Natural antioxidants are molecules that protect against oxidation and can be found in foods in the form of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and organic acids.
They have properties to protect against free radicals that damage the skin, hair, and internal organs, their benefits being essential to maintaining a healthy and youthful body, avoiding the degradation of essential nutrients, and protecting us from solar radiation, as well as environmental pollutants.
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What are antioxidants and what are they for
They are molecules or substances that protect the body against free radicals that appear in chemical oxidation, where there is an electron transfer from a substance to the oxidizing agent or that oxidizes.
This oxidation produces chain free radicals that damage the body’s cells, causing deterioration and premature aging, so it is important to regularly consume antioxidant foods to protect ourselves from aging or obtain them through other means such as dietary or nutritional supplements.
A good way to show what antioxidants are for is to indicate that they stop aging, both at the cellular level and in the whole living organism.
The natural antioxidant is a molecule that prevents the oxidation of other molecules or, failing that, slows it down by oxidizing itself. In this case, they are also called reducing agents as with polyphenols and thiols, with similar uses or what flavonoids are used for.
Types of antioxidants
They can be classified into two groups, which are given the following names:
- Hydrophilic antioxidants.
- Hydrophobic antioxidants.
- Endogenous antioxidants.
- Exogenous antioxidants.
Hydrophilic
Hydrophilic antioxidants are those that are soluble in water, which dissolve in its presence.
Hydrophobic
Hydrophobic antioxidants are soluble in lipids, they can dissolve when there is fat present but not with water since they repel it.
Both types of antioxidants have protective properties, acting in the human body, in animals, and in plants.
However, hydrophilic ones have effects in the cellular cytoplasm and in the blood plasma while liposoluble ones express their properties by protecting the cell membrane against lipid peroxidation.
Both types can be produced in the body itself, and it is also very common to obtain them through the diet. There are many antioxidant-rich foods with many health benefits such as fruits, vegetables, etc.
Endogenous
They are those produced in the body by natural means from the nutrients we consume. Certain enzymes, when combined with minerals ingested through food (selenium, zinc, iron, magnesium, etc.), can become endogenous antioxidants.
Some of these endogenous antioxidants include catalase enzyme, superoxide dismutase, glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, etc.
Exogenous
All those that are produced outside the body but, when ingested, offer the same protective antioxidant properties.
Good examples of endogenous antioxidants are vitamins, carotenoids, and essential minerals such as zinc, manganese, and selenium.
In many cases, this type of antioxidant is used in the food and cosmetics industry to allow the preservation of products, creams, and other manufactured goods.
Xanthophylls
They are a type of pigment that gives color to plant leaves and fruits, possessing antioxidant properties and uses as a natural coloring agent. Carotenes and xanthophylls are pigments that help plants capture sunlight and perform photosynthesis, but when humans consume them, they provide benefits against free radicals, preventing these free molecules from damaging cellular DNA.
They can also be used as a food additive, offering properties as a coloring agent in the poultry and fishery industry, where their use is regulated not to exceed the recommended daily doses, as well as to improve the appearance of fish and chicken meat.
Food or Dietary Antioxidants
Food antioxidants, although they fall into the two previous categories of natural antioxidants, have other uses. These are used as food preservatives, meaning they are added to foods and pre-cooked or packaged products to delay their degradation.
They can be hydrophilic, water-soluble, or hydrophobic, fat-soluble.
Also, they can be natural or obtained by other means, synthesized, in which case we would indicate that they are artificial antioxidants.
They are commonly used in the wine industry because, for proper production, wine tannins are necessary, but other classes of flavonoids are also used for their properties, such as the benefits of anthocyanins when used as food preservatives.
Antioxidants in Foods
There are many natural products that offer us metabolites and elements that inhibit free radicals, but some stand out for their effects like citrus fruits.
However, there are many more, so let’s see the list of the foods with antioxidants most important:
- Olive oil.
- Coffee.
- Chocolate.
- Turmeric.
- Nuts.
- Wheat germ.
- Soy.
- Tea.
Fruits
- Olives.
- Avocados.
- Blueberries.
- Strawberries.
- Pomegranates.
- Kiwis.
- Lemons.
- Mandarins.
- Blackberries.
- Oranges.
- Papayas.
- Grapefruits.
- Grapes.
