Antioxidant Superfoods to Boost Health

Antioxidants are the key to what dieticians and nutritionists refer to as superfoods, i.e. foods that contain a greater than average amount of the chemicals which help to make us healthier and live longer. I little bit of chemistry is required to help understand what antioxidants are and why they are the source of our superfoods. Antioxidants are chemicals that reduce the rate of oxidation reactions. Oxidation reactions are chemical reactions that involve the transfer of electrons from one substance to an oxidizing agent. Antioxidants can slow these reactions either by reacting with intermediates and halting the oxidation reaction directly, or by reacting with the oxidising agent and preventing the oxidation reaction from occurring.

Antioxidants are particularly important in organic chemistry and biology. All organisms maintain a reducing environment inside their cells and contain complex systems of antioxidants to prevent damage by oxidation. These antioxidants include glutathione and ascorbic acid and these chemicals are substrates for enzymes such as peroxidases and oxidoreductases. Low levels of antioxidants or inhibition of antioxidant enzymes causes oxidative stress and may damage or kill cells. Therefore, large supplies of antioxidants help to prevent cell breakdown, and can help to boost the body’s natural defences and strengthen the immune system.

Antioxidants are widely used as ingredients in dietary supplements used for health purposes such as attempting to prevent cancer and heart disease. Research has indicated that antioxidant supplements can benefits health, but several large clinical trials did not demonstrate a definite benefit for the formulations tested, and excess supplementation may even be harmful.

Early nutrition researchers focused on the use of antioxidants for preventing the oxidation of unsaturated fats, the cause of rancidity. Antioxidant activity could be measured simply by placing the fat in a closed glass container with oxygen and observing the rate of oxygen consumption. However, it was the identification of vitamins A, C, and E as antioxidants that revolutionized the field and led to the realization of the importance of antioxidants in biology. Research into how vitamin E prevents the process of lipid peroxidation led to the current understanding of antioxidants as reducing agents that prevent oxidative reactions, often by scavenging reactive oxygen species before they can cause damage to the cells.

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