Antioxidants and Beauty

Antioxidants and Beauty - Take Care of the Chemical Balance in Your Body and Improve Your Appearance

Lady Jane in Gilbert and Sullivan's "Patience" opera complains "Sad is that woman's lot who, year by year, sees one by one, her beauties disappear." In response to such age old concerns many potions and creams have been developed and sold but the vast majority of these have lacked any scientific basis. The understandable desire to hold on to the physical attractiveness of youth has provided an opening for fraudsters to impose upon the public. Only with the emergence of a sounder understanding of the chemical forces operating within the body and influencing disease and degenerative processes has a genuine hope emerged of real advancement emerged.

Antioxidants strengthen immunity

Understanding of the important role of antioxidants in preserving skin healthiness and freshness is crucial to this new approach. Since skin condition is basic to your appearance, by increasing its level of protection you are helping ensure it retains the fresh, moist and youthful look that characterizes healthy tissue. The full ramifications of the links between antioxidants and beauty are still being researched but based on the investigations made to date there are many indications of a clear connection.

Antioxidants are a natural chemical compound present in the human body. They stand in opposition to the harmful compounds called free radicals. The presence of free radicals in the body also results from a natural process- the metabolizing of fats and glucose that produces vital body heat and energy (referred to as oxidation). Free radicals are by-products of oxidation as well as environmental factors such as pollution and lifestyle habits, for example, cigarette smoking. If the free radicals overwhelm the antioxidants defending body tissue from attack they can proceed to cause severe damage. Damaged body tissue is more exposed to disease and the deterioration that comes with aging. There is therefore a clear need to ensure that the antioxidant defense are kept at their maximum strength while avoiding going to the opposite extreme since an overdose of antioxidant can also be harmful.

How to boost antioxidant levels

In the course of regular meals the body should absorb most of the antioxidants required. Through knowledge of the foods and drinks that are strong in antioxidants you can take practical steps to creating and maintaining a healthy diet. For example, green vegetables are known as high in antioxidant content with spinach and broccoli amongst the best known of these. Natural fruit juices such as grape juice, and even drinks normally boiled like green and black teas are additional and easy to find quality antioxidant sources. For those in need of additional supplements to their antioxidant intake vitamins E and C formulas are now available from health food stores and via the Internet.

While taking antioxidant foods and drinks may make a valuable contribution to maintaining a generally good state of health, their affect on your appearance might not be so noticeable. Studies indicate that the skin is last in the queue of the organs that benefit from antioxidants and the use of antioxidant skin creams is hence recommended. . By making direct contact with your skin these creams can have immediate impact. They help guard the skin against air pollution, tropical climates and other environmental and weather-related causes of skin harm. There is evidence that the best of these creams can help repair damage to skin tissue, prevent diseases linked to skin bacteria and slow down the development of wrinkles and other signs of advancing years In particular antioxidant vitamins A C and E are well known for their importance as skin health protectors.