Antioxidants: how can they lift your health

What's the juice on antioxidants and how can they lift your health? Natural medicine expert Siobhan Jordan gets back to basics.

From green tea to white tea, dark chocolate to red wine, and from blueberries to goji berries – it's easy to feel a little bombarded over the ‘latest and greatest' in antioxidants. Not to mention a tad confused.

What you need to know about antioxidants

Antioxidants (AOs) are substances that protect the body from free radical (FR) damage. FRs are highly reactive molecules that damage body tissues.

These come from a number of sources, including our body's own biological processes that occur when we eat and exercise.

There are also external sources of FRs such as cigarette smoke, environmental pollutants and chemicals such as pesticides and preservatives.

Essentially, antioxidants help neutralise the substances that can cause cellular damage. Antioxidants benefit everyone, and because we can be more susceptible to the effects of pollutants or harmful chemicals in ageing, it can also pay to increase your antioxidant intake as you age.

The apple example

Consider what happens when you slice an apple. If you leave this sliced open, the exposed flesh soon goes brown. This process is called ‘oxidation' and helps demonstrate the power of free radicals.

Squirt a little lemon juice on the apple and this browning process occurs much more slowly or not at all. This is the impact of the lemon juice, or more specifically, the antioxidants in the lemon juice. This same process happens in your body.

You've heard the expression that your body is a temple, now think of it as a slice of apple!

Prevention and protection

As free radicals or oxidative damage can damage cell membranes, antioxidants may support cell structures have a protective role in maintaining heart and immune system health.

Finding the right antioxidant for you

Because there are so many different antioxidants, (including vitamins C and E, the minerals zinc and selenium, and the flavonoids in berries), the best approach is to take in a broad range of AOs in your diet.

Eating five serves of vegetables and two of fruit each day, in a variety of colours, will put you well on the path to getting enough flavonoids. 

A day in the life of a great antioxidant mix

Breakfast

• Whole grain cereal with plain yoghurt and mixed berries and ground nuts and seeds

Morning tea

• A cup of green tea

Lunch

• Italian lentil soup with capsicum, carrots and broccoli and whole grain bread

Afternoon tea

• An apple and a palm-sized serve of Brazil nuts and cup of white tea

Dinner

• Grilled chicken or fish and a salad with English spinach and roast pumpkin served with a dressing of olive oil and lemon juice. Polished off with a small piece of dark chocolate

Antioxidant Health Benefits

Eye Health

In age related eye disease where light damage is a factor, antioxidants play a scientifically studied role. The brightly coloured carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, found in leafy green vegetables such as kale and spinach and in supplements such as Blackmores Lutein Defence and Blackmores Lutein Vision Advanced, have been shown to support protection of the macula, our centre of vision.

Lutein and zeaxanthin contribute to a protective pigment called macular pigment which has antioxidant activity and helps filter damaging blue light. Other eye antioxidant nutrients are bilberry and grapeseed, found in Blackmores Bilberry Eye Support Advanced to support eye strain and fatigue.

Immune Defence

Other fighting herbs, known for their potent antioxidant properties too, are Echinacea and Reishi mushroom. These powerful herbs support the body’s immune defences and healthy recovery.