Energy Challenge : Antioxidants

Let's talk about antioxidants. That word gets thrown around a lot as we discuss wellness, but what does it really mean?

Antioxidants are substances or nutrients in our foods which can prevent or slow the oxidative damage to our body. When our body cells use oxygen, they naturally produce free radicals (by-products) which can cause damage. Antioxidants act as "free radical scavengers" and hence prevent and repair damage done by these free radicals. Some of the most delicate cells of the body are the reproductive cells, which are extremely vulnerable to oxidative damage. So you can only imagine the massive importance of an antioxidant-rich diet for fertility and the health of our future children and grandchildren.

Ok picture tiny little molecules floating around your body carrying things to places and keeping you going. BUT. The molecule is half complete. It’s missing its soulmate electron to make it come alive. (This is a free radical!) So it runs around your body like a codependent maniac screaming, “Complete me!!!” to every good-looking atom it can find with electrons. In its frenzied effort to get its needs met, it damages cells, proteins, and DNA, potentially leading to many chronic diseases including heart problems, diabetes, and autoimmune disease.

So, let’s get our friend some help.

Antioxidants protect cell membranes from creepy stalker free radicals. When we don’t have these antioxidants things get out of control quickly. It is best to obtain antioxidants from a whole-food, nutrient-dense diet and plants (essential oils!) rather than synthetic sources in many supplements.

“A January 2005 Stanford University study found that people with the weakest ability to scavenge superoxide free radicals lived over 35% shorter lives than controls. A critical enzyme in the body known as superoxide dismutase (SOD) is essential to mopping up and deactivating superoxide. When this enzyme is deficient life expectancy drops dramatically.”

Excerpt from Ningxia Wolfberry: The Ultimate Superfood by Gary Young, Ronald Lawrence, & Marc Schreuder

Antioxidant power is measured through the ORAC system. In 2000 the Ningxia wolfberry was tested at the Brunswick Laboratories in Massachusetts at the only lab in the world at that time using the Tufts University-developed ORAC protocol.

“The results were astonishing. According to the ORAC results, dried Ningxia wolfberries had five times the antioxidant power of prunes, 10 times the antioxidant power of oranges, 12 times the antioxidant power of raisins, and 55 times the antioxidant power of cauliflower. In fact, according to the published ORAC data, the dried Ningxia wolfberry had the highest known ORAC score for any whole food.”

- Excerpt from Ningxia Wolfberry: The Ultimate Superfood by Gary Young, Ronald Lawrence, & Marc Schreuder

How about you? Do you like the idea of cleaners at work in your system? Want to reverse some damage done over time?