Antioxidants: How Do Carotenoids, Flavonoids, Vitamin E & More Work?

What Are Antioxidants and Why Are They Important?

Antioxidants—a word you’ve probably heard many times before. But what exactly are these “radical scavengers,” and why should they be on your radar? In a nutshell, antioxidants are substances that help your body defend itself against harmful free radicals. But what are free radicals exactly? And why are they so dangerous?

What Are Free Radicals?

Free radicals are highly reactive oxygen or nitrogen compounds that form in your body—often as a by-product of energy metabolism. These unstable compounds react quickly with other molecules and can damage proteins, lipids, or even your DNA. The problem? These damages can lead to serious health issues, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, or neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s.

While free radicals are a natural part of your body, factors like smoking, alcohol, pollution, and UV radiation can dramatically increase the production of these harmful molecules. The resulting “oxidative stress” can overwhelm your body and lead to the issues mentioned above.

How Do Antioxidants Work in the Body?

Now for the good news: antioxidants can stop these chain reactions by neutralising free radicals. Imagine a single free radical leaving a trail of destruction in its wake—that’s where antioxidants come in. They break this destructive chain and protect your cells from damage.

Which Substances Are Considered Antioxidants?

There’s a wide variety of antioxidants that combat different types of free radicals. In addition to naturally occurring antioxidants in your body, such as Coenzyme Q10, many can be obtained through your diet. These include vitamins C and E, beta-carotene (a precursor to vitamin A), and various carotenoids like zeaxanthin, lutein, and lycopene. Polyphenols like anthocyanins, flavonoids, and resveratrol are also powerful antioxidants.

Some minerals, such as selenium, are crucial as they’re needed for the synthesis of antioxidant enzymes.

Which Foods Are Rich in Antioxidants?

You might be wondering, “Where can I get all these antioxidants?” The answer is simple—through a colourful and varied diet. Fruits and vegetables with intense colours are especially rich in antioxidants. Here are some examples:

• Green: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, spinach, Swiss chard
• Orange: Apricots, mango, sweet potatoes, carrots
• Red: Peppers, tomatoes, strawberries, cherries, pomegranate
• Purple: Blueberries, blackberries, aubergines, red cabbage, beetroot

In addition, drinks like tea, coffee, and cocoa, as well as healthy fats like olive oil, are rich in polyphenols. You’ll find vitamin E especially in oils like sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, and in nuts.

You can also take antioxidants as supplements.

What Benefits Do Antioxidants Have for the Skin?

Oxidative stress plays a major role in skin ageing. Free radicals in the skin mainly arise from UV radiation and pollution. These aggressive compounds damage the DNA of skin cells, impairing the skin’s barrier function and regeneration. (In the worst case, DNA damage can lead to skin cancer.) Free radicals can also damage the elastic network of collagen fibres in the subcutaneous tissue. Over time, many small defects add up—making the skin thinner, drier, looser, and causing wrinkles.

Whether in skin creams or through your diet, antioxidants can also neutralise free radicals in the skin, slowing down the ageing process. However, you should still use an effective—and consistently applied!—sunscreen. Here’s what else you need to know about healthy skin.

How Are Antioxidants Linked to Healthy Ageing?

What we’ve just discussed about the skin can be generalised. Ageing is a process where small damages to tissues and organs accumulate over time, eventually leading to visible and noticeable impairments in the body’s functionality. The prevailing theory of ageing today primarily blames oxidative stress from free radicals for these damages.

Antioxidants are “radical scavengers” that reduce oxidative stress or prevent it from occurring in the first place. By eating a diet rich in antioxidants, you support your body’s natural antioxidant defences in fighting oxidative stress. This way, ageing processes can be delayed, and age-related diseases can be slowed down or even prevented.