A recent food Olympics has been conducted and out of the 100 different varieties of foods, vegetables, and nuts, 20 antioxidant rich foods came out at the top. This list of foods contained most of the very rich antioxidant foods as ranked by nutrition scientists at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and reported by the University of Alabama website on November 1, 2004. This proves that while it is still early to say that honey can be a dietary antioxidant, it does point out its vast potential in terms of antioxidant properties. Principal researcher Nicki Engeseth, a professor of food chemistry in the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmenal Sciences, agrees with this. In this article, we will attempt to answer all your questions about antioxidant and free radicals, plus help you understand why it is so important to include rich sources of antioxidant nutrients in your daily diet. A Little Background on Chemical Bonding When talking about antioxidant and free radicals, we can't help but touch a little on biochemistry. Because of this function, herbal antioxidants are said to play a role in the prevention and potential cure of various degenerative diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, and several others. If there is one other thing you need to know about herbal antioxidants, it is that they are not naturally found in the body. All these nutrients come from the food you eat, but they may also be available as supplements in the form of pills or capsules. Some antioxidant antiaging you might have heard of include: Vitamin A Vitamin B-6 Vitamin B-12 Vitamin C Vitamin E Beta carotene Folic acid Selenium All these antioxidant antiaging can be found in the food that you eat everyday. Based on their findings, scientists say that by the time you are 20 years old, most of the cells that make up your body have already used up half of their available cell divisions in their cell lifespan. That means by the time you are 40, your cells may only have 30 per cent of cell divisions left. This is actually the reason behind the physical changes that goes on not only inside but outside the body as you approach your years.