The benefits of green tea's antioxidant

By Collin James
By now you've heard about the green tea's antioxidant abilities, and how the quality of this antioxidant helps fight against dangerous diseases like cancer and heart disease. But what is an antioxidant? And why would anything that's anti-oxygen be good for you or for your bodies health?

Antioxidants themselves don't do anything to oxygen. What they do, do is fight a chemical reaction in your body called oxidation. I am sure your saying right now, wait a second - that's what causes metal to rust - I am not made of metal! Your right to say that but oxidation is the interaction between oxygen molecules and the substances they come in contact with. If this just so happens to be living tissue, then that's when disease occurs.

The damaged caused by oxidation in your body is caused by free radicals, which are highly reactive molecules that cruise around your body doing nothing but causing problems. Oxygen is the most common source of generating these free radicals.

Oxygen typically travels throughout the body in pairs, and these two molecules share electrons. But sometimes this double molecule splits into two separate oxygen molecules called singlet oxygen. When this happens, there are no longer enough electrons to go around, so each oxygen molecule ends up one electron short. This destabilizes the molecule, in a sense throwing it off balance. In order too stabilize itself, it races off throughout the body in search of another electron.

The molecule does not just wait for a spare electron to pop up, but what it does is it steals one from another molecule. The problem keeps reoccurring over and over again. The process is what causes cells to be damaged, and the entire body system gets effected by it. This is believed to be the major cause of cancer, heart disease and aging.

Antioxidants work against "electron stealing" by neutralizing and stabilizing free radicals. They do this by donating an electron so that singlet oxygen and other free radicals no longer have the urge to "steal." And while the body does produce a certain amount of antioxidants for the express purpose of taking care of such problems, it also needs the added help of antioxidants found in foods.

Among others, these include beta-carotene, vitamins C and E, the mineral selenium, and various phytochemicals such as lycopene and quercetin. But the catechins, especially EGCg, are among the most powerful and effective antioxidants of all.