Antioxidants are substances that can stop or significantly slow down cell damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules that the body produces in response to environment pressures or other types of pressure (1). Sometimes, antioxidants are called ‘free-radical scavengers.’ 

The way you get your antioxidants can be through food (which are types of antioxidants that many people prefer), or antioxidant vitamins. The best antioxidant vitamins are found in plant-based products, whether that’s plant-based foods or vitamins.

The body is also capable of producing antioxidants. When the body produces them, they’re called endogenous. When the antioxidant vitamins and minerals come from outside the body, they are referred to as ‘exogenous.’ 

Antioxidants have been known to balance the free radicals in the body, which can be a big help to overall health. Taking antioxidant supplements can prevent oxidative stress, which has been linked to conditions like heart disease, cancer, arthritis, stroke, immune deficiency, and emphysema, among others. 

Too many free radicals in the body is what causes oxidative stress. The best liquid antioxidants can decrease and stabilize free radicals in the body, and this is something that you may need if you are consistently around high levels of pollution, UV exposure, or cigarette smoke. These are external factors that can lend themselves to free radical production. 

The best antioxidants that work on regulating free radicals in the body include vitamins A, C, E, and the mineral selenium (2). 

It’s thought that antioxidant supplements can prevent damage caused by free radicals in the body - whether those free radicals come from internal or external sources - and promote longevity and overall health. But it’s important to talk to your doctor before incorporating antioxidant supplements into your everyday routine, because a dosage of antioxidants that is too high can be detrimental. 

Antioxidant Benefits

Out of all the antioxidant benefits, the main one is the fact that antioxidants can prevent and protect against cell damage that free radicals cause - this is also known as oxidative stress. Here are a few activities that can lead to harmful oxidative stress:

• Mitochondrial activity
• Excessive exercise
• Tissue trauma due to inflammation/injury
• Consumption of certain foods that contain trans fans and artificial sweeteners
• Smoking
• Environmental pollution
• Radiation
• Ozone

Exposure and such activities can lead to cell damage, and that cell damage caused by oxidative stress has been linked to cancer, vision loss, and other negative conditions. The main benefit out of the many antioxidant supplements benefits involves reducing such risks (2). 

If you’re still wondering - how do antioxidants work? It’s simple - antioxidants don’t only act as scavengers to free radicals, they also aid in other areas of the body such as: Adding hydrogen and electrons, decomposing peroxide, quenching singlet oxygen, inhibiting enzymes, and aiding in the act of synergizing. They also may be able to do work in reducing vision loss that occurs due to age-related macular degeneration in elderly people. 

Taking too many antioxidants may prove to be detrimental, though. Talk to your doctor before moving forward with antioxidants to make sure that your body is at the level where it would benefit you to take supplements. 

Best Antioxidant Supplements

The best organic antioxidant supplements can do a little bit of everything. For example, you may not know that the best antioxidant supplements also can aid your skin in many different ways (3).  The best antioxidant supplements for skin can correct signs of age (oxidative stress breaks down collagen, hurts the skin’s natural repair process, and triggers inflammation). They can also help prevent sun damage, help your skin begin to repair itself, and brighten skin tone in general. 

The best antioxidant supplement for skin is one that contains vitamin C. Funny enough, this is also the best antioxidant supplement for your immune system (4).

This type of antioxidant is the most studied one out there. It can boost collagen production and leave skin firmer, along with having the power to fade dark spots. 

The best antioxidant supplement for acne is one that contains niacinamide. It can also reduce fine lines and wrinkles along with soothing breakouts and improving the skin’s barrier function. 

Along with being helpful when it comes to skin and the immune system, vitamin C is also the best antioxidant supplement for cancer (5). It may be able to protect against cancer of the oral cavity, stomach, and esophagus, along with reducing the risk of developing cancers of the rectum, pancreas, and cervix. It has also been linked to protection against breast and lung cancer. 

If you’re looking for a good source of vitamin C that can help your skin, immune system, and may prevent cancer, you can look for a worthy supplement or you can get it from a long list of delicious foods. Foods that are a great source of vitamin C include: oranges, green peppers, strawberries, papayas, red peppers, and broccoli. On average, women should get about 75 mg of vitamin C a day and men should get about 90 mg. If you smoke cigarettes, it’s recommended that you see an intake of 100 mg of vitamin C per day. 

Are Antioxidant Drinks Good For You

It’s very likely that you’ve heard of antioxidant drinks before. But the real question is: Are antioxidant drinks good for you? The answer is that if you need a way to incorporate more antioxidants into your diet, drinks are a fine way to do it - as long as you keep an eye on the sugar content and the caffeine content (6). Not every drink is created equal - some are better than others. So, what are antioxidant drinks good for? Basically all the same things that antioxidants in general are good for. Antioxidant drink benefits include the fact that they neutralize free radicals - and doing so can prevent oxidative damage to your cells, along with reducing inflammation and protecting against chronic disease. 

