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Antioxidants - A short discussion

 

Now a days we can see the term 'Antioxidants'  in many food product advertisements in which they are showing that their product has rich antioxidants. well! it is a good sign that products can be advertised by their nutrients and its evidence based benefits and it shows people are more aware on what they are eating and what's on their plate!

Alright! Firstly antioxidants are a non-nutrient and its doesn't provides energy to our body. Its a compound that protect us against potentially harmful effects of reactions that can cause excessive oxidation (release of oxygen molecule in the production of energy)

what are the harmful substances and reactions that can cause excessive oxidation?

well! 'Free radicals' its a chemical can cause damage to the cells, proteins, DNA, RNA. overall it can damage tissues which leads to a lot of chronic medical conditions.

Now you may have a question,  How do these free radicals are formed?

As we all know, release of oxygen provides energy needed for bodily function. In the process of energy production there are many biochemical reactions occurs in the body which continuously produce various free radicals

Various free radicals? 

Yes there are three known free radicals namely peroxide, Hydroxyl and superoxide. Each of these has different characteristics based on its action and half life

what are the factors that influences the production of free radical in our body?

In general, there are multiple factors that can produce free radicals and reactive oxygen species. wait where this new term 'reactive oxygen species' comes from?, As i said already there are various of free radicals in which superoxide, hydroxyl, hydrogen peroxide are known as reactive oxygen species. ok coming back to the above question on factors that induces free radical and reactive oxygen species. There are two major factors involved in this process which are physiological factors(our bodily function can itself produces free radicals and reactive oxygen species) and environmental factors (the environment we are living can also induces the production of these compunds)

Among all of the physiological factors, Exercise is one of them. Exercise can also produce a lot of free radicals.

wait...! Exercise? yes, 'An Exercise Induced Oxidative Damage'

All the exercises comes under two major metabolism (anaerobic and aerobic). Among these two, aerobic exercise greatly increases the generation of free radicals than anaerobic exercise and a lot of hydrogen ions are released during the production of energy. These hydrogen ions are freely roaming and cause for the production of free radicals. Luckily these hydrogen ions can be accepted by the hydrogen acceptors  namely Nicotamine adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and Flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD+). Each glucose molecule undergone for aerbic metabolism can produce 16 hydrogen ions these are accepted by these hydrogen acceptors.

Most of the data suggests that increased intake of vitamin-E has protective ability against exercise induced oxidative damage. Athletes who exercise a lot, produces free radicals that can be tackled by anthocyanidins. This is why the personalized training protocols are highly recommended based on their eating pattern and lifestyle.

What and how much of antioxidant rich foods do i need to consume in a day?

Each food has certain amount of active antioxidants in it. On the basis 500-600 grams of antioxidant rich food is recommended for a day. foods rich in vitamin-C (orange, lemon, guava, sweet lime, sprouted pulses, goose berry), vitamin-E (cereals, oil seeds, Nuts), selenium and zinc ( Meats, seafoods), copper (mushroom, liver, oyster, nuts), beta carotene (green leafy vegetables, ripe yellow fruits and vegetables like papaya, mango, musk melon, pumpkin and carrot), vegetables like ladies finger, broad beans, cabbage red, cluster beans, cabbage, capsicum, kovai, beetroot, coalcasia).

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