Wednesday, December 20, 2006

 

Anti Aging Vitamin Supplements

When you're shopping for anti aging vitamin supplements, what should you look for? The best products are likely to be comprehensive multivitamin and mineral formulations that contain all the same vitamins and minerals you're used to, plus some special additions believed to be important for healthy aging. Because we now know that many aging processes are caused by tissue damage done by free radicals, supplements for healthy aging usually focus on antioxidants, substances that capture free radicals.

Antioxidant multivitamins contain a variety of antioxidants that remove free radicals - reactive molecules produced by pollutants, toxins, and metabolic processes - from tissue before they have a chance to react with healthy cells and do damage. Some familiar vitamins and minerals - such as Vitamin C, A, and E, zinc, and selenium - are potent antioxidants, so anti aging vitamin supplements usually contain them. Other antioxidants that are frequently added include lycopene, naturally found in tomatoes; sulforaphane, an extract of broccoli; lutein; and beta carotene. Getting a variety of antioxidants is important because, while they are all beneficial, they don't all act in the same way.

Choose your anti aging vitamin supplements with care - be sure to buy from a reputable source and check the product information for the amounts of all the ingredients. Just like regular vitamin preparations, antioxidant multivitamins should be clearly labeled, and have safe dosage information. Look for the letters "RDA" (recommended dietary allowance) and check what percentage of this your multivitamin provides. You may also see "EAR" (estimated average requirement) or "UL" (upper intake level). The UL is especially important because it tells you how much of something it is safe to ingest. Never exceed this level, and remember that you receive many nutrients and antioxidants in your diet as well. Too much can be just as bad as too little.

There is still controversy with respect to antioxidant multivitamins. While scientific research has clarified the role that free radicals play in the aging of our bodies, and experts agree that antioxidants are valuable weapons against free radicals, it’s unclear whether getting those antioxidants in anti aging vitamin supplements really does much good. There's no doubt that antioxidants found in foods are highly beneficial so, as a first step in an anti aging routine, eat a healthy diet with lots of brightly colored fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and whole grains. This will provide you with beneficial antioxidants. Then you can choose from the range of antioxidant multivitamins to top up your dietary intake and ensure that you've got it covered.






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