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Life can get pretty hurried at times and the first thing to go out the window is our diet. When your diet begins to slip, chances are good the amount of antioxidants you’re giving your body begins to slip as well.

Not eating properly, and not supplementing your body with fresh supplies of antioxidants in the form of fresh fruits and vegetables, causes several problems to appear.

Signs that your body is lacking in antioxidants include a lack of energy, problems sleeping (your nocturnal detoxification cycle has to work too hard because your body has become too acidic), a lack of focus/concentration, and generalized inflammation in your body which, in and of itself, causes a whole host of problems.

Let’s just take one of these symptoms caused by a lack of antioxidants, generalized inflammation, and look at how antioxidants are essential to keeping every cell in your body healthy.

Mitochondria are referred to as the “powerhouses” or “furnaces” of each and every cell in our body. Their function is to carry out the reactions in which oxygen is used to break down foods. As food is broken down, energy is released. However, so are free radicals; the natural by-product of this natural process.

This energy creation releases by-products called oxidants (also known as free radicals); so named because the process by which the by energy is formed uses oxygen.

These oxidants create an oxidative reaction, much like when iron rusts or when an apple turns brown when cut. The waste products of oxidation clog up your cells, making cells less able to produce energy.

Because cells are located all over your body, oxidation also happens all over your body. While your body tries to repair the damages from oxidation with antioxidants, generalized inflammation occurs.

In nature, this repair process happens to the maple tree when it’s tapped for its sap, giving us the wonderful maple syrup we all enjoy on our Sunday morning pancakes. A recent study looking at how the maple tree releases antioxidants into its sap to repair the damage done to the bark by maple syrup production now finds that pure maple syrup contains beneficial antioxidants for us as well!

For you chemistry buffs out there, or for those of you who just like to know more, CLICK HERE to watch a great four-minute video on free radicals and how antioxidants work.

We all know that sometimes life can get out of control but we should never forget to feed our bodies to help us through such times. More fresh fruits and vegetables increase your body’s supply of antioxidants, helping it repair itself from potential damage that can be done simply by producing more energy when we really need it.

Think of it this way, if you had to get somewhere fast, wouldn’t you put gas in your car so it could get you there?

To read the full article on antioxidants, CLICK HERE.

Q: Do you have any tips for quick refueling when you’re in a hurry but still need to eat? How do you make sure you get your fruits and vegetables every day?

Pre and probiotics help regulate the body’s micro-environment, particularly in the mouth, stomach, intestines and bowel. Ideally, we want these environments to be made up of helpful, healthy, “friendly” microorganisms. Balance is so important because as soon as one is out of balance, it can adversely affect the rest.

So, what causes an imbalance?

Today’s most common culprits are antibiotics (even the word itself suggests an imbalance – “anti-biotics” – “anti” – against; “biotics” – life. ) which disrupt the environmental balance, allowing unhealthy organisms to become over-colonized, taking the place of environmentally friendly bacteria. When this happens, we begin to see symptoms such as colon problems, allergies, infections and other problems related to the immune system.

We can’t always rely on our diet to supply us with a balance of all the pre and probiotics we need. This is where supplements can come to the rescue. Probiotics are living bacteria, best found in yogurt and drinks which contain live cultures. Living bacteria, when conditions are harsh, revert to a spore form which has a longer shelf life and will survive the journey through your stomach’s acidic environment to reach your colon and start to grow and develop into healthy colonies. The two most common types are Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria.

Prebiotics need to be present to act as food for these colonies of probiotics so they can grow and reproduce. Prebiotics also make it through the stomach’s environmental hazards because they are a non-digestible functional food. Prebiotics pass through untouched and become fodder for probiotics so they can carry on the job of wiping out pathogenic bacteria.

To read the full article on pre and probiotics, CLICK HERE.

Q: How do you make sure your body has a balance of pre and probiotics every day?