Scientists have also pointed to free radicals as the cause of some of the symptoms of aging, such as atherosclerosis, alcohol-induced liver damage, alpha 1-antitrypsin in the lung, and even emphysema. Now, don't get this wrong. Free radicals are still necessary for life, but in order to prevent yourself from developing these diseases, you need to take action in keeping free radicals at a minimum. With the use of a much more precise method than the one used in 1999, the study found that the dietary antioxidants found in honey are equal to those in many fruits and vegetables in their ability to counter the degenerating activity of highly reactive molecules known as free radicals. "It's still too early to say definitely, but honey seems to have potential to serve as a dietary antioxidant," Engeseth said. If they are healthy molecules, well that's a different story all together. When free radicals start stealing electrons from healthy cells, that process causes many disorders to occur in the body. The cells will grow weak until they are eventually destroyed. Hence, diseases such as cardiovascular disease, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, senility, and cancer are often attributed to the contributing factor of free radicals. Catechins are the natural antioxidants found in the Camellia sinensis plant where we get our green tea, oolong tea, and black tea. In the carotenoid group, beta-carotene is the most common natural antioxidant. Another name for beta-carotene is vitamin A, that essential vitamin that helps prevent eye damage. They are also loaded with healing antioxidants, which of course make them excellent antioxidant foods. There are several kinds of berries, as you well know, and each kind has a different concentration of antioxidants. In recent studies, purple berries (such as Elderberry and black currant) are considered as the richest antioxidant foods. How antioxidant antiaging works As you process food for energy, your body produces substances that are highly unstable. The process is called oxidation and the substance produced is called "free radicals." Because of their highly unstable nature, free radicals increase damage to cells of the body, thus contributing to the aging process.