Most Powerful Antioxidant  - Red Wine?

Just about everybody is becoming aware of the health advantages of antioxidants, but they don't all know what the most powerful antioxidants are.

Research has identified different sorts of antioxidants, that vary in strength and may have different effects.  Some are useful in assisting to combat heart disease, whilst others may be better at helping with other health issues such as fat metabolism, but it's a good idea to find out about the most powerful antioxidants.

There is little doubt that in France, the most powerful antioxidant is considered to be the grape.  Recall the French Paradox that the French do not suffer from heart disease to anything like the same extent that average Americans do, although they are said to indulge in a much richer diet.  It is attributed to the potency of red grapes as the most powerful antioxidants.  Of course the red grapes find their way into red wine, which is something of a national drink in France.

Researchers suggest that the most powerful antioxidants in the red wine, can assist in strengthening blood vessels, and help to prevent circulatory disorders.  It seems that grape seed is one of the most powerful antioxidants, and much more potent, as an antioxidant, than vitamins C and E.  Studies have confirmed that these vitamins are useful in their own right as antioxidants, but grape seed extract is one of the most powerful antioxidants of all.

It appears that the active ingredients in grape seed include oligomeric procynanidins that make it one of the most powerful antioxidants.  These active ingredients are effective in assisting with neutralizing the free radicals that can wreak such havoc to health.  If left unchecked, free radicals cause cellular damage, leading to degenerative diseases.  So, it is good to know that grape seed is a most powerful antioxidant that can help to control free radicals, but what exactly are they?

Free Radicals

Unstable oxygen atoms are otherwise known as free radicals. As you will remember, from your school days, an atom has a nucleus containing protons and neutrons, outside which electrons travel. This is fine so long as the electrons are in pairs, but difficulties occur when an electron is not paired, as with unequal oxygen atoms. These free radicals pinch electrons from balanced, or stable body cells and set up a process we know as oxidation.

Of course there are other antioxidants, such as blueberries, that are among the most powerful antioxidants.  But it seems that the French, who consistently drink moderate amounts of red wine with their meals, have stumbled across something of enduring benefit!

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