WHAT ARE FREE RADICALS AND ANTIOXIDANTS

If you're wondering why there seems to have been an influx of health and wellness products emphasising their antioxidising properties in the past few years, you're probably not alone.

And though it may seem like a clever marketing ploy to get you in a panic, oxidation in your body has dangerous effects and enriching your diet with foods and supplements to aid your body's antioxidising efforts is important.

Related: Antioxidants

The bad guys at the root of it all are free radicals that are the result of natural biochemical reactions but which can also be generated by drinking alcohol, smoking, eating fried foods, and exposure to air pollutants and pesticides.

Although free radicals are naturally occurring in our bodies, they can cause major damage because when they latch onto healthy cells, they compromise their normal functions through the process of oxidation.

And because free radical reactions (oxidation) in our bodies can lead to the deterioration of healthy cells that in turn lead to degenerative diseases including various cancers, it's important to decrease your exposure to free-radical-generating substances as well as increase your body's chances of fighting their harmful effects with, you guessed it, antioxidants!

Related: Polyphenols? What Are They And What Are The Best Foods To Eat.

It's important to note, though, that your body needs a balance of free radicals and antioxidants to function, so you can't and shouldn't eat with the aim of completely ridding your body of the former.

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POLYPHENOLS? WHAT ARE THEY AND WHAT ARE THE BEST FOODS TO EAT.

Polyphenols might be one of those intriguing buzzwords you frequently read on health food labels. You add them to cart because they sound like something you should be incorporating into your diet but you’re not quite sure why. But...what exactly do they do for you?

Karen Ansel, R.D.N., author of Healing Superfoods for Anti-Aging: Stay Younger, Live Longer, says polyphenols, which are powerful antioxidant chemicals found naturally in many plants, are instrumental in protecting our cells from free radical damage, which are often attributed to chronic illnesses like cancer, heart disease and dementia. They’re linked to longevity, too: A 2013 study published in the Journal of Nutrition found a link between high polyphenol consumption and a 30 percent decrease in mortality in elderly adults.

Want to live long and prosper? Simply eat a plant-heavy diet, which ups your polyphenol ante significantly. You know you should be getting your five to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, but Ansel suggests distributing your plant consumption evenly across every meal, rather than having a green juice for breakfast and calling it a day. “Keep in mind that some polyphenols don’t survive all that long in the body. Eating polyphenol-rich foods at every meal and snack provides the biggest bang by delivering a steady stream to your body all throughout the day,” she says.

But because polyphenols aren’t as essential to survival as, say, minerals, there’s no prescribed daily recommended intake. Lifestyle factors, however, can act as a guide. If you smoke or live in a heavily polluted area, Ansel says you need them even more “to help your body quash and protect against the additional free radicals that are attacking your cells.”