Antioxidants have long been touted as anti-aging agents that work to prevent the damage caused by prolonged exposure to free radicals. The theory is that by soaking up or neutralizing free radicals, antioxidants enable us to live longer, healthier lives. Most people know that vitamin C is a strong antioxidant. What most people don’t know is that caffeine is an extremely potent antioxidant, many times more potent than vitamin C.
Now a probative analysis of new evidence sheds light on how the caffeine in coffee, tea, and other foods offers protection against conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease The report of this study, which describes the chemistry behind caffeine’s antioxidant effects, appears in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Physical Chemistry B.
In this report, Annia Galano and Jorge Rafael León-Carmona explain that, because of its high caffeine content, coffee is one of the richest sources of healthful antioxidants in the average person’s diet. Their research points to caffeine as the source of powerful antioxidant effects that may help protect people from the damage caused by aging. However, despite the light cast by their study, the full story of how caffeine scavenges free radicals, thus preventing their damaging effects, is still not known.
Finally, the authors of the report present detailed theoretical calculations on caffeine’s interactions with free radicals. Their theoretical conclusions show “excellent” consistency with research study results, supporting the evident conclusion that caffeine is in fact the source of coffee’s antioxidant activity.
CAFFEINE MUGS GALORE!!!!
