The researchers discovered that those who ate fresh foods high in antioxidants, such as grapes, oranges, tomatoes, and nuts, were less likely to have wheezing and other respiratory symptoms. In yet another British study of over 2,500 middle-aged men, those who ate five apples a week had greater lung functioning than those who ate no apples. The researchers believed that healthy compounds found in apples, like anti­oxidants, have allergy-fighting effects.

It’s not clear if antioxidant supplements, particularly vitamins C and E, have the same effect. When inflammatory cells located in the airways and lungs, called eosinophils and neutrophils, are activated, they create oxidants, which irritate the lungs and cause mucus. Several studies have shown that vitamins E and C can help tame that reaction when it’s caused by smog and other air pollutants.

Vitamin C is believed to be a natural antihistamine, and vitamin E is said to enhance the function of immune cells to better ward off free radicals. A long-term study is taking a closer look at how these antioxidants function in the lungs and whether supplemental therapy will decrease inflammation produced by allergens.

Until the results of that study are in, alternative medicine experts believe the best reason to take antioxi­dant supplements is to accomplish what allergy drugs cannot: addressing the underlying problem of allergies by strengthening the immune system. Doctors recommend taking 500 milligrams of vitamin C and 400 IU of vitamin E to balance and strengthen the immune system naturally.

Although the Daily Value for vitamin C is only 60 milligrams, these higher doses are considered safe for most people. Extremely high doses can cause stomach upset, nausea, and diarrhea in some people. If you experience any discomfort, you might want to cut back. Recent reports suggest that a daily dose of vitamin E greater than 400 IU can be harmful, so it’s best not to exceed this dosage.

Allergic Reaction

Allergy symptoms occur when your body’s immune system overreacts to substances in your environment. Most people can live with a little cat dan­der, dust, or pollen, for example. But people with allergies have immune systems that can react to just about anything that comes along.

It fights these foreign substances just as it would bacteria or viruses, the main causes of run-of-the-mill allergy symptoms are histamine and leukotrienes, biochemicals that your immune system releases. Your immune system is an incredibly complex system of several different kinds of cells work­ing in tandem. The overly sensitive cells involved in allergies are mainly mast cells and basophils.

Mast cells are found in tissues such as your skin, lungs, throat, stomach, and intestines, while basophils hang out in your blood ves­sels. As you can see, these cells monitor nearly every part of the body.

Nose Runs

Histamine plays an important role in certain types of allergic reactions. It causes small blood vessels to widen and become more permeable to fluid, allowing fluid to pass from the bloodstream into sur­rounding tissues, causing nasal congestion, runny eyes and nose, and some­times hives.

Histamine makes the smooth muscles in the walls of the lungs, blood vessels, stomach, intestines, and bladder contract. That contraction brings on a wide range of symptoms. In the lungs, for example, histamine may cause wheezing. Histamine release also indirectly stimulates the production of thick, sticky mucus.

Allergies

You can blame parent for the fact that you’re allergic; the ten­dency is inherited. But some doctors believe a healthy diet and certain nutri­tional supplements can balance your immune system, keeping it strong but not over reactive.

To crack the underlying problem, you really need a healthy nutritional foundation that’s based on diet. If you continue to eat poorly and simply take a few supplements, you aren’t likely to see much of a benefit. With that in mind, here are particulars on the nutrients that may be helpful in fighting allergies.

Body Cell

Your body’s natural antioxidant sys­tems were simply not designed to handle rooms full of cigarette smoke, a diet loaded with fat and constant exposure to new and more virulent viruses.

This may change once scientists learn how to alter our genes so that we produce more natural antioxidants. But in the meantime, we do have another option: enhancing our natural antioxidants with synthetic antioxidants—in a word, supplements.

Laboratory studies indicate that antioxidant supplements, predomi­nantly vitamins C and E plus beta-carotene and selenium, seem to be able to neutralize free radicals caused by exposure to environmental pollut­ants.

Does that mean that supplements can actually slow the aging process? Nobody knows yet, but scientists are actively trying to figure that out.

Although antioxidant supplements perform well on laboratory animals, it may be some time before science can answer that question for humans.

Fruit Supply

Yet while we’re waiting to find out, one thing seems absolutely clear: Those folks who take supplemental antioxidants or who enrich their diets with antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables certainly seem to be preventing development of the diseases that can accelerate the aging process. A long-term study conducted by French researchers called the SUplementation en Vltamines et Mineraux AntioXydants (SU.VI.MAX) set out to assess the effects of vitamin and minerals supplements on chronic diseases, such as cancer and heart disease. They looked at whether a cocktail of antioxidants at doses that are available through a healthy balanced diet could reduce the risk of disease over a period of 7 ½  years. Over 13,000 adults between the ages of 45 and 60 were given either a placebo or a supplement containing 120 milligrams of vitamin C, 30 milligrams of vitamin E, 6 milligrams of beta- carotene, 100 micrograms of selenium, and 20 milligrams of zinc. After 7 ½ years, the researchers found that the men in the group taking the supple­ments had a lower incidence of cancer.

