Free radicals, produced by the cells in our bodies in the normal course, can damage other cells and kill many of them in a process called peroxidation. This is actually a good thing because it cleans the body of damaged and used cells but if not controlled, it will kill even healthy cells. Vitamins like A, C and E along with some compounds known as caroteneoids are antioxidants found naturally in our bodies, in fruits and in vegetables, stabilize these free radicals and protect our healthy cells.
When free radicals are not so prevented, they can attack our immune systems and weaken our defences against infections. It is therefore important to have enough antioxidants in our systems, specially if we have immune systems that are already weak as might happen during illnesses or when we are very young or very old.
The latest research points to antioxidants each having a unique effect on our defenses and so a large amount of one antioxidant is not as effective as a group of antioxidants working in tandem. Therefore it is best to eat a wide range of foods in each meal the give our bodies a broad defense. Studies also show that as we get older, our immune systems can't fight off infections as well as they could when we were younger but if we add antioxidants like vitamin E in our food intake, we can compensate for this. The research also shows that more vitamin E is not necessarily better or bring any added benefit. This simply points out why we should ideally be eating a balanced a blend of wide range of antioxidants.
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