How do Antioxidants prevent of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and macular degeneration?

Question

What do the antioxidants do to promote prevention?

Answer 1

The DNA in our chromosomes is subject to oxidation by free radicals; when they oxidize they lose telomeres, that is really reserve DNA matter for repair.
Antioxidants is thought prevent the damage.
Damaged DNA can prompt cellular apoptosis (cell death) or can in a way mutate and facilitate cancers or inflammation.
Is a little more complicated but in a nutshell and very basic is what they do.

Answer 2

Because we use oxygen for energy production, our cells are constantly exposed to oxygen. Oxygen is a very 'toxic' molecule (think about rust on a nail caused by exposure to oxygen). Excessive toxicity in the body from oxygen is called "Oxidative Stress".

Oxidative Stress damages many types of vital molecules such as DNA, RNA, proteins/enzymes and cell membranes (phospholipids). Damage to these various components of cells are well documented to contribute to chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, AMD, Alzheimer's disease (neurodegenerative disease), etc.

"Antioxidants" help to control the amount of oxidative stress that is being constantly produced in the body. So, antioxidants can't absolutely prevent disease (nothing can), but they limit the amount of damage oxygen causes, and thereby, reduce the risk or delay the onset of these common diseases.

Hope this is helpful for you. Best wishes.

P.S. you can do a simple experiment to see this process in action. Disolve 1000 milligrams of vitamin C in about 4 ounces of water. Cut two wedges from a fresh apple. Dip one apple wedge in the vitamin C/water for about 10 seconds. Dip the other apple in just plain water. Then set both wedges on the counter to get exposure to the air (oxygen). Observe which apple 'browns' (oxidizes) first!

Answer 3

our bodies undergo several chemical reactions. We utilize several minerals such as iron, magnesium, oxygen and such to perform specific reactions such as formation of proteins, absorption and many others. Of course, when we utilize these minerals we are producing products and some these products are toxic and harmful to the body. These are called free radicals. Free radicals may cause the cells' receptors accept certain minerals that are not usually used in their metabolism and reproduction. Thus, this may result to cell mutation. Cell mutation render a cell in effective. it may kill the cell or it can turn it into cancerous ones due to malfunction in it's replication. And because of this malfunction, cancer cells are produced and developed until they metastasize and affect organs and tissues. when tissues and organs are affected, it will eventually cause the organs to atrophy and malfunction as well..

+++ anti oxidants act on these free radicals by oxidizing or reducing them into their inactive form to be recognized and excreted instead of absorbed by the cells. +++

a major anti oxidant is methionine... the main ingredient for anti oxidant supplements like glutathion or metathione.