Vitamins, Minerals and Carotenoids as a Antioxidants

Antioxidants neutralize free radicals. Free radicals are molecules in our body that are missing an electron. They steal electrons from healthy cells destroying them in the process called oxidation. Your body is constantly trying to oxidize, but antioxidants keep you fresh and healthy. It prevents the formation of free radicals, such as transferrin, SOD, carotenoids. It neutralise those that are formed, thus inhibiting chain-breaking processes, such as, the vitamins A, E and C. Also it repair the damage caused by free radicals, such as the DNA repair enzymes, e.g. transferase. Natural antioxidants are synthesised by plants and are present in the foods we eat, as opposed to those synthetic antioxidants that are either added to food to extend its shelf-life (e.g. BHT), or prepared by extraction from plant sources to be taken as supplements in concentrated form.