Oxidation VS Antioxidation

The formation of oxygen free radicals: the organism metabolizes, seizing an electron in the oxygen atom, turning the oxygen atom into a free radical, which can only seize electrons from other molecules to replenish the lost electrons. When the electrons in the cell wall molecules are seized, a chain reaction will be formed, resulting in the fission of the cell membrane. The more distorted molecules, the more damage the cells will suffer. When the skin cells are injured, the skin is rough; if the organ cells are damaged, it may cause disease.

Antioxidation: antioxidation is the fight against oxygen free radicals to seize electrons from other molecules or cell membranes.
Antioxidants: the role of antioxidants is to provide the electrons needed by free radicals, end dangerous chain reactions, and scavenge free radicals.

Where can I find antioxidants?

Types of antioxidants: including exogenous nutrients in nature and enzyme systems that scavenge free radicals and antioxidants in the body. The enzyme system mainly includes superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (Glutathione), catalase (CAT) and selenium-containing glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX). Exogenous nutrients include vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin A, carotenoids (β-carotene, lycopene, astaxanthin), polyphenols, glutathione, coenzyme Q10 and so on. They are mainly found in dark vegetables, oranges, legumes and nuts, while glutathione and coenzyme Q10 can be produced by themselves and obtained from food.

Sources of antioxidant supplements: the dietary source of antioxidants is more appropriate than a single antioxidant supplement, and it is recommended that the amount of antioxidant nutrients in the diet is more than 3 times that of RDI. Green leafy vegetables: most green leafy vegetables have high antioxidant activity, such as lettuce, rape, celery and so on. Gourd vegetables: antioxidant activity is slightly worse than green leafy vegetables, in which balsam pear has excellent antioxidant activity, wax gourd, cucumber and towel gourd also have certain antioxidant activity. Legume vegetables: the oxidative activity of legume vegetables is generally good, beans and Dutch beans are the most prominent. Non-green vegetables: pepper, tomato, eggplant, mushroom and so on all have high antioxidant activity. Fruit: because the fruit family is rich in vitamin C and other nutrients, there are numerous good antioxidants, such as oranges, mangoes, oranges, virgins, grapefruit, green apples, grapes, blueberries and so on.

Functional characteristics of antioxidants

The relationship between antioxidation and exercise: the increase of exercise intensity and amount of exercise will increase the production of free radicals and oxidative stress. Although acute training increases the potential risk of oxidative damage, normal physical activity is beneficial against free radicals. It has been shown that athletes need more antioxidants than non-athletes to help reduce oxidative damage caused by short-term exercise. Sumida (1989) supplemented 21 college students with vitamin E (4 weeks, 300mg/d) and carried out incremental load test to exhaustion. It was found that oxidative damage could be avoided in the supplement group. Liu Xiuping (2006) measured the activity of superoxide dismutase in lycopene supplementation group after high intensity endurance exercise (4000 m running). Sawaki (2002) gave 6mg astaxanthin to 1200-meter track athletes for four weeks to significantly reduce lactic acid accumulation.

The relationship between antioxidation and health care: antioxidants show “health effects” in vitro and in lower animals, but there is still some controversy in human research. One reason is that although antioxidants can prevent or stop other oxidation reactions, they themselves may be oxidized to produce harmful products. Another common reason is that certain antioxidants show “health effects” in simple systems, but there are other side effects in complex environments in the body. The existence of too many free radicals will cause damage to DNA, RNA, protein and fat in the human body, which may accelerate the aging of the human body. Antioxidation can reduce the damage of cells by free radicals. Antioxidation contributes to anti-aging, but it is not the same as anti-aging. In order to delay aging, on the one hand, we should protect cells from all kinds of damage, on the other hand, we should ensure that cells are supplied with sufficient nutrients to make cells grow and divide normally.

Tips: ‘s most cautious advice on how to increase the body’s defense against reactive oxygen species during exercise is that the diet contains enough antioxidants to exceed the RDI requirements for antioxidant nutrients. For athletes who are difficult to meet the needs of antioxidants, it is necessary to contain a variety of antioxidants.

Lycopene is a natural pigment contained in plants, which mainly exists in the mature fruits of tomatoes of Solanaceae. It is one of the most powerful antioxidants found in plants in nature. It has been scientifically proved that singlet oxygen and oxygen free radicals in the human body are the main culprits that damage the human immune system. Lycopene is far more effective in scavenging free radicals than other carotenoids and vitamin E, and its quenching rate constant of singlet oxygen is 100 times higher than that of vitamin E. It can effectively prevent and cure various diseases caused by aging and decreased immunity.