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The best natural antioxidant

Natural antioxidants to fight free radicals

Natural antioxidants are molecules that our body takes from food. Their function is to eliminate waste produced by cell work.

All the cells of our body indeed have a function. They work 24 hours a day allowing our body to function properly. However, waste products are also produced from their activity.

A waste substance is, for example, the free radical. A highly reactive molecule that is able to create potentially dangerous oxidation reactions for our body.

But to promote free radicals are not just the waste of the cells. Among the causes include smoke, pollution, UV rays, incorrect feeding, stress, alcohol consumption, toxic chemicals, pesticides, very strenuous physical exercises, taking drugs and antibiotics.

The only natural way to control free radicals is antioxidants. These are divided into endogenous antioxidants (self-synthesized) and exogenous (present in food)

There are many antioxidant substances in nature. Before telling you what is the most powerful natural antioxidant, however, we want to take a step back and clarify the issue of oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress and synthetic antioxidants

Too many free radicals, from now on ROS “Reactive Oxygen Species”, lead to a situation of oxidative stress. Oxidative stress means the state of imbalance between the formation and elimination of free radicals.

In fact, free radicals are unstable elements that need to be linked to other cellular structures. When they are bound to a cell, its structure is oxidized, making it sensitive to the processes of premature aging and degradation.

The action of free radicals is especially evident in cell aging. Unfortunately, the condition of oxidative stress can also cause more serious diseases such as memory reduction, concentration reduction, sleep disorders, white hair, baldness, the appearance of wrinkles and spots on the skin, reduction of immune defenses, increased cardiovascular risk, energy decrease, stress with anxiety and depression.

How can we combat oxidative stress? Better synthetic vitamins or natural / food antioxidants?

Synthetic vitamins and food vitamins

For many years, it was believed that synthetic vitamins had an effect identical to those found in foods. Although synthetic supplements to combat oxidative stress was considered a questionable solution, until just four years ago there was no scientific data that could corroborate this hypothesis. However, a review of the studies on antioxidants published between 2003 and 2013 has finally brought to light the evidence of the questioning of such practices. [“Draeger et al. published by the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition “]

To avoid these risks, the safest and most effective alternative to mitigating oxidative stress would, therefore, result in a balanced diet rich in natural antioxidants.

How is the antioxidant power of a food defined?

To determine the antioxidant activity of a food, a test is often used where a value is assigned in ORAC units (Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity). The Pomegranate, for example, owns 10,500 ORAC units while the Goji berries have 25,000.

Be careful though. ORAC analyzes are performed on freshly harvested fruit. So, although many overseas fruits have very good nutritional characteristics, the effects that a complex food chain can have on the properties of the product are often not considered.

So why not collect the blackberry (20,000 ORAC units) in a wood near your home, rather than picking a berry over the ocean that just collected should contain 28,000 ORAC units?

If we then considered the ORAC Unit with respect to 1 g of active ingredient contained in the food, then we would discover that the most powerful antioxidant substance is hydroxytyrosol. But where can we find this active ingredient?

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: the most powerful natural antioxidant

In true Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Here is the answer, the secret ingredient.

Why did we call it true?

It all starts with raw materials. Regularly, colorless and tasteless seed oil, is added with beta-carotene and chlorophyll also purchased abroad, in Spain and North Africa, then passed to compliant companies that provide for coloring the oils, bottling and distributing them. In practice, very low quality seed oils are used to be transformed and resold as valuable extra virgin olive oils.

In the last ten years many similar operations have been discovered, the most serious of which turned into “extra-virgin olive oil”, always with the addition of chlorophyll, the non-edible oil lampante (ie waste oil processing, not intended for consumption human, but to be burned as fuel). These scams find fertile ground in a society where people do not have time to properly inform themselves.

So why many people are willing to spend even more than 20 euros for a good bottle of wine and for the same person it is unthinkable to spend 10 euros for a bottle of oil that lasts 2 weeks?

What is the reasoning of a buyer who at the supermarket decides to buy an extra virgin olive oil of 2.9 euros per liter, and on the opposite shelf decides to buy a 30 € / L wine? Perhaps because we began to appreciate wine and recognize all the hard work it takes to produce a product of excellence? Unfortunately, this perception has not spread in the same way for oil.

Often it is only a question of making more informed choices. Starting from food you will have to earn money and health.

A natural and effective remedy for free radicals

Equilibrium Food Extra Virgin Olive Oil is an effective natural remedy to combat free radicals and oxidative stress. Functional and safe foods such as our extra virgin olive oil offer a powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiviral effect thanks to the content of Vitamin E, polyphenols and dozens of other beneficial substances.

In order for the oil to have a concrete therapeutic effect it should never contain less than 500 mg polyphenols per Kg. In case the content of biophenols is in line with these indications also the European control body (EFSA), allows to print on the label statements health benefits on its properties.

Unfortunately, oil is also one of the least stable foods: it is enough a negative climate situation or a year too rainy to make it impossible to find an oil above 150 mg of biophenols / Kg.

Many are convinced that it is enough to buy an extra virgin olive oil from a trusted farmer to have sufficient guarantees on quality but, with all due respect to these realities, producing extra virgin olive oil with therapeutic power is much more complex. It is necessary to have access to equipment to measure the ripening index of the olives, constantly collect data and process them to obtain the curves of maturation and the trend of the phenolic content. Everything to decide the best harvest time that must take place separately for each variety. Often it is only a question of making more informed choices starting from food and you will only have to earn money and health.