When you understand how weight loss is affected by antioxidants in your diet, you can achieve your weight loss results more effectively.
What are antioxidants?
Antioxidants are a group of chemical compounds found in our body and in plants that inhibit oxidation of the cell. Oxidation is like “rusting”. Every cell in our body carries out oxidation to produce energy for cellular functions.
Oxidation is the beginning of cellular deterioration because free radicals, produced as a by-product of oxidation, cause damages to the cell structure. This is the start of diseases and aging.
Free radicals damages also occur from exposure to radiation, smoke, stress, diet of saturated fats, overcooked meat and processed foods. Toxins from these exposure trigger more free radicals production in the cells.
How does antioxidants help to support weight loss?
Toxins produced are stored in the fat cells. The body holds on to the fat cells as a defense mechanism to prevent the body from being attacked and flooded with toxins. Toxins slow down metabolism and you can’t lose weight even if you are eating less.
Toxins also affect the brain cells and interfere with appetite control and proper hormone regulation such as controlling blood sugar.
Antioxidants neutralize the free radicals and help to eliminate the toxins in the body. This helps every cell in the body to function more effectively in processing waste, thereby, increasing metabolism. Antioxidants also make the fat cells cut their production of triglycerides.
How do you get more antioxidants?
1) Diet
Eat foods that are high in antioxidants. You will find most of the antioxidants are contributed from fruits and vegetables.
- Vegetables – Spinach, tomato, garlic, kale, leafy vegetables, Brussels Sprouts, sweet potato, basil, broccoli, carrots
- Fruits – berries, plum, grapes, pomegranate, oranges
- Herbs – green tea, burdock, turmeric
- Oil – olive oil, walnut oil, nuts and seeds
2) Exercises
Exercise is important as part of the weight loss program, unfortunately, it produce free radicals. So, it is important to ensure that you get maximum work out to minimize free radicals production.
Find an exercise that allows you to burn more calories in the shortest possible time and increase your metabolism. Circuit training either in the gym or at home is the best way. In a serious of work out, move from one to another without stopping. Stop only at the end of the series. This forces your body internal engine to work harder, creating greater energy cost. The engine burns hotter and after you stop, it doesn’t cool down for hours afterwards. So, you get more burning evening when you stop the work out.
3) Supplementation
Eating a healthy diet is the first priority. However, it is difficult to get enough antioxidants in natural food sources to hold back the free radicals constantly being generated in our polluted environment. This is according to the book “ Prescription For Nutritional Healing”, Dr James Balch and Phyllis Balch, CNC.
By taking supplements in pills or powder form, you are getting isolated and concentrated dose of antioxidants goodness. You can easily find them out there and they are supported by many researches. Vitamin C and E, selenium, Co-enzyme Q10, glutathione to name a few are well researched and studied.
New offerings of super-antioxidants extracted from fruits, vegetables and herbs are readily introduced; grape seeds, pine bark, pomegranates.
When you embark on a permanent weight loss program, make sure you are eating the top antioxidants as well as supplementing with extra antioxidants. Have a look at Permanent Weight Loss With Healthy Diet, Exercise and Nutritional Supplements.
How much antioxidants are you getting each day? Share with me in the comment box below.
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