- Tomatoes.
- Carrots.
Antioxidant fruits have beneficial properties for humans. They can be eaten fresh, with skin or peeled, as well as making juices with them that will provide all their effects quickly and effectively.
Minerals
- Selenium.
- Zinc.
- Copper.
Minerals in most cases lack antioxidant action, but when taken, some enzymes absorb them to block oxidation. So often it is indicated that they are antioxidants because these enzymes will have small portions of them.
Vegetables
- Chard.
- Brown rice.
- Eggplants.
- Broccoli.
- Onions.
- Cauliflower.
- Spinach.
- Ginger.
- Parsley.
- Rosemary.
- Wheat semolina.
Other Names for Natural Antioxidants
- Caffeic acid.
- Ferulic acid.
- Lipoic acid.
- Uric acid.
- Alpha-tocopherol.
- Astaxanthin.
- Flavonoids (isoflavones, anthocyanidins, chalcones, flavones, flavonols).
- Glutathione.
- Lycopene.
- Resveratrol.
- Sulforaphane.
- Ubiquinone.
- Ubiquinol or Coenzyme Q10.
Vitamin Precursors
Although some foods do not contain antioxidants, they do participate in their natural synthesis in the human body. This is the case with mushrooms, mushrooms, and some algae and yeasts.
Consuming these foods increases their natural production, stimulating the synthesis of vitamin D.
Antioxidants and Vitamins
Vitamins are one of the most well-known natural antioxidants, commonly used to protect the skin, hair, and supplement nutrition.
Vitamin A
Well-known for its benefits for vision and skin, vitamin A is a powerful antioxidant, excellent and should never be missing in a balanced diet designed to delay aging.
Vitamin A is formed from beta-carotenes, molecules also well-known for their potent antioxidant effects.
Some derivatives of vitamin A are retinol and retinoids, famous for skin treatments.
The antioxidant called vitamin A is found in vegetables, fruits, and meats, especially in vegetables with intense colors like orange, yellow, or red.
Vitamin B2
Known as riboflavin, vitamin B2 is another of the water-soluble antioxidant vitamins.
It has a yellow color, which is why it was called «Rivus», yellow. It is present in the liver and kidneys and, being water-soluble, is easily eliminated from the body through urine.
There are several functions it has in humans, highlighting the protection of vision, the nervous system, and the maintenance of the immune system. This last function is shared with vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), and its antioxidant property is complemented by vitamin E.
Vitamin B2 can be found in beef, lamb, pork, fish, and milk. It also has a strong presence in vegetables such as spinach, asparagus, and whole grains.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C or ascorbic acid is well known for its protective properties. It acts as a preservative and, at the same time, prevents the deterioration of skin cells.
Vitamin D
Another compound that works very well as an antioxidant is vitamin D. It has potent effects and participates in the absorption of calcium for bones and teeth.
The peculiarity of this vitamin is that, to produce it, you have to sunbathe with bare skin. When sunlight hits the dermis, its production in the body begins.
Vitamin D slows down lipid deterioration, stimulating enzymes that act, in turn, as natural antioxidants.
Vitamin E
This vitamin has very important functions for health, providing antioxidant effects like the rest of the vitamins we have mentioned, but at the same time, it also interacts with the immune system.
We can find antioxidant vitamin E in foods such as olives, olive oil, seeds, and green leafy vegetables.
It is fat-soluble, so it corresponds to hydrophobic antioxidants.
Vitamin E is considered a superoxidant as it protects cells against free radicals that form when metabolizing food, but also those that appear in the environment from fuel combustion or tobacco consumption. It also inhibits damage from ultraviolet radiation.
One antioxidant property of vitamin E is that it prevents «rancidity», that is, the oxidation of fats that frequently occurs in plant foods, nuts, and oils from seeds.
Properties and Benefits of Antioxidants
- Protect against cancer.
- Delay skin aging.
- Inhibit damage from solar radiation (UVA, UVB).
- Prevent deterioration from environmental pollution.
- Protect against cardiovascular diseases due to cholesterol.
- Reduce the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, etc.
In pharmacology, they have many uses since antioxidants have many benefits as products to reduce the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases and strokes. Their importance is vital in maintaining vital organs, as well as the visual system, bones, and the maintenance of skin and hair.