Hundreds of population-based studies like this one conducted over the past 2 decades have demonstrated that high intake of antioxidants, through food or supplements, reduces the risk of diseases that accelerate us into old age and helps us maintain a high quality of life. However, clinical studies of antioxidant supplements taken singly or at high doses over an extended period of time aren’t as consistently positive.

Cysteine Peptide Chart

Getting people to eat a more nutrient-dense diet as they age is impor­tant, says Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, director of the antioxidants research lab­oratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston. But what you eat is also important, he adds.

In essence, eating a super high-quality diet is crucial if you want to do all that you can to stay young longer. It’s especially important to key in on good food sources of vitamins C and E and carot­enoids like beta-carotene. Good sources include orange and yellow vegeta­bles, fruits, and whole grains.

Fruits

Each system is ingeniously designed to produce an antioxidant, a natu­rally occurring chemical that binds to the free radical (or the oxidant, as it is sometimes called) before it reaches the cells. In doing so, the antioxidant helps preserve your body’s healthy molecules.

Each antioxidant is designed to work in a different way in a different part of the cell. Its marching orders come from the genetic instructions on your chromosomes, and its power comes from a ready supply of specific nutrients in your diet.

Natural Antioxidants Table

One natural antioxidant is dependent upon the availability of copper, zinc, and manganese. Another is dependent on iron, and a third is dependent on selenium.

How much do you need? That all depends on what it takes to maintain an ideal balance of antioxidants. But since scientists are just beginning to understand what’s necessary, the best that we can do right now is eat a vari­ety of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables.

Good Food Sources: Beef, Cream of Wheat cereal, baked potatoes, soybeans, pumpkin seeds, clams.

Description:

There’s no doubt that many of us can use more iron than we’re getting. Roughly 20 percent of Americans are deficient in this mineral. The group most likely to be coming up short: women in their reproductive years.

Iron, which is absorbed in the intestines, comes in two forms: heme and non heme. Found in meats, the heme form is well absorbed. Men get about two-thirds of their iron needs met by heme iron; the amount varies for women. Nonheme iron is found in vegetables and isn’t as well absorbed.

Most of the iron you consume goes to form hemoglobin, the substance that helps your red blood cells transport oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. The remainder is stored in the bone marrow, liver, spleen, and other organs.

Because iron also plays a key role in helping to prepare your immune system’s infection fighters for battle, a deficiency may lead to colds. Low iron levels can also cause fatigue, pallor, and listlessness—hallmarks of anemia. In children, low iron levels can cause stunted growth and impaired learning. Other symptoms of iron deficiency include split nails, a sore tongue, and cold hands and feet. An annoying condition called restless legs has also been linked to low iron.

Some experts even believe that vague gastrointestinal problems such as gas, belching, constipation, and diarrhea may be rooted in iron deficiency. If you suspect that you may be deficient in iron, ask your family doctor or your gynecologist to test your blood at your yearly exam.

How To Consume In Right Way?

Here’s a fact about iron supplements that should encourage healthy respect: The leading cause of fatal poisoning in children under 6 years old is acciden­tal overdosing on products with iron. So make sure your iron supplements are tightly capped and kept out of their reach.

Although accidental iron poisonings occur most often in children who ingest supplements containing iron that are formulated for adults, high levels of iron can also be toxic to adults. Therefore, most experts recommend that you don’t take iron supplements unless your doctor confirms the need with a blood test.

A daily intake of 25 milligrams or more for an extended period of time may cause undesirable side effects. Symptoms of acute iron poisoning include pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and shock. Still, doctors normally recommend iron supplementation for pregnant women and for infants.

Among the variety of iron supplements, experts say those made with fer­rous salts are better absorbed. Among them, ferrous sulfate is considered best. Slow-release and coated iron tablets may cause less diarrhea, nausea, and abdominal pain, but since the site of maximum absorption is the beginning of the small intestine, delaying the time of release decreases the overall amount of iron absorbed by your body. Taking the tablets with a meal could go a long way in helping to reduce stomach upset, but then again, the food may inter­fere with the iron absorption. Therefore, since it is advantageous for absorp­tion, experts recommend taking iron supplements between meals if you do not experience side effects or you can tolerate iron taken in this manner.