Due to the lack of sufficient data to support the success of antioxidant vitamins supplement against cardiovascular diseases and other such degenerative illnesses, the American Heart Association does not recommend using antioxidant vitamins supplements. However, they do not want to put a stop to our continued taking of antioxidant vitamins, the ones found in nature and in the foods that we eat. Because free radicals are chemically unstable, they have this bad habit of stealing electrons from stable molecules and in so doing, turn these molecules into free radicals themselves. The result is a chain reaction which can only be stopped with the entrance of antioxidants. Herbal antioxidants are the body's natural defenses against harmful radicals. Scientists have linked free radicals to the development of degenerative diseases, causing massive cell damage that ultimately results in various disorders, such as cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, heart disease, and much, much more. By neutralizing free radicals, antioxidants actually prevent the onset of these diseases and at the same time keep the body healthy and strong. Therefore, while antioxidants can be found in many fresh fruits and vegetables, it still pays to take antioxidant dietary supplement along with your food. Vitamin C antioxidant dietary supplement is perhaps the most famous form of antioxidant available. Also known as ascorbic acid, bottles of this antioxidant dietary supplement can be found in any pharmacy or health food store. Free radicals are highly reactive chemical substances which are produced whenever our body undergoes the process of oxidation, e.g. breathing. When free radicals are released, they immediately latch unto other molecules, stealing their electrons and in so doing, turning them into unstable molecules like themselves. Chronic inflammation leads to damage in the cells of our brain, heart, arterial walls, and other body structures which are attributed as the cause of such illnesses as heart disease, Alzheimer's, senility, Parkinson's, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, prostatitis, stroke, and a few other diseases brought by aging.