It is popularly known that to maintain a healthy lifestyle it is necessary to eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables as well as perform physical activity on a regular basis. In this sense, a healthy and balanced diet must incorporate vitamins that provide us with enough energy and nutrients to do the tasks that our daily lives require. Within this context, exogenous antioxidants emerge as fundamental allies to combat oxidative stress and its negative consequences in our body. But what are exogenous antioxidants? Can we obtain them externally through our diet?
According to health professionals, exogenous antioxidants—also called dietary antioxidants—play a crucial role in neutralizing free radicals that can damage our cells and contribute to premature aging and the development of chronic diseases. “Fruits, vegetables, and grains are rich sources of dietary antioxidants,” as detailed in this article by the National Cancer Institute (NIH). Thus, some examples of exogenous antioxidants or dietary antioxidants are “beta-carotene, lycopene, and vitamins A, C, and E,” highlights the NIH. Taking into account their benefits, we can incorporate them into our diet in a simple way by consuming some foods that include them among their nutrients.
