Anti
Antioxidants




Ian Lloyd
Pharmacist
Peoples Pharmacy

.....Antioxidants, what are they used for? Simply put, they protect your body from free radicals. The next question might be, “Why do I need a rust inhibitor to protect me from a protester from San Francisco?” Sorry, about the bad chemistry joke. Perhaps we should all learn a little chemistry, but without the bad jokes. This knowledge will help you to understand why you should eat lots of fruits and vegetables in order to obtain extra antioxidants. It is thought that free radicals are behind many chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, cataracts and many, many others. Although antioxidants do not usually help reverse these diseases, they can help to reduce your chances of developing them or slow their progression.
.....To understand antioxidants you must learn about free radicals or oxidants. Just a warning; please be advised that this explanation will involve some principles of chemistry. Everything in our body is composed of neutrally charged atoms, and within these atoms are an equal amount of positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons. Sometimes atoms will loose an electron and become positively charged. An atom in this state is called a free radical. In this positively charged state, the atom becomes unstable and must replace its missing electron. It does this

by ‘stealing’ an electron from the atom next to it, and so on and so on. When these atoms start ‘stealing’ electrons from each other, they can change the structure of the molecules that they are a part. This can cause damage to various parts of your body: DNA, cells, nerves, etc.
.....There is no need to worry; your
body is not defenseless against free radicals. The two main ways for your body to remove free radicals is via the Superoxide dismutases (SODs) and glutathione antioxidants. Don’t worry I will not provide any more chemistry lessons about these two items. The only thing you need to know is that these antioxidants require certain vitamins and minerals to work properly. Your body

 needs an adequate intake of the minerals zinc, copper and manganese for SOD, and protein and selenium for glutathione to function properly. This is another reason why I recommend that people take a multivitamin daily, to ensure that they get enough of these important minerals.
.....There are almost an infinite number of antioxidant supplements available on the market. Some are cheap, while others are expensive and exotic. The most common antioxidant vitamin used is Vitamin C. Its uses in the human body are too numerous to mention. In fact, humans (and guinea pigs) are the only animals that do not manufacture their own supply of this important water-soluble vitamin. I think this is the most important vitamin to take, because it is cheap, safe and used by your body for so many things. I feel that 1 gram a day is adequate for most people. Some people take higher doses of this vitamin, but I feel this is unnecessary for the average person. When you take higher doses your body clears it from the body faster, so suddenly stopping this supplement may lead to transient deficiency-like symptoms.
.....The other main antioxidant is vitamin E. This fat-soluble vitamin is most often associated with helping to reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. This vitamin is also helpful for treating leg cramps and, when
 

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