We always hear that antioxidants are good for us, but you have probably wondered, “What exactly do antioxidants do?”. Well first, lets explain what free radicals are and how they harm our skin. Normally the molecules in our body have electrons in pairs. Many different things, such as sunlight or pollution, can make our molecules unstable and cause them to lose an electron. Free radicals are unstable molecules that only have one electron. To put it simply, these molecules desperately want to find another electron so that they can have a pair again, so they steal an electron from the nearest stable molecule. This new unstable molecule now steals an electron from another molecule to get an even pair of electrons. Does this sound a bit like a bad reality dating show? Anyway, this process of stealing electrons from other molecules can eventually lead to cell damage. This is where antioxidants come in to save the day. Antioxidants basically donate an electron to the free radical to make it stable. Antioxidants are stable whether they have one electron or two, so they protect our cells by donating electrons and stopping the free radical cascade. Vitamin E and Vitamin C are two of the most prevalent antioxidants present in our skin. Applying antioxidants topically can also help to stop free radical damage from sunlight and other causes. You can also get antioxidants from diets rich in fruits and vegetables (see the other post for best food sources of anti-oxidants.
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 11:41:36 +0000
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