Dr. Denman Harman first proposed the "Free Radical Theory of Aging" in 1954. But long before that, different cultures were already starting to use antioxidants to fight the effects of aging.

They may not have known why they worked. In fact, some cultures probably didn't even know the foods they ate fought the war on aging. But, they ate these healthy foods everyday. And in doing so they made the effects of aging much less prominent, and may have extended their lives by several years.

Science in "modern" society is finally beginning to catch up with what these ancient cultures already knew. That the foods we eat can make a huge difference in our overall health. And, that includes anti-aging.

It’s actually quite unfortunate that we have been raised to doubt this ancient wisdom. Unless we understand how something works, through years of clinical research, we don't believe it. Even, if we can see the results with our own eyes.

You have no doubt heard stories about villages located in remote areas of the orient, where the people do not appear to age. They live to a very old age, and during that time, their skin still looks beautiful. And the residents have and exciting, vibrancy about them.

In these places, the residents age "gracefully". This means that while they won't live forever, no one will, they do not experience the degenerative diseases, skin problems and other issues that we consider a normal part of aging.

While we don't know exactly what is responsible for this longevity, or how it works, there is one thing that most people agree on. It is related to the food that they eat. While in North America, Europe and other "developed" areas, we generally eat lots of fats, and very few fruits and vegetables, in many countries, the inhabitants eat plenty of healthy food.

And much of this food is very high in antioxidants.

We know now, that many of the effects of aging are related to free radicals. And we also know that antioxidants are very effective at removing free radicals.

We can also observe that populations that eat a lot of food that is high in antioxidants do not appear to have the same level of cancer and other degenerative diseases than more developed nations. We can also see that other age factors like sagging skin do not appear to affect those areas as strongly.

The research is ongoing as to how and why antioxidants have such a positive anti-aging affect. But do you really need to know why, when you can observe their effects on your own?

Increasing foods that are high in antioxidants or adding supplements to your diet is a safe anti-aging treatment. There is no reason to wait for all the research to be done, since there is nothing to lose by trying. Of course, you should always talk to your doctor before embarking on any diet change.

Science is years, decades or even centuries behind figuring out how all of the earth's miracles work. This includes in the study of antioxidants and anti-aging. But there is no reason to wait for science to catch up. Learn what some civilizations have known for centuries, and use antioxidants to fight the effects of aging.