Excerpt from Bragg’s Healthy Heart Book — Chapter 19
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Antioxidants are compounds that prevent free radicals from damaging your body! Both antioxidants and free radicals are naturally produced by your body. You can tip the scales in your favor by increasing the vital antioxidants in your body through a diet rich in vitamin C and E, barley grass, beta-carotene (found in green leafy vegetables, yams, sweet potatoes, carrots, etc.), and flavonoids (found in grapeseed extract, bee pollen, propolis, milk thistle, ginkgo, etc.). The danger of free radicals is immense, so please maximize your intake of antioxidants (through good nutrition and supplements) and minimize your exposure to toxic free radical catalysts.
Free Radical Catalysts Are Deadly
These substances are dangerous sources of free radical contamination. Exposure to them exacerbates the dangers that free radicals (#1 cause of ageing) pose to your health. It’s absolutely essential you eliminate (or limit!) your exposure to these toxic free radicals:
- Aluminum — antacids, deodorants, baking powder, tap water, deodorants, cans, foils, pots and pans, and in many drugs
- Cadmium — batteries, cigarette smoke, coffee, gasoline, and metal pipes
- Carbon Monoxide — auto exhaust, cigarette smoke, smog
- Chlorine — tap water, swimming pools and table salt
- Copper — tap water, toothpastes and dental work
- Lead — dyes, gasoline fumes, paint, plumbing, auto exhaust
- Mercury — amalgam (silver) fillings, fish, paint, cosmetics
- Nitrates and Nitrites — used in many processed foods, meats, etc. as a preservative. Also found in tap water.
- Petroleum Products — fuels, solvents, polishes, paints, and pesticides
- Polynuclear Hydrocarbons — fried, deep-fried and char-broiled and barbecued foods
- Radiation — environmental radiation, radon, televisions, and cellular phones
- Synthetic Drugs — antibiotics, painkillers, barbiturates, and in a host of other products