Surprising Benefits of Antioxidants

There is many a novel health trend coming along every now and again which seems to promise the whole world on a plate. Particularly common are claims of “anti-ageing superfoods”, “inflammation-reducing health fads”, “longevity boosting diet plans”, and so on. Very often, these trends offer one or two of these things, but are not the total fix that they claim to be. Nevertheless, there is one type of substance that really does seem to cover many bases at once where general health is concerned.

We are talking here about antioxidants, the substances found in many sources, which really can improve your health in multiple different areas. So attractive are antioxidant-boosting products, that Synergy Science, a health product company specializing in hydrogen water, say that it is this product’s antioxidant-boosting potential that makes it so popular.

What Are Antioxidants?

Antioxidants are most basically defined as those substances in the body which combat the effects of so-called free radicals. Free radicals are a diverse group of substances that attack cells within the body. Your body produces antioxidants itself – although they are also found in many foods – and it does so in order to keep free radicals in check. It should be noted, however, that free radicals are not all harmful to the body, we actually need them to do things like fight off infections.

Given that your body produces both antioxidants and free radicals, it’s worth noting that the ideal situation would be an immune system which produces free radicals to effectively fight infection (when it arises) but which also produces enough antioxidants to balance out the negative effects of this type of immune response. This is defined as an immune system in equilibrium and this, above all else, is what we are aiming for when we try to consume more antioxidants. You want to avoid autoimmune responses that release free radicals into the bodies even when there is no infection to fight.

Surprising Benefits of Antioxidants

So, that is the main benefit of antioxidants. However, keeping free radicals in check is something that happens at the molecular level, and there are all sorts of noticeable manifestations of this which we perceive as health benefits. For example, when you have enough antioxidants in your body, your concentration improves. This is a manifestation of a balanced immune system and one of the marked benefits of antioxidants. Here follows some others:

Reduce Oxidative Stress

Oxidative stress is what occurs when free radicals are at work in our body, either fighting off disease or as part of an unwanted auto-immune response. The list of health disorders related to oxidative stress is truly vast. Accordingly, getting enough antioxidants can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, strokes, Alzheimer’s, and a whole host of other serious and degenerative conditions.

Improve Mental Health

The brain is especially prone to the effects of free radicals. The hippocampus specifically – responsible for learning and memory – can be particularly badly affected. Oxidative stress is only now being tied to mood disorders and anxiety. Consequently, antioxidants can help with this.

Can Slow Down the Ageing Process

The ageing process can be thought of as a series of processes that degenerate the tissue in the body, particularly the skin. Oxidative stress is closely related to inflammation and inflammation is related to these ageing processes. Therefore, reducing oxidative stress via antioxidants is a wise move.

This list only scratches the surface of the potential benefits of getting enough antioxidants. In every case, it goes back to free radicals and oxidative stress, but dealing with these harmful processes can manifest in a truly diverse array of noticeable healt