Antioxidants are specific nutrients and phytochemicals that protect your cells and tissues against free-radical damage. They are essential for tissue repair and to fight accelerated ageing.
Most people’s diets and lifestyles result in inadequate antioxidant levels to cope with the stresses of daily life, including stress from environmental pollution, from toxins in food, from poor lifestyles and habits such as excessive alcohol and cigarette smoking – all of which produce ‘biological free radicals’. Health conditions such as high cholesterol, diabetes, inflammatory problems and other health issues also increase our need for antioxidants due to free-radical production.
Your antioxidant levels are governed by the amount of antioxidant nutrients you consume in your diet, as well as how they are processed and used in the body. These nutrients exert their antioxidant protection by reducing free radicals.
Biological ‘free radicals’ are highly reactive oxygen species and if they are not buffered by antioxidants, they can cause damage to your cells and tissues and can contribute to the development of various degenerative conditions, including heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.
Free radicals are also thought to be involved in the ageing process, so it is essential to reduce levels to slow down the ageing process.
To protect against the damaging effects of free radicals your body needs sufficient antioxidant protection to keep these free radicals under control. Antioxidants react with these free radical and neutralise them before they can cause you any harm.
Having sufficient antioxidant status is therefore vital for good health. Unfortunately, deficient antioxidant status can go unnoticed and can lead to increased risk for illness, especially degenerative diseases and can cause signs of premature aging.
how can antioxidant levels be tested
Fortunately, there is an effective way to check and control your antioxidant levels, by doing antioxidant testing. It is affordable and easy to have done and you can use it as part of your overall health check-up.
Antioxidant testing offers a powerful and effective way of deciding on any necessary dietary or supplement change – not to mention save you from taking the wrong supplementation.
meet our practitioners who specialise in antioxidant testing
For more information please contact us.
