Personal Health Solutions from NaturalNews Replace your toxic laundry detergent with natural laundry soap that grows on trees! (NEW source!) This top "underground" natural health newsletter brings you amazing new natural cures each month. Save $100! How to treat and cure over 100 health conditions using little-known health secrets How to halt type-2 diabetes with nutritional therapy - over 50% cure rate proven in studies End cravings with this guide to natural appetite suppressants (Download edition available.) How to blend nutritious meals in minutes with Adams' Superfood smoothie recipes (Delicious!) Breakthrough LED lighting technology prevents global warming, saves 90% on your lighting bill • Browse more health books... • Shop our eco-friendly products... All sales help fund naturalnews operations.

In the study -- published in the journal Nutrition -- the scientists randomly divided groups of both non-prematurely aging mice (NPAM) and prematurely aging mice (PAM) into control and experimental groups. The experimental groups' diets were supplemented with either 5 or 20 percent antioxidant-enriched biscuits and when compared to the control groups 15 weeks later, leukocyte functions, antioxidant defenses, and lipid and DNA oxidative damage levels were markedly improved in the experiment group. The antioxidants were more effective in the supplemented PAM group than the supplemented NPAM group, and antioxidant supplements of 20 percent were more effective than those of 5 percent.

"In the present study, ingestion of a diet supplemented with two different doses, 5 percent and 20 percent, of biscuits enriched with nutritional amounts of several antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, zinc, and selenium improved the investigated immune functions in non-prematurely ageing mice and especially in prematurely aging mice," wrote lead author Carmen Alvarado.

These results could have considerable bearing on humans because the antioxidant/oxidant level in the body strongly influences the function of white blood cells -- the body's primary defense against disease and infections -- and aging increases what is known as oxidative stress. This means, as the human body ages, it loses its ability to fight infections, which results in an increased risk for infectious and degenerative disease and a subsequently decreased lifespan. This is why, the report concludes, maintaining antioxidant levels is important.

According to the authors, these biscuits -- which are commercially available -- contain antioxidants that have been proven effective in enhancing the immune system function of both human and animal study participants in the past.

"Because the immune function is a marker of health and several of the immune parameters studied are predictors of longevity," Alvarado concluded, "our data strongly indicate, on the one hand, the importance of maintaining a proper regulation of redox homeostasis in immune cells to preserve their functions and, on the other hand, that the biscuits enriched with nutritional doses of several antioxidants used in the present work appear to be a functional food that allows improvement of leukocyte function through restoration of the redox balance of these cells."

"The bottom line," added Mike Adams, a holistic nutritionist and author of The Seven Laws of Nutrition, "is that natural, plant-based antioxidants are good for your health and immune function."

###

Related Articles

Additional Resources: immune function antioxidant antioxidants	Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com Email this article to a friend Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us Permalink to this article: http://www.NaturalNews.com/020164.html Reprinting this article: Non-commercial OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link. <a href = "http://www.NaturalNews.com/020164.html">Antioxidants boost immune function in animal experiments</a>
Receive our Natural Health Newsletter for FREE Subscribe now (it's free!) to win. We randomly choose a subscriber each month to send $100 in eco-home products or a RealGoods.com gift certificate (our choice). Plus, you'll receive FREE news, articles and action alerts from NaturalNews.com editors and join over 800,000 monthly readers who report extraordinary health improvements after becoming a subscriber! Receive breaking news alerts on natural health solutions, renewable energy, the environment, global warming and more. Receive a free instant download of our $29 Secret Sources guide that reveals top sources for little-known health and diet solutions.	Your Email Address: Free Subscription Code: Enter the numbers you see: 100% free of charge. Unsubscribe anytime. Absolutely no spam. We respect your email privacy.
Recommended Special Report: Seven Words that can Change the World by Joseph R. Simonetta Read this special report now... "Seven Words That Can Change the World reveals the astonishing, simple truths that have the power to forever transform our world for the better while freeing our minds from the enslavement of limiting beliefs. This is not a text for the simple-minded; it is a guiding philosophy for the mindful, intelligent few who are wise enough to seek out -- and recognize -- the higher simplicities of truly purposeful living." - Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, editor of NaturalNews.com	More on NaturalNews.com: • Streaming Health Ranger Videos • CounterThink Cartoons • FREE Special Reports • Podcasts