At Healthy Transformation Lifestyle Medical Group in West Hills, CA, patients of Dr. Masrour often ask: What exactly are antioxidants?

Though most patients have a general understanding that antioxidants are good for you, that's often where their understanding ends. Here's a look at what antioxidants do, and why it's important to make sure you're getting enough of them.

In order to understand the critical role that antioxidants play in keeping you healthy, it's first important to define free radicals. Free radicals are harmful molecules, which we are exposed to on a daily basis in Southern California. Free radical exposure is the result of by-products created through normal bodily functions such as digestion in which digestive enzymes are released to break down food and burn sugar for energy. If you're taking medication, you are likely to be exposed to free radicals as well, as the body works to break down these medications. In greater Los Angeles people are also exposed to free radicals through pollutants in the work place, the home and the air.

The role of antioxidants therefore is to protect the body from the damage that may result from exposure to these free radicals. Damage that the body may sustain from exposure to free-radicals has been linked to various illnesses such as blood vessel diseases, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, macular degeneration and other conditions and disorders. Clearly, with risks such as these, it is vital to ensure that you're getting enough antioxidants.

Antioxidants include vitamins, minerals, and flavonoids. The easiest way to ensure that you're getting enough antioxidants is through the consumption of lots of fruits and vegetables. In addition, flavonoids may be found in teas and even in red wine.

However, many Southern Californians find it challenging to ingest the suggested 7-10 servings of fruits and vegetables each day in order to receive the necessary levels of antioxidants. In our break-neck paced society, it's simply not always feasible to obtain the proper levels of antioxidants through food alone.

Fortunately, vitamin injections, including Glutathione injections are available at Healthy Transformation Lifestyle Medical Group, and serve as master antioxidant. In addition to neutralizing powerful free radicals which are absorbed through the body via our air, food and water, Glutathione also serves to help detoxify the body, thereby allowing it to repair tissue damage.

Moreover, because Dr. Masrour provides First Line Therapy, which includes nutritional testing to identify nutritional deficiencies, he is able to recommend other methods to replenish those deficiencies including supplements (such as Vitamin D, a vital antioxidant). Incidentally, First Line Therapy is also likely covered by your PPO health insurance plan, and is often covered by Medicare.*

To schedule a nutritional screening (through blood, urine or stool testing), to see if you're getting enough vitamins and antioxidants, contact Healthy Transformation Lifestyle Medical Group in West Hills, CA today, by calling 818-702-9962.

*Contact our office to find out how your specific PPO, or Medicare benefits will cover your unique treatment and therapy.