Oxidative stress can come from both inside and outside the body. Inside as your body burns fuel for energy, and outside from toxins which can cause cells to function improperly. These toxins are invisible and can come from the air we breathe, can be absorbed through the skin, ingested through food and liquid and can be created by the body itself.

Let me give you one example of a well known toxin--"second hand smoke!" Endothelial cells line the heart, blood and lymph vessels; if you smoke, the arteries constrict or get smaller. If you breathe second hand smoke the constriction is exactly the same and it does non-repairable damage to the circulatory system.

Simply increase "antioxidant production" in order to protect the cells! Good science exists telling us that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is vital to good health and prevention of disease. Special plant nutrients called phytochemicals, found in fruits & vegetables can literally be the difference between life and death. Your diet must contain key ingredients for bodily needs. Some of these can't be manufactured by the body itself, but must be supplied by the foods we eat, called "essential elements".

They have the ability to donate an electron to the free radical, thus disarming it. When the antioxidant donates an electron, it becomes a free radical itself, the difference being it is now more stable and the body can get rid of it by flushing it out. By reducing oxidative stress you can reduce dysfunctions of the immune system that lead to many diseases.

We can't get around the fact that the body is going to produce free radicals as food is burned for energy within the cells. However, antioxidant supplements are not the same as fresh-raw fruits & vegetables because they are fragmented. For example, more than 12,000 phytochemicals have been identified in fruits and vegetables. An "antioxidant" supplement has taken a given number of nutrients out of the whole food and isolated them in a "pill".

It is important to remember that oxidative stress is in reality, cellular damage which increases the likelihood of advanced aging, cancer, diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypertension, cataracts and decline in immune system function. For us to fight back it is recommended that we eat 5-9, and athletes 9-13, servings of fruits & vegetables every day. Most people find this difficult, if not impossible.

This is why we recommend Juice Plus+®, the next best thing to fresh-raw fruits and vegetables; proven by independent research studies and published in peer-reviewed journals.

Your best protection against the ravages of oxidative stress on your body is to eat the best whole foods possible, and then bridge the gap between your best efforts--and optimal nutrition--with an antioxidant-rich complement to your diet. We recommend using Nutripoints to assist you with the best whole foods, and Juice Plus+® as the best antioxidant-rich complement.