Guide To Antioxidants provides information on the types and benefits of antioxidants.

What are antioxidants? They are substances which slow damage to the body at the cellular level. They may even enhance the immune system.

These include:
* Beta-carotene
* Lutein
* Lycopene
* Selenium
* Vitamin A
* Vitamin C
* Vitamin E

You may have heard about their health benefits, but do you know how they actually work?

They are dietary substances including some nutrients such as beta carotene, vitamins C and E and selenium, that can prevent damage to your body cells or repair damage that has been done.

They work by significantly slowing or preventing the oxidative — or damage from oxygen — process caused by substances called free radicals that can lead to cell dysfunction and the onset of problems like heart disease and diabetes. They may also improve immune function and perhaps lower your risk for infection and cancer.

In your body, the process is similar to stopping an apple from browning. Once you cut an apple, it begins to brown, but if you dip it in orange juice, which contains vitamin C, it stays white.

They are micronutrients that protect tissues in the body. They do this by blocking harmful chemical reactions caused by oxidation, which is the destructive effect of oxygen (and other oxidizing agents) on the molecular components of our cells. Just as oxygen can cause metals to rust and corrode, it can pull electrons from organic molecules rendering them defective and useless. Also to be reckoned with are free radicals, electronically unstable atoms or molecules generated in the course of normal metabolism that also strip electrons from other molecules, causing chain reactions of oxidative damage. Cumulative damage of this sort probably accounts for many of the degenerative changes of aging and for a lot of age-related disease.

These substances block oxidation reactions and offer protection to the membranes and other parts of cells. Vitamins C and E are capable of "quenching" free radicals by donating electrons to them. Other micronutrients that act as antioxidants are the mineral selenium and pigments called carotenoids. These include beta carotene in orange and yellow fruits and vegetables; lycopene in tomatoes, watermelon, papaya and pink grapefruit; anthocyanins in blueberries and other blue and purple fruits and vegetables; and lutein, zeaxanthin and other carotenoids found in carrots and leafy greens. Green tea provides important antioxidants called catechins, and red wine contains resveratrol, an antioxidant from the skin of grapes. Chocolate contains similar compounds (polyphenols) to those in red wine and green tea.

Resources For This Page: "Green Goes With Everything" by Sloan Barnett, Medline Plus, Dr. Andrew Weil and American Dietetic Association

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