There is a war going on all around us and, luckily, we have all the defenses we need to fight off the hordes of bacteria, pollution and chemicals trying to break our immune systems down on a daily basis. Two of the most potent weapons in our arsenals are antioxidants and flavinoids. With these two super defensive systems at our disposal, we may just win this constant and ongoing battle assaulting us every day.
While melodramatic, the above is very true. Thanks to the world we have created around us, our bodily defensive systems are constantly being beaten up by free radicals. Free radicals are pretty much everywhere, and we can’t escape them. Thank pollution, pesticides, sun exposure, cigarette smoke and second hand smoke and more for the proliferation of free radicals everywhere we go. Free radicals are also created when we breathe or when a weight lifter lifts weights. There is simply no escaping them at all.
Antioxidants and flavinoids fight the damaging attempts free radicals make on our systems constantly and then more of the good stuff we get into our bodies, the better. The good news is that we have all the ammunition we need in our homes in the forms of fruits and vegetables and, believe it or not, coffee. Coffee is so full of antioxidants, it’s the number one provider of them in the United States.
What’s the Difference?
Antioxidants
Antioxidants have long been heralded as the free radical killers. They basically go through the body scooping up free radicals and neutralizing them in their tracks. Antioxidants can be obtained from a number of sources and, as mentioned, coffee is not only the most common, it’s also one of the most potent. Antioxidants can be found readily in fruits and vegetables, as well as in vitamins A, E, and C, and these were always considered the best defense against free radicals.
But wait…
Flavinoids
Not to be outdone, flavinoids have been showing some incredible prospects as possibly being better at getting rid of free radicals than antioxidants. Testing DNA strands that were damaged by hydrogen peroxide and had torn, the same as in cancer, strands treated with certain flavinoids responded better then those treated with vitamin C (antioxidants). This led to more research and flavinoids are showing great promise as being more potent at removing free radicals than antioxidants.
Where Do I Get this Stuff?
If you have a bright colorful and natural diet, you are getting flavinoids. If you think you aren’t, eat foods with more color to them. Flavinoids seem to mainly reside in the colorful parts of the food we eat so, don’t skin that apple – eat it all. Antioxidants are found in coffee, cheers to the morning commute, and especially in vitamins A, E and C so eating foods rich in those vitamins will get you well on your way.
If taking supplements and vitamins are your thing, here’s what you’ll need to get a good start going:
- Vitamin C – 1,000mg a day
- Vitamin E – 400 – 1,000 IU a day
While we are talking about antioxidants versus flavinoids, it’s really more along the line of antioxidants and flavinoids and how they both fight the good fight against free radicals. An apple a day wasn’t too far off, was it?
