Although you can get most of the vitamins and minerals your body needs from the foods you eat, many people don’t eat a healthy diet. Due to their busy schedules, they may frequent fast food restaurants or eat processed foods at home, which lack many of the foods needed to keep them healthy. To make up for the lack of vitamins and minerals in your diet, you can take a supplement to supply you with the antioxidants your diet needs.
What Are Antioxidants?
While oxygen is needed to help your body function normally, and to keep you alive, prolonged exposure to oxygen can damage your body’s chemistry and form free radicals. Free radicals can end up damaging the cells in your body and even alter your DNA. Fortunately, most of the foods you eat, specifically vegetables and fruits, contain antioxidants that help fight the effects of free radicals in your body.
The Benefits of Antioxidants
When you take supplements like CoQ10, you are providing your body with the additional antioxidants it needs to keep harmful free radicals from altering your body’s cells. Although the fruits and vegetables you consume contain antioxidants, you can provide your body with the additional antioxidants it may need when you eat a less than healthy diet. Here are some of the benefits of antioxidants.
Protects the Skin
Your skin is the largest organ in your body, but because it is on the outside, it is exposed to harmful elements in the environment and free radicals. By supplying your body with additional antioxidants, you can help protect your skin from the sun’s UV rays and help prevent damage caused by sunburns. This damage can lead to premature wrinkling of the skin, dry skin, and, ultimately, skin cancers. Vitamin E and beta-carotene, which are both antioxidants, can protect your skin from becoming damaged.
Supports Immune Health
Your immune system helps protect you from a variety of illnesses, including airborne viruses, bacterial infections, and a variety of other diseases. Free radicals can compromise your immune system and break it down, making it easier for you to get sick. By taking supplements with high levels of antioxidants in them, specifically spirulina and astaxanthin, you can help boost your immune system and help maintain your health by fighting off illnesses.
Maintains Overall Health
Along with the free radicals that are formed due to oxidation in the body, environmental pollutants also take their toll on your health. The antioxidants in the food you eat and the supplements you take can help make sure you stay healthy despite any exposure to pollutants, chemicals, and other harmful substances. Antioxidants in your diet can help keep your heart healthy, prevent eye problems, and even help with both mood and memory problems.
If you are unsure about whether you are getting the antioxidants you need in your diet, you can take supplements that contain them. Read the label to see if the supplement you take has antioxidants, or consult your doctor about which supplement he or she would recommend.
