Recent studies show that antioxidants can significantly help burn excess body fat. Coupled with other benefits aside from weight loss, use of antioxidants in your weight loss journey can make the whole experience pleasant and successful. New research from Geeks Health revealed antioxidants can significantly help slow down or prevent damage caused by free radicals —a condition commonly identified as oxidative stress— to the body cells. But can it help you cut down those extra pounds as proposed by most scientific studies? In this article, we’ll discuss the role of antioxidants in weight loss.
Common Benefits of Weight Loss
Before jumping into weight loss, what are some of the general benefits of antioxidants? For starters, oxidative stress has been linked to cancer, vision loss, and even atherosclerosis. These and other changes, if not addressed properly early enough, may cause other severe medical conditions. According to some studies, intake of antioxidant-rich foods has proved to reduce the following risks; Molecular degeneration, vision loss, and other age-related conditions in senior citizens. This is according to some scientific findings. Another study from Geeks Health also points out that antioxidants can act as peroxide decomposers, scavengers, electron donors, hydrogen donors, and other forms that emulate free radicals to assist in eliminating them.
Benefits of Antioxidants in Weight Loss
In the modern era, the need to slim down has greatly changed food consumption habits for most people. For example, Instagram models and actresses want their bodies to achieve a certain level of slim. Since these social media influencers also post their own wellness routines online, youths are also following in their steps to achieve what they’ve achieved body-wise. Suppose you want to enjoy the benefits of antioxidants highlighted previously; consumption of foods like vegetables, nuts, fruits, wine, and tea can go a long way. Not only will the antioxidant content tinker a bit with the fat to help you lose weight, but it’ll also maintain your heart’s health. Your body also has the capability of producing its own antioxidants naturally but in small amounts. Such amounts aren’t sufficient to fend off free radicals. So, still, it doesn’t steer you clear of free radicals. Remember that you get more antioxidants primarily from consuming fruits and vegetables. Veggies and fruits with high levels of antioxidants are usually also rich in beta-carotene, vitamin E, lycopene, vitamins A and C, selenium, and lutein. Dietitians and most doctors recommend taking antioxidant supplements if you can’t get enough of it from your diet. As a warning, don’t be too dependent on the supplements. Excessive consumption of selenium, vitamin A and E are harmful to your health. So before incorporating the supplements into your diet, seek advice from a certified dietician or your medical caregiver. Although your body produces antioxidants, these compounds are still unstable molecules capable of wrecking havoc in your body. So it’s imperative you limit the number of antioxidants in your body to the foods you consume. To prevent the excessive supply of antioxidants, avoid air polluted areas, smoking, consuming chemically processed foods, applying toxic skin care products, and smoking.
Scientific Evidence
In a study to test how antioxidants can help with weight loss, antioxidants known as phenolic acid and flavonoids from mice were placed in test tubes. The results showed that the antioxidants didn’t slash down the number of fat cells in the tubes. Instead, it triggered the reduction of the heart-hazardous chemical triglyceride. The study concluded that the antioxidants curbed the enzyme responsible for triglyceride production. Still, in the same study, the researchers reported that the effectiveness of this enzyme was significantly reduced by flavonoid rutin, phenolic acid, and o-coumaric acid. According to the journal of agriculture and food chemistry, most obese individuals have high triglyceride levels in their hearts, as demonstrated in the above experiment with mice. So theoretically, eating foods rich in antioxidants can help overweight people cut down extra pounds. According to Dr. Gow-Chin Yen, a professor from the Chung Hsing National University in Taiwan, more research needs to be done to find out if antioxidants and fat cells will behave in a similar manner as demonstrated in the above experiment in the human body.
Final Takeaway
Weight loss has many theories behind it, and the solidly proven way to lose weight is by consuming fewer calories daily than your body burns. One way to effectively lose weight with this method is by restricting yourself to consuming small portions of calories. Then exercise properly to burn more calories during the day. So far, studies to establish the effectiveness of antioxidants for weight loss are inconclusive. Free radicals are known to cause problems with cognition, heart diseases, and even cancer, among other health complications. It doesn’t automatically mean that consuming foods rich in antioxidants will ultimately fix the problem, especially when consumed out of natural context.