Columbia University Health Services has a "Go ask Alice" column where Alice goes into some detail as to why antioxidants are so important to our overall health.
http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu

What is the role of antioxidants in health?

Before discussing their role in maintaining good health, let's first clarify what antioxidants are. "Antioxidant" is the collective name for the vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, and polyphenols that protect the body from harmful free radicals. The most well known antioxidants include the vitamins A (found in liver, dairy, and fish), C (found in bell peppers and citrus fruits), E (found in oils, fortified cereals, seeds, and nuts), and the mineral selenium (found in Brazil nuts, meats, tuna, and plant foods). The carotenoids beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene also have high antioxidant activity and are responsible for adding color to many fruits and vegetables. Carrots and pumpkins wouldn't be orange without beta-carotene, for example. Lutein, also important in eyesight, is abundant in leafy green vegetables. Lycopene is present in red fruits and vegetables, most notably in tomatoes. No wonder why many experts stress the importance of eating a "colorful" diet!

So why are they called antioxidants? The name is indicative of the mechanism by which they help prevent disease. In humans, a small but significant percentage of oxygen molecules in the body will become electrically charged due to natural cellular activity and/or exposure to environmental factors such as tobacco smoke and radiation. The oxygen molecule becomes a "free radical" as it undergoes this process of oxidation. Free radicals are highly reactive as they try to steal electrons from other molecules, including DNA and cellular membranes. They will continue to react with other cellular molecules in a chain-reaction mechanism. This chain reaction of free radicals can damage cells, which may play a role in the development of certain conditions like heart disease and cancer. Antioxidants, however, stop the chain-reaction by giving up electrons and neutralizing free radicals so that they cannot induce any more oxidative damage. Unlike other molecules, antioxidants do not become reactive when they lose an electron.

Many studies have shown the link between free radicals and a number of degenerative diseases associated with aging. Thus, it is possible that antioxidants can be beneficial in reducing the incidence of cancer, cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, immune dysfunction, cataracts, stroke, and macular degeneration.

Read any fitness magazine, watch a few television ads, or simply pass by your local health food store, and notice the benefits of the latest supplement being touted. While new products emerge frequently, it is best to remember that vitamin and mineral supplements are not to be used as substitutes for a healthy, well-balanced diet. In fact, due to many conflicting studies on the effects of antioxidant supplements, the American Heart Association does not currently recommend using antioxidant vitamin supplements. It is also important to note that we can "over-supplement" our bodies, taking much more than the recommended daily value of certain vitamins and minerals. Vitamins A and E are fat soluble, meaning that excess amounts are stored in the liver and fatty tissues, instead of being quickly excreted, creating a risk of toxicity. Your best bet is to eat a diet rich in fruits, veggies, and whole grains.

For information on cancer, heart disease, and antioxidants (as well as on healthy diets, vitamins and minerals, etc.), you can visit the the National Cancer Institute website. Additional resources on supplements are provided by the National Institute of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements.

Remember, a balanced diet rich in colorful fruits and vegetables can provide you with immediate health and energy benefits and help fight the effects of aging for years to come. Happy antioxidizing!

Drinking Tea

An article on the web from the National Cancer Institute talking about the beneficial properties of drinking tea ... http://getresponse.net/t/10921336/477243/204104275/2/

plesae move this one too to offtopic

and the rest of your topics too, jeee there are just too manmy of them

again: RELAX girl, you are not responsible for everyone's health

I've noticed that many have posted their appreciation of Pinky's posts. Perhaps if you don't care to read them, you place Pinky or anyone else who annoys you on ignore. That way you don't have to see them and those who appreciate them will continue to do so.

PS: We're not able to move threads ourselves and the board is only lightly moderated.

i just put her in the ignore list, but i still see the posts.

Why make categories and then post content everywhere anyway? This board is supposed to be mainly about QT .. i can find mercola.com myself and so can everybody.

After a while nobody can find the QT stuff between the non-QT stuff.

I you like this kind of posts, offtopic is the section or else start you own site, its easy nowadays!
thanks

Pinky, I am very grateful for all your marvelous tips and insights. Please don't stop. I have learned much valuable information from you sharing.
Arjan, may I suggest that if you don't care for them, that you limit your perusal of the forums to "Quantum Touch General Discussion", "Healing Requests", Healing Stories", "Supercharging", "Core Transformation" etc. and stop telling us not to share others here.
Simple solution since it seems to bother you so much . . . yes?
Christina

Sorry Guys but Arjan is correct. This type of posting does not belong here and should be moved to Off Topics or alternatively a new category should be created for these non QT postings.

I refer you back to the purpose of this section which is tips and insights gained as you practice QT.

The danger of having a small number of very active members is that is their views or postings tend to dominate. In this case for example new or occasional members don't get easy access to the QT Tips and Insights they were expecting to find within this section without going thru all the noise first.

There are only some many hours in the day and to be honest I suspect that most people haven't got the time to wade through these types of posting to find the hidden nuggets.

So I am sure that the silent majority would prefer postings to be limited to discussions based on forum descriptions rather then essentially unrelated topics.

- Mike

indeed we should avoid diverting from the essence:

The question is *not* "do we LIKE this kind of information"

The question is: is this the appropriate place for this kind of information.

Any section labeled with QT is clearly NOT the appropriate place so objectively the right thing to do is to post this kind info elsewhere.

Another option is to persuade the office the create more general health sections on the QT board.

but in any case: STOP spamming the qt sections of this board.

Thank you very much

Dear Arjan,
Thank you for pointing out that we have sometimes been putting some of our threads under the wrong forum heading.
My goodness, I feel like I'm talking to the (message board) police.
Well, you've firmly stated how unsatisfactory this is to you - time and again. and again. and again. and again. and again.
Well, now that that's been voiced, why not give it a rest? (just and idea)
Thanks.
Love,
Christina

Hi!
I think we should give credit to Pinky.She is so
understanding in helping us to learn something she feels of valuable to us likewise to herself.Thank you Pinky.Take care.
Sha

Yep Pinky is very set on bringing more understanding to people. I think alot of people have benefitted from her vigilance.

Posts should be posted in their correct topic: eg. non-QT posts in Off Topic. Making mistakes is part of the human experience. Be happy, don't worry.