Antioxidant
How can antioxidants help you detox, lose weight, and reduce your risk of disease?
The key to all this is simple: Eliminate oxidative stress.
Palo azul’s antioxidant property is among its most studied and most prominent benefits.
We reviewed over a dozen studies whose results concluded that palo azul exhibited an antioxidant effect, and many of these also found anti-inflammatory effects. Some of these studies found compounds in palo azul such as dihydrochalcone and methanol which induce powerful antioxidant and anti-glycation activities.
These are some of the most antioxidant foods: vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, fatty fish, olive oil, turmuric, cocoa and teas such as palo azul
Inflammatory and oxidative foods: foods that are heavily processed and have high fructose content, trans fats and refined carbs
What is anti-glycation?
The anti-glycation property protects against AGEs (advanced glycation end products), which are harmful compounds that are considered to play an important role in the process of aging and in degenerative diseases such as diabetes, cancer, Alzheimers, and others. This is why you should be eating your vegetables, fruits, and drinking tea every day!
If you were wondering what antioxidants are… They are compounds such as vitamins or phytochemicals like carotenoids or flavonoids which inhibit oxidative stress. They protect tissue of damage from free radicals and because of this, they prevent inflammatory responses before they can even take effect.
What is oxidative stress?
Oxidative stress is an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in the body.
What are free radicals?
Free radicals are atoms with a single valence electron that cause damage to the body associated with diabetes, cancer, aging, atherosclerosis, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and many other diseases.
This happens because electrons like to be in pairs... and for this reason, free radicals look for "free" electrons in the body. This causes damage to cells, proteins, DNA and these damaged molecules can mutate, grow tumors, and damage the DNA code. Eventually, this cellular damage causes new cells to grow with defects and it will lead to aging and degenerative diseases.
How can antioxidants help you?
They help you lose weight
One study analyzed 2754 twins and found that the group that consumed the most flavonoids:
- Had less percentage of fat
- Burned more fat in the abdomen
Specifically, the researchers found that the twins with the highest consumption of flavonoid-rich foods (onions, tea, apples, pears, and cocoa) “had a 3-9% lower FMR (fat mass ratio) than that of their co-twins.”
Moreover, the researchers found that the “women who ate a lot of flavonoid-rich foods had a lower percentage of body fat than women who ate less. The amount of abdominal fat also differed significantly between the two groups.”
The researchers of this study also point out that “It is important to note that abdominal fat is an important risk factor for diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart problems.”
Another study looked at 124,000 people and found that "flavonoids increase energy expenditure, decrease fat absorption and function as anti-inflammatories. The researchers in this same study found that "increased consumption of most flavonoid subclasses was associated with reduced weight gain.”
They also mentioned that the participants that consumed more flavonoids maintained their weight better and even lost some weight and they concluded the following:
"Our results suggest that choosing fruits and vegetables that are high in flavonoids, such as apples, pears, berries and peppers, can help with weight control."
They promote healthy skin
Victoria Lewis, a doctor of dermatology mentions that “antioxidants are often considered the fountain of youth by skin-care professionals and experts.”
“Not only do they (antioxidants) scavenge free radicals—the number one skin-aging culprits—to promote a brighter, more even complexion, they’re also the superstars at nixing fine lines and keeping skin looking fresh.”
This is due to its ability to eliminate oxidative stress and free radicals, which are “the number one skin-aging culprits.”
This oxidative stress causes damage to our cells, and this damage eventually leads to aging and wrinkles in our skin.
Another doctor of dermatology, Dr. Mack, writes that “antioxidants protect your skin from this (oxidative stress) and help reduce pigmentation and fine lines and wrinkles.” He goes on to mention that in his opinion, “an antioxidant serum is a must for your skin-care routine.”
For this reason, many pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies supplement their skin care products with tea extracts!
They "decrease cancer promoting action"
We read two medical reviews composed of findings from 327 studies done specifically on flavonoids, and found that oxidative stress can lead to cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and aging ... For this reason, they found that antioxidants show potential to fight these diseases.
Therefore, diets rich in antioxidants decrease the cancer-promoting action of free radicals and oxidative stress. One of the studies we reviewed found that fruits and vegetables that have flavonoids have been reported as cancer chemopreventive agents and are inversely associated with cancer incidence.
*Here’s a very interesting fact for wine drinkers: “Moderate wine drinkers also seem to have a lower risk to develop cancer of the lung, endometrium, esophagus, stomach, and colon.”
Thank you flavonoids!
We also read a study that recruited 1522 breast cancer cases and 1547 frequency control subjects from June 2007 to July 2018 in Guangdong, China. The results of this study indicated that consumption of “flavonoids and most flavonoid subclasses intakes were inversely associated with breast cancer risk.”
Finally, “the critical relationship of fruit and vegetable intake and cancer prevention has been thoroughly documented. It has been suggested that major public health benefits could be achieved by substantially increasing consumption of these foods.”
In other words... oxidation in our body leads to cancer and other diseases, therefore we should consume lots of antioxidants to stay healthy. This is why you should eat vegetables, fruit and drink teas such as palo azul everyday.
P.S...Don't forget to help your loved ones by sharing palo azul's magic with them!
Key findings from medical studies
• 7 different studies showed that Palo Azul possesses considerable antioxidant activity, protects against oxidative injury and inhibits oxidative stress.
• 5 different studies concluded in their results that Palo Azul reduced or inhibited the formation of AGEs (advanced glycation end products).
• 4 different studies suggested that Palo Azul’s anti-glycation ability could be used to prevent diabetes complications.
• One study found that “The methanol-water extract (from Palo Azul) showed antidiabetic and anti-hyperlipidemic activities, an ability to reduce the formation of advanced glycation end products, and an antioxidant capacity in-vitro (12).
Now you see why we called it Magiktea? ;)
Medical Studies
* Palo Azul is commonly referred to by its scientific name: Eysenhardtia polystachya / E. polystachya / E.P - Cyclolepis genistoides / C. genistoides - kidney wood - palo dulce