Anti-Oxidants essays

Anti-Oxidants essays I. I have read books and seen movies where people talk of finding a fountain of youth or a potion that could have the abilities to make you live and look young forever. A. As I pick up my moms wrinkle cream from the refrigerator and grab a bowl of blueberries, I pray that I have found my own potion to keep my youth flowing. B. When I look back into my childhood, I remember the repetition of those famous words you hear any mother say: Eat your fruits and vegetables. C. Those are definitely words of wisdom because now what is contained in fruits and vegetables have been seen 3. Aid in the retarding aging of the mind and the body. II. So today I will talk about what anti-oxidants are, specifically where they can be found, and what they can possibly do for us. (Transition: Lets start out with knowing what an anti-oxidant is.) I. Anti-oxidants: as defined on www.encyclopedia.com, are natural substances that prevent or delay oxidative damage that occurs to living animal cells. A. Fight free radicals that are produced when an animals cells converts oxygen into energy. B. Other causes of free radicals are: 4. Other factors in the environment such as automobile emissions, etc. II. Two theories of what an antioxidant/oxidant imbalance can affect. 1. Free radicals cause damage to our cells and antioxidants set up a defense system and try to prevent any damage from being done. 2. But antioxidants cannot keep up with the damage that is being made. Therefore the damage builds up. 3. This build-up causes our bodys cells, tissues and organs to break down causing us to grow old. B. Oxidative stress is the process where free radicals do help the body to get rid of harmful toxins when produced in normal amounts but when produced in extreme amounts they b ...