Antioxidants. Chances are, you’ve heard this term thousands of times because of their importance to overall health. Given the broad (and possibly overwhelming) selection on the market, it may be tough to figure out how to select the best antioxidant supplements to add to your daily regimen. Here’s where vitamin C comes in. You’ve certainly heard of it before; you probably even know that oranges are full of it. But, do you fully understand how this antioxidant powerhouse works and why you need it?

The Antioxidant Factor
Even in small amounts, vitamin C can protect indispensable molecules in the body such as proteins, lipids (fats), carbohydrates and nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) from damage by free radicals that can be generated during normal metabolism as well as through exposure to toxins and pollutants (1). Free radicals, by the way, are highly unstable atoms with unpaired electrons in their outer shells. For the non-chemists among us, that means these... 

Ever wonder why doctors always tell you to take your vitamins? Vitamins help maintain optimal health and wellness. Unfortunately, some cannot be found in your everyday diet and we often do not eat enough to experience the maximum benefits. Therefore, it is critical to consider proper supplementation of your diet with basic vitamins.

Vitamin A
Vitamin A is well known for helping to improve vision. It converts light signals so you can read and helps you distinguish colors. An inadequate intake results in night blindness—a condition in which the eyes have difficulty adjusting to darkness or bright lights—but can be addressed by increasing your vitamin A consumption (1). Vitamin A also has been shown to have benefits for some patients with certain cancers such as bladder, breast and prostate (2).

In addition to vitamin supplements, this nutrient can be found in fish liver oil. And, vitamin A palmitate is often added to foods like fat-free or low-fat...