Herbal Antioxidant

It all starts with oxidation. Every time you take a breath and your body processes the oxygen into energy, the first step has been taken in the development of disease and the slow aging process.

It is a normal, natural part of life that can't be totally altered. But it can be somewhat controlled. Of course, we don't mean that the oxidation process can be controlled but its outcome can be.

When an apple is cut, it turns brown because of oxidation. Oxidation also causes butter to become a darker yellow. We will always have a vulnerability to oxidation; it is not something we can control. Some very reactive, unstable chemical substances are produced during oxidation called free radicals. These are a natural result of oxidation that is going to happen no matter what.

If there are too many free radicals, they can cause damage to the body. Cell membranes are damaged and then weakened be them. Since they are unstable, they will steal electrons from stable molecules in an effort to become stable themselves. This causes those molecules to become unstable free radicals and continue the cycle. The resulting chain reaction can only be halted by the introduction of antioxidants.

The body can defend itself against these harmful free radicals with herbal antioxidants. Stopping the free radicals from taking electrons from stable molecules and starting a chain reaction is their function. Because of this, herbal antioxidants are believed to help prevent and possibly help cure a variety of degenerative diseases like cancer, heart disease, atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's and many more.

Something else you should know about herbal antioxidants is that the body does not cantina them naturally. Of all living things, only humans lack the ability to produce herbal antioxidants within their own bodies. For this reason, we have to rely on our diets to get the antioxidants we need to be healthy.

Fresh produce, such as fruits and vegetables, has the herbal antioxidants we need. Some very excellent sources of herbal antioxidants are in the berry family, which has quite a few members that are great sources. This is so true that most of the herbal antioxidants available in health food stores are made mostly from berry extracts. Studies show that certain herbal antioxidants contained in berries aid in the reduction of atherosclerosis by combating the causes of clogged, hardening arteries.