Why We get Sick and What We can Do About It

For centuries, people have been asking the question "Why do we get sick?" And for many centuries, wise people have been providing the simple answer "You are what you eat."

All right, maybe the answer is not so simple. However, what we put in our body often yields a number of unfortunate health effects that can wear down the body and age us more quickly.

This is commonly the result of eating processed food and drinks that are loaded with impurities. These impurities are loaded with, or can create, free radicals. They can yield severe problems like heart disease , diabetes, and even cancer.

The Cause: Free Radicals

What is the definition of free radicals? In simple terms, they are atoms missing an electron. This makes them chemically incomplete and unstable. In this state, they attack healthy cells to "steal" electrons from other molecules in order to stabilize. When you ingest food loaded with free radicals, they will cause major problems on the molecular level.

Consider the following: has there ever been a scenario where you ate a large meal and felt tired and sluggish afterwards? This ties into the answer to the question 'why do we get sick'. It would seem as if you ran a marathon as opposed to eating a meal.

Your body must expend more energy digesting a large meal than the benefits it receives in return. In a way, the impact on the body delivers all the trauma of a marathon with none of the health benefits. An end result is the creation of still more free radicals.

Similarly, when you eat processed foods, your body will expend a tremendous amount of energy to break down and digest your poor dietary choices, not to mention the additives and preservatives, which have a direct and immediate impact on your health. Needlessly expending energy on digesting too much, or poor food leaves that much less for living life.

To be sure, there are other things that can contribute greatly to the creation of free radicals such as anger, depression and leading a stressful life.

This overburdens the body with oxidative stress and wears down the immune system, allowing the free radicals to wreak even further havoc on the system. Needless to say, this does not exactly set the stage for living a healthy life.

Eat Natural Foods

Conversely, when you eat natural and organic foods, you are denying a major cause of free radicals in the body. This removes the overburdening aspect of the diet and drastically reduces the potential for the body to suffer negative results.

Natural foods are the key to a healthier life. They allow for a more effective metabolism, which allows the body to become more energetic. This, in turn, opens the door for greater mental and physical health.

The definition of free radicals also extends to environmentally impactful situations that lead to illness. Car fumes, for example, deliver an enormous amount of carbon monoxide to the body and that is poisonous. Lifestyle choices along the lines of smoking and drinking alcohol also contribute greatly to the answer of the "why do we get sick?" question.

This does raise important questions regarding how we can reverse the problem, improve our health, and reduce the impact that free radicals can have on the body. The answer will lie in the understanding what antioxidants are and how they can improve one's health.

Antioxidants To The Rescue

Antioxidants can be considered an umbrella term for any food sources, vitamins, or dietary supplements that reverse or prevent the harm caused by free radicals and oxidative stress. Among the most common antioxidants used to defeat free radicals and prevent the onset of sickness are Vitamin A, E, and C.

These substances, along with other types of antioxidants, "donate" their extra electrons to free radicals, in effect neutralizing them. This eliminates the need for free radicals from ravaging and destroying healthy cells and organs in their rush to regain stability.

Antioxidants can come from a number of food sources with organic fruits, vegetables, teas, nuts and spices being the most common. These natural and organic items allow for easiest absorption of the various antioxidants present in them, although taking vitamins and minerals in supplement form can also prove to be a great help as well.

The health benefits of antioxidants are far reaching. Did you know, for example, they have the potential to greatly reduce physical pain? This is achieved by the ability of antioxidants to reduce inflammation in the cells, which can promote a pain free life.

That means restrictions on physical activity due to pain are lifted, promoting further exercise potential. The benefits are a stronger heart that improves quality of life and longer life potential.

So, why do we get sick? Is it oxidative stress? Is it a lack of ingesting enough antioxidants? The answer is yes on both counts. Being aware of the nature of our environment and how we choose to act on that awareness, will go a long way to promote vibrant health and longevity .

I started taking an antioxidant juice in March of 2009 which turned my life around. My poor health rebounded and gave me a new found consciousness about health and healing, longevity, free radicals, antioxidants, antioxidant supplements and living a healthy lifestyle. So much so that I decided to build a website to help others: http://www.antioxidants-health-benefits.com/