Are you getting the benefits of antioxidants in your mulitivitamin?

When our cells use oxygen they naturally produce free radicals as byproducts. Free radicals are compounds formed during the body’s normal metabolic processes and through general wear and tear on body cells. Infections, UV light (from both the sun and artificial tanning), cigarette smoke, pollution and even exercise can all result in free radicals.

Antioxidants are nutrients in foods which can prevent or slow the oxidative damage to our body caused by free radicals. Kale, spinach, brussels sprouts, prunes, and blueberries are some of the best sources of antioxidants and fresh fruits and vegetables are indisputably the best way to consume antioxidants.

But are we eating enough fruits and vegetables to get the amount of antioxidants we need? 

If you are like me – in fact, if you are like most people – you aren’t eating the recommended 5 servings of vegetables and 4 servings of fruits every day.

Conventional advice from experts has been that we should supplement our diets with a multivitamin. Many of us do take a multi, convinced that the little pill helps to make up for the lack of nutrients when we choose a donut over a carrot.  And of course, multivitamins are valuable sources of nutrients for our bodies when we’re not eating our full servings of fruits and veggies each day.  But if you think you are getting all the antioxidants that current research is revealing to be so crucial in fighting free radicals, you might be as surprised as me to learn that your multivitamin might not be giving you as much help in that area as you thought.

When I recently toured the Nutrilite Health Institute’s Center for Optimal Health, I was surprised to learn that my multivitamin doesn’t contain very many of the antioxidants that researchers are now learning are important to our health when it comes to fighting free radical damage. It turns out that while vitamins A, C and E do have antioxidant benefits, they are far from being the only antioxidants that are beneficial to our bodies.

Scientists are learning more every day about antioxidants such as Lutein, Selenium, Lycopene and Polyphenals. Even more importantly, new research is revealing that it is the combination of these antioxidants as they work together that provides the best protection.

So if you aren’t eating all your recommended servings of fresh fruits and vegetables each day and you’re looking for antioxidant supplements, take a look at the label on your multivitamin bottle for antioxidants such as Lutein, Selenium, Lycopene, Polyphenals, Isoflavones, Catechins, Anthocyanins and Indoles. If you don’t see them listed, you may want to consider looking for specific antioxidant supplements, like an Antioxidant Complex.

Next in girlgetstrong’s series on antioxidants: Part 3: How antioxidant supplements are impacted by pesticides and artificial farming practices.