Antioxidants – a Key to Good Health

. . . in 2013 Beyond Health introduced two new important antioxidant formulas Beyond Health is proud of two new products we introduced this year, Age Defense Formula and Carotene Formula. Both of them supply critical antioxidants, which are needed today more than ever before in history. Oxidation is a major cause of aging and disease. One way to understand it is to think of a rusty fender. The rust occurs because of a chemical reaction with oxygen. Many chemical reactions in our bodies use oxygen and produce oxidation. This would cause our bodies to “rust” away if it weren’t for antioxidants – chemicals that stop the oxidizing process from doing damage. Our bodies make some antioxidants, but we also need to get ample antioxidants from our diet. We’ve always needed antioxidants, but today the need has skyrocketed. Not only has the antioxidant content in our food declined, but our polluted environment has vastly increased the need, so virtually everyone is dealing with two big problems: chronic inflammation and toxic overload. (I’ve explained chronic inflammation and how it can become a problem in an article you can access on our website.) Lots of antioxidants are needed to address both of these problems. If you don’t have enough, you will create the kind of repair deficits I talked about in the preceding article. Vitamin C is the most important of the antioxidants. Most of us should be getting at least 6000 mg a day of vitamin C. Almost anyone with a chronic disease should take vitamin C “to bowel tolerance.” The fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K should be included in everyone’s supplement program. Determine your need for vitamin D by getting a 25(OH)D blood test; levels should be in the “high-normal” range. Long-time Beyond Health customers know that before this year we hadn’t had a carotene (precursor to vitamin A) product for some time. We had carried a very good formula from Carlson for years, but it was discontinued. It took a long time for me to find a replacement that met my standards of quality and effectiveness. I finally found an all-natural, all-organic beta-carotene product we are now proud to offer, our Carotene Formula. Everyone should take this product. A 1984 study conducted by the National Academy of Sciences found the carotenoid content of tissue to be the most significant factor in determining maximal lifespan potential in humans and other mammals.In other words, the more carotenoids you consume, the longer you’re likely to live! I’ve always advised people to take “an array of different antioxidants” because different antioxidants address different kinds of pro-oxidants. Such an array is now available in one product: our new Age Defense Formula. There are five different types of pro-oxidant compounds called free radicals in the body. Age Defense Formula combats all five. But this formula does even more. Many of our most important antioxidants are produced internally. Age Defense Formula activates the body’s production of its primary antioxidants. You simply cannot get more complete antioxidant coverage than this. Plus you get the synergy of many antioxidant ingredients acting together, making each one many times more effective than they would be acting alone. For a complete list of antioxidant products carried by Beyond Health as well as antioxidant content of various foods, see our Antioxidant handout. One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen people make over the years is trying to save money by being too conservative in their antioxidant intake. This is “penny-wise and pound-foolish” – you’re saving a few bucks but failing to reverse and prevent costly illness. Just driving your car through the pollution of heavy traffic chews up a huge quantity of antioxidants; a serious illness chews up many times more.  Be good to yourself! Eat lots of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, take the basic antioxidant vitamins, including carotenes, as supplements, and then add Age Defense Formula and other antioxidant choices to your supplement program depending on your particular health issues.