Antioxidant Vitamins: Why and how they work?

Need for Antioxidants

Two types of chemical reactions, oxidation and reduction, occur widely in nature. Iron rusts, which is caused by oxidation.

Oxidation is the loss of electrons, and reduction is the gain of electrons. Oxidation and reduction reactions always occur in pairs, i.e., when one atom or molecule is oxidized, another is reduced. Highly reactive molecules can oxidize molecules (i.e., remove electrons from molecules) that were previously stable, and may cause them to become unstable species, such as free radicals. 

A free radical is a chemical "species" with an unpaired electron that can be neutral, positively charged, or negatively charged.

Although a few stable free radicals are known, most are very reactive. In free radical chain reactions, the radical product of one reaction becomes the starting material for another, propagating free radical damage.

This is essentially the oxidative process, and it continues on and on as a chain reaction until stopped.

A certain amount of oxidative function is necessary for proper health. For example, oxidation processes are used by the body's immune systems to kill microorganisms.

However, the level of toxic reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) can sometimes overcome the antioxidant defences of the host, resulting in an excess of free radicals and a state called oxidative stress.

These free radicals can induce local injury by reacting with lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.

The interaction of free radicals with cellular lipids leads to membrane damage and the generation of lipid peroxide by products.

It is the work of antioxidant vitamins to hunt for free radicals in a person’s body and get rid of them.

Antioxidants have the function of giving up parts of their own molecules (but remaining stable) and stopping the free radicals from causing any damage to the body.

Thus antioxidants work as “free radical scavengers”.
Particular Functions of Antioxidant Vitamins

* Vitamins A, B, C and E are the major antioxidant vitamins. The B Vitamins and Vitamin C are water-soluble antioxidants whereas Vitamin E is the principal lipid-soluble antioxidant.

Vitamin E has the ability to break the chain of lipid peroxidation and thus, theoretically it is the most important antioxidant that helps in prevention of oxidation of fatty acids.

Vitamin C should be taken while taking Vitamin E because the latter is recycled by a reaction with the former.

* Observational studies have shown that there is an inverse association between high intake of antioxidant vitamins like Vitamin C and cancer risk.

* Vitamin E helps to modify the oxidation of LDL-C, making it less prone to cause thickening of the walls of the blood vessels, and vitamin C reduces hypertension. These effects combine to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease.

* Vitamins E and C are implicated in the maintenance of ocular function, and vitamins E and C appear to offer some protection against asthma.


Necessity of Antioxidants for Seniors- A Concluding Note

As it is evident, antioxidant vitamins are required by every person. But they are even more important for elders.

That’s because elderly people in general are much more prone to different ailments than people of younger ages. Their level of nutrition also falls because of their inability to absorb nutrition from food substances.

Once the seniors catch diseases it becomes very painful for them. Recovery from diseases is also slow for them as their healing processes slow down.

In all, diseases pose a far more dangerous threat for seniors than youngsters. Thus, an ample supply of antioxidants is recommended for senior people.

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