Those of us with high blood pressure are in danger of greater exposure to oxidization on a daily basis. Antioxidants can help reduce high blood pressure by stabilizing this condition.

What is Oxidization?

Oxidization is a chemical reaction that is happening in your body constantly. As an illustration, let`s do a simple kitchen table experiment. Take an apple and half it in two. One side you will coat with lemon juice and the other side leave exposed to the air. You will notice after an hour or so that the uncoated half has started to turn brown but the lemon coated half has almost retained it`s freshness. What you are witnessing here is the process of oxidization.

I prefer to use the other term, free radical damage because oxidization does not always imply the presence of an oxygen reaction.

What are Free Radicals and How are They Formed?

I will simplify the process so you can understand. A free radical starts off as an atom made up of 2 paired electrons that orbit a nucleus of protons and neutrons. During chemical reactions in your body, some of the atoms will lose one of their electrons causing them to become and atom with a single or "unpaired" atom. They will not stay in that condition but will immediately seek out another atom to steel one of it`s electrons. Their targets are also cell atoms which cause cell death resulting in tissue damage, like we observed in our experiment with the uncoated half of the apple which turned brown or started to decompose. Not all become atoms with lonely electrons but those that do, trigger a chain reaction resulting in elevated free radical damage. This free radical damage, if not addressed, can cause inflammation to the cardiovascular system.

What are antioxidants and how can they help reduce high blood pressure?

Referring back to the apple experiment, you will have noticed that the half coated in the lemon juice was very slow in turning even a slight brown. You are witnessing the action of an antioxidant on free radicals. You may have been advised by your doctor to use lemon juice in your diet to help reduce your high blood pressure. That is because lemon is a known powerful antioxidant. At one time it was thought that lemon juice was the most powerful, but now others have been found just as powerful or even stronger.

An antioxidant works by giving a free radical another electron that stabilizes it. The body manufactures its own antioxidants to combat these naturally occurring free radicals, but today we are bombarded by chemicals, heavy metals and other hazardous particles from our polluted environment that elevate the problem. These pollutants are introduced through the skin, lungs and mouth into our bloodstream and transported to every organ in our body. Because the bloodstream is the transporter of these pollutants, damage to the artery walls inflames them raising the blood pressure.

Like the apple, if we take antioxidants into our system, and there are even stronger ones than lemon juice, we will support our bodies fight against free radical damage to the artery walls, reducing inflammation and bring down high blood pressure.