That seemed like such a simple question but as I attempted to form a nice, concise, argument-winning answer, I realized… I didn’t have a simple answer!

So, after a terribly lame explanation of antioxidants flopped out of my mouth, I retreated, tail between my legs, for a bit of thoughtful contemplation.

Now, I am ready to answer the question…

Antioxidants: The Four Levels of Defense

Defense One: Anti-oxidants prevent oxidants (otherwise known as free radicals) from forming inside your body. To understand this, consider what happens to a lead pipe when exposed to oxygen-it rusts, right? Well, similarly, the body, when exposed to oxidation, essentially “rusts” from the inside out. Ouch!

Defense Two: Antioxidants intercept and neutralize oxidants that have already formed inside the body, putting the brakes on the chain reaction that just one free radical can cause. A good analogy here is the game nobody plays anymore–dominos. (Isn’t it is ironic that when you say dominos most people think of pizza?!) Like a string of carefully lined-up dominos, once the first one falls, the rest are inevitably next. Likewise, antioxidants neutralize the line-up of free radicals and breaks the chain reaction so inflammation is halted.

Defense Three: Antioxidant are actually able to identify and address the remnants of an inflammatory response so those remnants don’t prolong the damage. Like a hurricane relief crew, antioxidants mop up behind the whirlwind of an immune system we all have, leaving only healthy, balanced cells and tissue.

Defense Four: Can you say Inspector General! As they travel throughout your system, antioxidants continue to check and recheck that toxins have been removed and oxidants have been neutralized. By keeping a sufficient amount of antioxidants you are providing a 2nd and even a 3rd line of defense to your cells.

So, there you have it! That is what antioxidants do!

Now, I could impress you with lots of scientific data, medical journals, pictures of molecules and the like but I think I’ll save that for annoying my friend, the proud oxidant lover. Perhaps he will see the error of his ways and trade the super-sized big mac for some sushi.

Wouldn’t it be nice to know which types of antioxidants pack the most firepower in the fight against inflamed muscles, joints and organs?

Once you knew this, you could really unleash these awesome free radical fighters and make a big healthy leap forward each and every day!

So, where can one find the most powerful antioxidants?

The answer is two fold, and quite interesting, but let’s get one confusing factor out of the way first.

Antioxidant or Not?

Unfortunately, the word “antioxidant” has been used so much in the hyping and advertising of food products, supplements and energy drinks that it is quickly joining the likes of “organic”, “healthy” and “diet” in becoming an ambiguous, almost meaningless term.

The sad fact is, you cannot really trust a product label (or the media) to tell you whether that item is truly a healthy, powerful antioxidant.

For example, you can browse any juice aisle at the market and see the word antioxidant on just about every bottle but, if that juice is packed full of refined sugar, preservatives (and who knows what else) can you really say that it is a beneficial antioxidant? I think not!

Likewise with vitamins. As you know, all vitamin manufacturers are not created equal and what is stated on the outside of the bottle may not be present inside the bottle.

Plus, even vitamins or supplements from legit suppliers that are indeed good sources of antioxidants come in so much abundant, mind boggling variety that it is hard to know where to start.

So, would you like to know how to quickly and easily determine if something is truly rich in inflammation fighting, health building, safe and effective, super-duper ANTIOXIDANTS?

Of course you would!

As I said, the answer is two fold…

Unleash The Antioxidants INSIDE Your Cells

The interesting fact is that your body, (yes-even yours) is designed to create its own antioxidants. Indeed, our bodies have many built-in systems for fighting inflammation, disease and toxins naturally.

Theoretically, if your body were a perfect example of health and wellness, you would need to spend one second thinking about or taking antioxidants.

Why? Because your body would have already taken care of that itself!

As it is, given the toxic environment, stressful work lives, and nutrient stripped foods, our body really has trouble getting the job done. On top of that, we have all been guided by the health community to supplement these internally produced antioxidants with external antioxidants such as a specific set of foods, vitamins or herbal remedies.

So, to say it simply, there are two sources of antioxidants:

1. internal
   
2. external

Internally produced antioxidants are naturally produced by your body and attack the free radicals of inflammation inside the cell. This is a powerful point we will return to in a minute.

Externally sourced antioxidants are what most of us hear about, all the time. These are the antioxidants we ingest, either through healthy foods such as berries or supplements, such as Vitamin C.

Now, there is no company in the world that would do well with nothing but temporary workers, but that is exactly how some of us approach the fight against disease and especially inflammation.

We get so focused on the ORAC value of an external antioxidant sources such as a food or supplement that we don’t think to enhance our production of internal antioxidants, the “full-time employees” that are sorely lacking in most of us.

The Bottom Line

So, if you really want to unleash a river of powerful healing, calming and invigorating antioxidants, do everything you can to boost your own internal antioxidant production.

Ultimately, this means increasing your personal glutathione levels. Glutathione is known as the “master antioxidant” because it is not only a powerful antioxidant in and of itself but it also enhances the efficacy of other (external) antioxidants. (To learn more about glutathione, check out this article.)

Thus, boosting your levels of glutathione has two beneficial results: 1) Since glutathione is made at the cellular level (inside each cell of your body) it actually fights inflammation or free radicals that may make their way inside the cell where severe damage can be done. This is crucial and is really a topic for an entire article. 2) Since glutathione works together with external antioxidants such as Vitamin C and food sources with a high ORAC value, it extends the time period they stay effective, increasing the healthy “punch” you get with each dose.

So, when it comes to external antioxidants like vitamins, diets and supplements, stop focusing on which one has the highest ORAC, or which one is being touted as THE best antioxidant by the latest guru and just find a few foods, that you like to eat, which are a good source of antioxidants and eat ‘em regularly. Then, pick a quality antioxidant supplement or two to serve as an insurance policy in case your diet takes a temporary dip. That’s it.

Put more time and attention toward “hiring those full time workers”, the internal antioxidants made by YOUR body for YOUR body and soon you’ll have a steady flow of antioxidant power cooling your joints, fighting diseased tissue, preventing infection and rewarding you with health.