Oxygen is necessary for humans. To breathe as well as product energy, our bodies require the use of oxygen. Organisms known as free radicals are produced as our bodies use oxygen. Oxidative stress is caused when these free radicals interact with the various cells in our bodies and essentially damage those cells. As a result the cell’s membrane, proteins and even genes are affected. Many disease and even the aging process are linked to oxidative stress. More on Stress.

Anti-Oxidants

Your body uses anti-oxidants to combat oxidative stress and work against the free radicals that can cause potential damage. Genetic makeup affects the amount of anti-oxidants your body produces. Some external factors also influence it including smoking, diet and pollution.

Lifestyle Plays a Part

The amount of anti-oxidants we produce and how much oxidative stress we are under relies in large part on our lifestyle. You will not produce as many anti-oxidants if your diet is not up to par and your bodies will come under more oxidative stress. This makes you more susceptible to disease and other problems.

Another activity that makes you more susceptible to oxidative stress is smoking, so you should either quit smoking or at the very least slow down. Today there are many drugs and products.available to help you stop smoking. When you think of how many years you could add to your life, quitting smoking won’t be easy but it is worth it.

Diet is Important

The anti-oxidants our bodies produce are not sufficient to get rid of all the free radicals in our bodies unfortunately. However, in the foods we eat for instance, there are more anti-oxidants available to us. You should include more anti-oxidant rich foods in your diet to increase the amount of anti-oxidants in your body and to decrease the amount of oxidative stress you are under. Some of these foods include tomatoes, carrots, tea and citrus fruits. Taking a multi-vitamin daily in order to combat oxidative stress is also a good idea.

We can better protect ourselves from many diseases such as cancer if we increase the amount of anti-oxidants in our bodies to help combat the free radicals and eliminate oxidative stress. By better protecting ourselves with eating better, quitting smoking and just living a healthy lifestyle we can hope to stay disease free and age more gracefully to have both a long and healthy life.

Matthew Keegan is expert on Oxidative Stress .