If you have been around nutrition for very long, you have probably heard the word "vegetarian". This word is used a lot but some people do not know exactly what it means. If you are one of those who kind of knows the meaning but still want to learn more there is a good article to read on that very subject. Some questions are asked if goji berries are ok for vegetarian's and the answer is yes it is ok for a vegetarian to eat goji berries. Click on the link below to learn more about Vegetarian.
As cells function normally in the body, they produce damaged molecules, called free radicals. These free radicals are highly unstable and steal components from other cellular molecules, such as fat, protein, or DNA, thereby spreading the damage.
This damage continues in a chain reaction, and entire cells soon become damaged and die. This process is called peroxidation. Peroxidation is useful because it helps the body destroy cells that have outlived their usefulness and kills germs and parasites. However, peroxidation, when left unchecked, also destroys or damages healthy cells.
Antioxidants help prevent widespread cellular destruction by willingly donating components to stabilize free radicals. More importantly, antioxidants return to the surface of the cell to stabilize rather than damage other cellular components.
When there are not enough antioxidants to hold peroxidation in check, free radicals begin damaging healthy cells, which in turn, can lead to problems. For example, free radical damage to immune cells can lead to an increased risk of infections.
As most people know Goji Berries have received a lot of attention in the last few years. Some of it good and some of it bad. Regardless of which one you believe goji berries have been through many tests and have received a lot of research. Some people believe that the goji berry fruit is all hype and yet others believe that it is a miracle berry. Either way this berry contains many beneficial properties that cannot be ignored.
Exercise can build you up, but it can also wear you down. Endurance exercise in particular can increase oxygen utilization from 10 to 20 times over the resting state, and this greatly increases the generation of highly reactive free radicals. Once formed, free radicals begin a chain reaction, attacking and damaging or destroying the cells of muscles, connective tissues, and joints.
To prevent free-radical damage, the body has a defense system of antioxidants. These special molecules interact with free radicals, terminating the chain reaction before healthy body cells are ireparably damaged. Many fruits contain antioxidants, and although they may show impressive antioxidant capacity in a laboratory beaker (also known as the ORAC test), they may perform poorly once inside the human body. In fact, many high-ORAC dietary antioxidants never leave the digestive tract.
The best antioxidant strategy is to optimize the body's production of its own highly active antioxidant enzymes. These circulate in the blood, offering protection for the whole body against the damage and fatigue that can be caused by unchecked free-radical activity.