There are plenty of options when it comes to antioxidant drinks - from coffees to teas to juices. Keep in mind that it’s best to pair these with a well-rounded diet and a healthy lifestyle in order to gain all of the benefits. To supplement your diet, a few good ideas for antioxidant drinks are unsweetened green tea, matcha, dandelion tea, black coffee, beet juice, pomegranate juice, acai berry juice, prickly pear lemonade, coconut water, and green juice. 

Best Antioxidant Drinks

The best antioxidant drinks can be commonly found at your local grocery store. They’re a great way to incorporate antioxidants into your diet, but like we mentioned in the last section, they shouldn’t make up your entire source of antioxidants, but there’s no reason they can’t supplement your intake. 

Green tea is one of the best natural antioxidant drinks because it’s rich in catechin, which is a natural antioxidant (7), along with epigallocatechin gallate, which can help treat various diseases. 

Another great choice for an antioxidant drink is coffee- and it works the best for your body when it’s served black. It’s shown even more antioxidant activity than green tea, including antioxidants like caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, catechin, quercetin, and rutin. Chlorogenic acid can’t be found in any other antioxidant drinks, and it’s been linked to preventing cardiovascular disease. 

One of the best antioxidant juices is pomegranate juice. It’s very powerful, but this is one of the antioxidant juices that you should drink in moderation - because it doesn’t contain very much fiber. It has a high amount of antioxidants though, gleaned mostly from polyphenols that give it its red hue. 

Coconut water is another great antioxidant drink - but only if it’s fresh and not processed. You can get a lot of micronutrients from this drink like potassium, vitamin C, and manganese. 

Beetroot juice is yet another good choice. This juice is good for blood and liver purification, and it contains an antioxidant called betalain. Betalain helps to detoxify the body, and it breaks down toxins so they can be more easily excreted. Even as little as a pigment of betalains that can be obtained by ¼ cup of beetroot juice can reverse the effects of damage done by free radicals. That’s a pretty amazing drink! 

Best Antioxidant Foods

Antioxidants are produced in the body and also found in foods, and the best antioxidant foods are ones that you can incorporate into your everyday life. Eating a diet that’s rich in antioxidants will show you the antioxidant foods benefits - which include increasing the antioxidant levels in your blood and possibly reducing the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer (8). 

The best antioxidant food is, of course, the kind that tastes good. So, chocolate lovers everywhere will rejoice when we tell you that dark chocolate is a great source of antioxidants, as it has up to 15 mmol of antioxidants per 100 grams of chocolate, which is even more than blueberries and raspberries (two of the best antioxidant fruits). 

Pecans are another great food with a high amount of antioxidants, as they can raise antioxidant levels in the blood. 

Strawberries, along with blueberries and raspberries, are high in antioxidants as well. They could even be incorporated into a smoothie for the healthiest juice option. 

Other food choices that are high in antioxidants include artichokes, which contain up to 4.7 mmol of antioxidants, goji berries that contain about 4.3 mmol, kale which contains about 2.7 mmol, red cabbage that contains about 2.2 mmol, beans, beets, and spinach.

Out of all these choices, dark chocolate contains the most antioxidants - but remember, moderation is key when it comes to consumption. 

Resources

1. Ware, Megan. "How can antioxidants benefit our health?" Medical News Today, 29 May 2018, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/301506.
2. Van De Walle, Gavin. "Should You Take Antioxidant Supplements?" Healthline, 13 Nov. 2018, www.healthline.com/nutrition/antioxidant-supplements#what-they-are.
3. "Antioxidants in Skin Care: How Do They Work and Which Ones Are the Best?" Dermstore, www.dermstore.com/blog/antioxidants-in-skin-care/.
4. "Foods To Boost the Immune System." Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 13 Mar. 2020, www.pcrm.org/news/blog/foods-boost-immune-system,
5. "Antioxidants as Part of Your Cancer Diet." Stanford Health Care, https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-clinics/cancer-nutrition-services/reducing-cancer-risk/antioxidants.html
6. Link, Rachael. "10 Best Antioxidant Drinks, Plus How They Benefit Your Health." Healthline, 5 Aug. 2020, www.healthline.com/nutrition/best-antioxidant-drinks.
7. Bhattacharyya, Rashi. "#HealthBytes: These 5 drinks are rich in antioxidants." NewsBytes, 8 Aug. 2020, www.newsbytesapp.com/news/lifestyle/5-drinks-that-are-rich-in-antioxidants/story.
8. Raman, Ryan. "12 Healthy Foods High in Antioxidants." Healthline, 12 Mar. 2018, www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods-high-in-antioxidants.