So what do antioxidants really do, and why are they actually important? 

To really understand this, first we need to know what free radicals are. Free radicals are a type of a highly reactive metabolite. They are naturally produced by your body as a result of normal metabolism and energy production. They are a natural biological response to environmental toxins like cigarette smoke, chemicals, radiation, and pharmaceutical drugs. Your body also produces them when you exercise. These molecules are missing one or more electrons, so they aggressively attack other molecules to replace the missing part. They steal electrons from proteins in your body, which damages your DNA and other cell structures. This creates a snowball effect, and other molecules start stealing electrons from one another, each new one becoming a free radical.

Free radicals tend to collect in cell membranes, which makes the cell lipids prone to oxidative damage (like “biological rusting”). When this happens, the cell membrane becomes brittle and leaky, causing the cell to eventually fall apart and die.

Free radicals can severely affect your DNA by disrupting the duplication of DNA, interfering with DNA maintenance and breaking open or altering its structure by reacting with the DNA bases. They are linked to over 60 different diseases, including: Cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Atherosclerosis (Cardiovascular disease), Alzheimer’s disease.

So what’s the solution? Antioxidants! They are electron donors. They break the free radical chain reaction by sacrificing their own electron to feed free radicals, but without turning into free radicals themselves.

They are nature’s way of providing you with defense, helping you resist ageing caused by exposure to pollutants. This is how they can slow down the ageing process, having immense effects on your skin (and general) health!

There are two type of antioxidants: non-enzymatic and enzymatic. The non-enzymatic antioxidants that are found in foods like the chia sees in our Mindfuel Chia Pudding help by interrupting free radical chain reactions. They provide support to enzymatic antioxidants by doing a “first sweep” and disarming the free radicals. They also help prevent your body’s enzymatic antioxidants from being depleted. 

Enzymatic antioxidants are produced by your body and can’t be found in supplements. They help by breaking down and removing the free radicals. They can flush out dangerous oxidative products by converting them into hydrogen peroxide, then into water. This, however, requires certain minerals: zinc, copper, manganese, and iron, all of which are also found in our Mindfuel Chia Pudding snacks.

Why do we need protein?

We all know the association between protein and muscles—we often see people chug down protein shakes after their workouts, but protein actually comes in different forms and has so many different (and essential) functions! Literally every function of cells, organs, and your body as a whole are controlled by proteins.

Enzymes are proteins that make things happen in your body. For example, they break down food for absorption, they regulate the entry of nutrients through your cell walls, they remove waste products, they help in growth, development, movement, reproduction, etc.

Some other proteins that you may know include: Keratin (which forms your hair and nails), antibodies (which circulate your blood to protect you against viruses), hormones (send chemical messages between nerve cells and regulate metabolism), Haemoglobin (carries oxygen around your body), myoglobin and elastin (two main proteins in muscle fibres), etc.

So what is a protein?

Proteins that our bodies use are all made within the body from smaller molecules, which ultimately come from foods. The protein that we eat in foods are made up of building blocks called amino acids. When we eat these protein-rich foods, our bodies break them down into their components, or amino acids, before reassembling them to be used for different functions.

There are 9 “essential amino acids” that you must get in your diet, because you body doesn’t have the ability to make/synthesize them (so make sure that whatever you eat that claims to be “high protein” is also a complete source). Foods that contain all 9 essential amino acids are considered complete—and most vegan sources are not complete, thus they need to be paired with other foods. Chia seeds are one of the few complete sources.

So remember, protein isn’t only good for your muscles, you should make sure you are getting enough for your overall health and all your body functions.

Not all fats are created equally! Fat has always gotten a bad rap in the past, until a powerful little family of healthy unsaturated fats were discovered—the Omegas.

Known for their health-promoting properties, Omegas are part of a healthy diet but can be a little tricky to get in sufficient amounts if you eat predominately plant-based foods, especially Omega-3.

Omega-6 is essential, but it’s much easier to find than Omega-3, and is actually quite high in the typical diet. Omega-3 fatty acids are used in making cell walls and assist in improving circulation and oxygen intake. They are associated with cardiovascular health, helping to manage healthy cholesterol levels, and play a key role in the electrical activities and mechanical functions of your heart. Omega-3s also contribute to decreasing inflammation, normal skin function and appearance, and normal brain development, structure, and function.

Omega-s3 are made up of alpha-linoleic acids (ALA). ALA is then converted to EPA & DHA in our bodies, but ALA is the only essential Omega-3—and this is what you will find in our Mindfuel Chia Puddings.