What Are Antioxidants?

What do antioxidants do? Antioxidants are a buzz word that’s often tossed around, but few people really understand what they are and why they’re so important. Antioxidants have the important function of reducing the damage that molecules called free radicals do to cells and tissues in the body.

What is a free radical? Free radicals are molecules that are formed all the time within the cell through chemical reactions that involve oxygen. In some of these reactions, oxygen loses an electron which makes it unstable; so what does it do? It steals one from another molecule which leads to cell damage. It’s this type of cellular damage that’s the precursor to diseases such as cancer, and also what we know of as aging. Free radicals can cause a great deal of trouble within a cell.

What’s a cell to do when it’s confronted with this type of damage? The cell can hope there’s a good supply of antioxidants around to give it some protection. An antioxidant helps to stabilize a free radical by donating an electron to it, so it no longer has to go out and steal one itself. Thus, the cellular damage is averted – and the cell stays happy and healthy.

How are free radicals formed? Large numbers of free radicals are formed when cells are exposed to the effects of cigarette smoke, pollution, unhealthy foods, and even sunlight. Some of the damage that the skin undergoes from too much tanning comes from formation of these free radicals. You cannot completely stop free radicals from stealing electrons, but you can make more antioxidants available to the defenseless cells to help reduce the damage. You can also limit your exposure to unhealthy food, cigarette smoke, and the sun's harmful rays.

What are these antioxidants? Some of the most important ones are naturally found in foods – such as fruits and vegetables. Two of the best known antioxidants are Vitamin E and Vitamin C – although there are others such as glutathione, melatonin, plant carotenoids, and alpha-lipoic acid – to name a few. These antioxidants stand ready to repair cell damage by helping to stabilize free radicals.

Free radicals are an enemy to aging skin. These free radicals affect skin in a variety of ways that can lead to premature wrinkling and sagging. One way they create havoc is by damaging collagen – the protein that gives skin its structure and support. When collagen is damaged, it leads to premature wrinkling and skin sagging – and the other effects we know of as aging skin.

That's why antioxidants are active ingredients in skin care products. Not surprisingly, more companies are putting antioxidants such as vitamin C into skin care products to help reduce the effects of free radical skin damage. Vitamin C helps to protect skin cells from sun damage and even increases the synthesis of collagen, but it suffers from one problem. Vitamin C is not very stable in creams and lotions and breaks down easily when exposed to air or light; but when active vitamin C is applied to the skin, small studies show that it decreases the appearance of wrinkles.

What about vitamin E? Vitamin E shows some potential for protecting the skin against sun damage and premature wrinkling, although some people experience allergic reactions or skin irritation when they use it on their skin. Vitamin E is most effective when it’s combined with other antioxidants such as vitamin C. Test for allergies by putting a bit of the product on a wrist wrist for a few days before applying to other parts of your body.

Other antioxidants. There are other antioxidants that show potential for preventing skin damage and slow the wrinkling process. The are Coenzyme Q10 and alpha lipoic acid - which are already found in some skin care products. These antioxidants have the potential to reduce the effects of skin aging, but more studies are needed to document their effectiveness. Two more recent antioxidants that are being studied for their anti-aging effects are pycnogenol which comes from the French maritime pine tree and silymarin extracted from the seeds of the milk thistle plant. It seems likely that the best anti-aging effects will come from applying a combination of antioxidants to the skin rather than a single one. Fortunately, there are lots of choices when it comes to antioxidants.

Antioxidants play a vital role in anti-aging of skin. Will the use of antioxidants alter the face of aging? It’s too early to tell, but it looks promising.