Natural Antioxidant Supplement


Let’s look at the term natural antioxidant supplement. It is important to look at what is an
antioxidant supplement? What do antioxidants do and why are they so important? What does the term natural mean and what are the benefits of having them in your diet?

In their natural from, natural antioxidant supplements are the good things found in fruits and vegetables. It has been known for quite some time now that antioxidants protect your body cells from the damaging effects of free radicals. Free radicals are the by products of smoking, sunlight, stress exercise etc. They are primary caused for premature aging, sickness, and degenerative disease. In fact the word disease literally means “dis” ease. Your cells are not at ease. They are in constant state of stress.

Consider this analogy of what free radical damage looks like goes like. Imagine churning the fire in the fireplace. When the wood crackles and the sparks fly out they can burn or singe the carpet nearby. This is what free radicals do to your cell membranes. They chip away at your cells a little bit at a time and eventually burn a whole all the way through. That is the bad news. The good news is that now you know this and you can take steps to prevent this from happening to your cells by protecting them.  This is why you need a good natural antioxidant supplement.

Today many of us lead hectic lives with busy schedules and humans are not getting the nutrition that the cells of their body need. The result is that disease is on the rise. But there is hope for those that take the time to learn what they can do to prevent disease and maintain good health. There are many who are recognizing their need for natural antioxidant supplements. But let’s take a closer look at what does the term natural mean?

Currently, the government doesn't regulate the definition of "natural" in foods and dietary supplements, meaning that the interpretation of "natural" can vary greatly from product to product.

There is a common misconception that "natural" vitamins and minerals are extracted from plants in their pure form, and as such are superior to "synthetic" vitamins and minerals which are made in a laboratory. This is a very misleading distinction.

First, it is not possible to extract pure vitamins from plants without considerable and significant chemical processing. Next, the biological activity of a compound has nothing to do with its source but is determined by its chemical structure. In other words, it makes no difference whether the chemical originates from a leafy plant or a test tube - it is the same compound, regardless. Some vitamin and antioxidant compounds can be efficiently synthesized in laboratories to produce products that are identical in chemical form to those found in nature, and that are totally pure and totally safe (and often much less expensive than their "natural" counterparts).

In addition, some synthetic vitamins are preferentially absorbed over food sources. One good example is folic acid, which is preferentially absorbed and utilized over natural food folates that must go through several conversion processes to be utilized as folic acid.

What you should look for in a natural antioxidant supplement. It is ok to if the raw ingredients that go into the product come from a variety of sources. Some can be derived from plants vitamin E, for example, can be derived from soy) while others can be produced synthetically. The most important thing to be sure if is to know if all of the raw ingredients that go into the products are selected for effectiveness, purity, and safety. They should use vitamin and mineral compounds in the chemical form - be it "natural" or "synthetic" - that is best absorbed and utilized by the body.

Let me explain why relying on just eating healthy fruits and vegetables may not be enough. Because of over use of the soil and farming practices, the soil has become depleted of minerals. Therefore, fruits and vegetables do not contain the vitamins and nutrients they once did in the past. For example let’s look at an orange. Most people think of vitamin c when they think of oranges, but they also are a good source of vitamin a. However, an orange in the 1960’s contained 8 times more vitamin a than it does today. In other words you would have to eat 8 oranges to get the same amount of vitamin a today then you would have in the 1960’s. This alone is a good reason to supplement not just with antioxidants, but other vitamins, and minerals as well.

In conclusion, yes we do need natural antioxidant supplements and we also need to supplement with the proper antioxidant supplement. However, that supplement need not be totally natural as the rewards of searching for this do not outweigh the use of using a high quality alternative. I should also tell you that I would only consider supplements that adhere to pharmaceutical-grade GMPs (Good Manufacturing Practices.)

For products that follow GMP practices, Click Here

I hope you realize by now that the best natural antioxidants are found in fruits and vegetables. In addition there are some products available that can help you supplement what your diet lacks Hope this helps you in your search for the natural antioxidant supplement that is right for you.

Click Here for for low glycemic diet recomendations.