants Slow Aging?
Aging is a complex biological phenomenon and many mechanisms that contribute to the whole process have not yet been clearly identified. However, in recent years, strong scientific evidence has highlighted the damaging role of free radicals.
It appears that our bodies produce these potentially dangerous renegades as a normal part of metabolism. They also are produced in the body upon exposure to X-rays, sunlight, smoke, exhaust and other pollutants. They can cause a lot of problems for the body, damaging cell membranes and genetic material and changing biochemical compounds.
It is believed that these free radicals may be culprits in the development of such diseases as cancer, heart disease, brain dysfunction (such as Alzheimer’s disease) and cataracts.
It also is widely believed that the build-up of these nasty free radicals over time may be the cause of the gradual deterioration experienced by our bodies, known as aging.
Fortunately, the body’s normal defense mechanism, anti-oxidants, comes to the rescue. The anti-oxidants act like a police force, patrolling the body, arresting free radicals and making them harmless.
The size of this anti-oxidant police force depends on the close interaction of many compounds, some of which are made in the body, while others we obtain from our diet.
According to Gut Health and Cancer Research Program at the CSIRO Division of Human Nutrition in Adelaide, increasing our intake of antioxidants can decrease free-radical damage and so slow down the aging process.
How antioxidants slow aging
Many antioxidants are still unidentified, but those we know the most about are essential nutrients, vitamins A. C. E, B carotene, copper, manganese, zinc and selenium.
They act in one of two ways: the minerals,copper, manganese, zinc and selenium, are part of the body’s enzyme system, which reduces the production of free radicals, while the vitamins, A, C, E and B carotene, act as free-radical scavengers, mopping up and defusing these renegades.
More recently, scientists have identified other, non-nutrient antioxidants.It appears that these are more powerful when they combine forces and work together to protect our bodies against degenerative diseases and premature ageing.