Antioxidants are molecules that have the ability to inhibit or stop other molecules in having oxidation reactions. This can produce unstable molecules (also known as free radicals) that start cell-damaging chain reactions. They protect cells by neutralizing external forces (like damage caused by pollution, temperature, wind, and sun), as well as internal factors (such as metabolism, emotions, and too much oxygen).
Powerful antioxidants help flush out free radicals and toxins out of the body, keeping the pores from clogging toxins and healing the damaged skin tissue. Hence, antioxidants can be very helpful in treating acne blemishes, keeping the skin vibrant and healthy.
Antioxidants are abundant in fresh natural foods and are also available in the drugstores as man-made supplements.
Most people associate only eyesight with Vitamin A. However, the epithelial tissues of the skin actually also depend on the amount of Vitamin A inside the body. Vitamin A, being an antioxidant, neutralizes damaging elements in the skin, as well as reduces sebum production, thus aiding to prevent wrinkle formation, resist skin infection and keeps the skin vibrant and youthful. Deficiency in Vitamin A can in fact cause acne outbreaks. Deep orange and dark green fruits and vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach, carrots, and apricot, are rich sources of this vitamin.
Vitamin B complex is essential in maintaining healthy skin and good muscle tone, this is also vital in preventing blemishes of the skin caused by acne. Rich natural sources of Vitamin B include bananas, potatoes, tuna, and liver.
Vitamin C is an essential acid that is normally deposited in the skin and is a vital antioxidant that helps protect the skin from free radicals and harmful ultraviolet light. Vitamin C helps in the formation of normal collagen that is essential in tethering scars and filling them up until they become less visible or noticeable. Citrus fruits and juices, green peppers, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli and other leafy greens are rich sources of Vitamin C.
Vitamin E is one vital antioxidant that protects the skin cells from factors (such as pollution and ultra violet light) that produce cell-damaging free radicals. This vitamin promotes wound healing and cuts down the risk of acne scarring. Good sources of Vitamin E include sunflower seeds, peanuts, and sesame seeds.
The mineral zinc present in the body, which acts as an antioxidant, is vital for healthy skin and resistance to infection. It helps in tissue healing and scar prevention. Dairy products, yeast, beans and lentils, nuts, pumpkin seeds, and wholegrain cereals are good sources of zinc.
Chromium supplements are also found to be helpful in reducing the formation of damaging free radicals in the tissues. As it acts as an antioxidant, chromium helps reduce skin infections, preventing acne and skin blemishes.
Selenium, whose action is the same with that of Vitamin E, is another essential antioxidant useful to the human body. It also protects cells, especially those in the skin, from harmful free radicals, keeping the skin healthy and blemish free.
If you are looking for treatment for acne blemishes, consider the antioxidants, they are helpful not just in naturally improving the skin, but in keeping your overall health condition as well.
This was a question I had been asking myself for some time. The fact is a huge number of vitamin,mineral and antioxidant products just can't give your body what it needs everyday to maintain optimal cellular protection from the free radicals and oxidative stress that are the basic cause of almost all of the chronic degenerative diseases that plague the western world today.Now I could go into the real bottom line of how and why we are living too short and dying too long in todays toxic society but that will have to be another article.
Essentially there are a lot of half truthes and rubbish when it comes to what a vitamin and mineral product should contain.And as its always prudent to only take advice from world reknowned experts in any field, the supplement field is no different to any other. So what should a product actually contain ? Great question and the answer can be found in " The Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements" Written By Dr Lyle MacWilliam,BSc,MSc,FP and his team of seven expert Bioscientists from around the world.
Lyle was a Canadian Parliamentarian several years ago and became concerned at the flood of these products onto the market place in North America and Canada.So he assembled the team with the goal of providing independant,non biased ,Science based answers for the public and health professionals.After reviewing countless hours of data and research they all agreed on an international standard called "The Blended Standard" which is the top 39 minerals,antioxidants and nutrients that your body requires everyday and the dosages required to maintain optimal cellular protection.By the way the dosages to help prevent chronic degenerative disease not just the RDA allowances which are so grossly outdated and were devised back in the 1950's to provide a guideline for things like scurvy and rickets.
They then used this criterion to compare around 500 products off the shelves at random,scoring them all from 0-100% based on a very strict standard.The results were amazing,I used to think that most nutritional products were of good quality until I read this book.Without going into too much detail (you'll need to get a copy to read yourself) most products scored less than 50% .Thats right, you read that right.In fact only about 20 products out of 500 scored higher than 2/3rds (66%).And only a few made higher than 90%.
Most of the common products available in the drugstore or healthfood shops registered a score of less than 10%.I was outraged,shocked and amazed that these companies could put such low quality products out into the population.
I quickly learned that the major reason for the difference in quality across the board was caused by many reasons but the major one was manufacturing standard.Almost all of the products are made to Food grade standards and only a few select top quality products were made to Pharmaceutical and Pharmacopaea guidelines or Good manufacturing practices (GMP's).
This he same standard to which all drugs are made to, whereas food grade is what your pizza is made to as an example. So comparing the two criterias is like comparing pizza and penecillan in relation to the way they are made.
If you are as health concious as I am, sourcing and using only the best products available makes sense and has really made a considerable difference to my overall health as well as the health of my family.Because our bodies are always creating and replacing billions of cells everyday, if we aren't providing the necessary building blocks to get the job done correctly then over time we are very likely to contract a major illness like heart disease which is killing 1 in 3 people in most western countries on current statistics.
Without spelling out to you how this process actually takes place in our bodies, wouldn't you want to do everything you possibly can to not only protect yourself from degenerative diseases,but also protect the ones you care about ? Because the stats worldwide are only getting worse as we treat the problem rather than prevent it from happening in the first place.
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