Antioxidants: the battle against aging

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By pro_admin


It is said that the real cause of aging is in the oxidation that occurs at the cellular level and that if we found an antidote or a substance that slowed it, old age would take longer to show its wrinkled face.

But beyond the myth Dorian Grey, the vain character of Oscar Wilde who agrees with the Devil to age his face painted in a portrait and not flesh and blood, the truth is that in recent years much research has been done about antioxidant substances and their preventive action of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, AIDS and others directly associated with the aging process, such as cataracts and Alzheimer’s for example.

Anti-aging antioxidants

Oxidation is nothing more than the result of a process as vital as breathing. That is, as a result of the gas exchange that occurs at the cellular level, molecules called free radicals are produced that if they accumulate so much they cause damage to health.

In our body there are cells that are continuously renewed as the epithelial, for example, which are those that make up the skin and others that do not have replacement as with neurons. Over the years, free radicals resulting from oxidation can produce a genetic alteration on the former, contributing to increase the risk of cancer (genetic mutation) or reduce the functionality of the latter, which is characteristic of aging.

Vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, flavonoids, selenium and zinc

It is proven that certain circumstances can multiply the free radicals that circulate in our body such as excessive physical effort, environmental pollution, smoking, diets rich in fats and excess solar radiation.

So far it has not found an effective therapy that manages to stop the oxidation process at the cellular level, but there are advances around the studies of substances called antioxidants that block the damaging effect of free radicals and among them stand out some vitamins, minerals, natural dyes and other vegetable compounds and enzymes produced by our own body.

Most of the known antioxidants, vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, flavonoids, selenium and zinc, are found in foods of plant origin which explains why the advantages of a diet abundant in fruits, legumes, vegetables and whole grains are insisted on. As a complement, there are all kinds of creams and vitamins specialized in anti-aging (pomegranate oil and other Arkopharma products) that can help us keep the skin young over the years.

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