Antioxidants for Anti-Aging

Do you feel and look older?  Lack Energy & Vitality?  Are you losing muscle tone? Failing sexual performance?  Do you have increased body fat?  Poor sleep?  Difficulty with memory and concentration?  Increased wrinkles and skin elasticity?  Always fighting some infection?  If you answered yes to a few of these questions, we need to look at free radicals and their effect on health with regards to anti-aging.

Free radical damage occurs continually within the body at thousands of times a second.  The result of free radical damage is the tissues and cells of the body are degenerating and being destroyed.  The faster the degeneration, the quicker the body ages and loses function.  Free radical damage has been implicated in heart disease, stroke, cancer, arthritis, diabetes, lupus, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s, Alzheimer’s and many other degenerative and auto-immune diseases. 

The function of antioxidants is to slow down the rate of free radical damage.  This will extend the life and function of all the tissues and cells of the body.  This slow down affect caused by antioxidants will create an anti-aging affect.  When we slow down the effects of aging from free radical damage on the inside of the body, we also slow down the aging on the outside of the body.  If we are aging on the outside (wrinkles), we are aging on the inside!  For those who are fighting wrinkles and aging with creams and lotions, it is wiser to start on the inside and slow the free radical damage with antioxidants.  Less free radical damage to the tissues will improve overall health.  Slowing down the destruction and degeneration of our cardiovascular, respiratory, hormonal, nervous and immune system will allow better function and improved health.  That’s preventive medicine!

Cigarette smoke, air and water pollution, alcohol, pesticides, chemicals, excessive exercise, constipation, inadequate sleep, poor diet, worry, anxiety are examples of things that promote free radicals.  The name of the game is to lower the stresses and toxins, which produce free radicals, and increase the antioxidants.  When free radical production exceeds the amount of antioxidants, we begin a downward spiral toward poor health.

Research shows that the tissue most susceptible to free radical damage is brain and eye tissue.  Alzheimer, Parkinson, senility, cataracts, macular degeneration have all been increasing at alarming rates.  The overload of toxins we have in our environment has overwhelmed the body and has caused these and other health problems.  The antioxidant, gingko biloba has shown promise in treating Alzheimer’s.  Other antioxidants have proven beneficial for various eye conditions.  Slowing down the rate of free radical damage by decreasing the stress and toxins while increasing the antioxidants in our body will strengthen our immune system, promote anti-aging and improve overall health.

One of the best sources to find antioxidants are in the various Green Drinks...I like the Purples and Red.

Dr. Len Lopez