Many theories exist on how to keep your body strong and healthy, such as out exercising a bad diet, but diet is where the magic happens.

Think of your body as a building held together by rebar (bones), electrical wiring/plumbing (veins), walls (skin), workers (cells) and a mean, tyrannical, psychopathic CEO on the top floor (brain).

Over the years, the building suffers from damage. It rains a lot, it’s really hot in the summer, it’s bombarded by wind and lots of stressed out people slam the doors all the time. What happens to the building over time? It accumulates wear and tear.

Just like a building, the human body accumulates wear and tear in the form of oxidative stress. Oxidative stress and free-radicals are some of the main culprits behind aging.

When oxygen is not bonded to anything it is like a manipulative boyfriend, better known as a free radical. Free-radicals are created through oxidative stress that occurs when the human body is in the process of metabolising food.

When oxygen is used in the process of energy production, oxygen loses an electron and then becomes “radical.” This free radical is highly unstable, traveling about and whatever touches it becomes unstable as well. Cells, muscles, bones and your personal well-being all become affected by this unstable boyfriend by the name of free-radical.

So what can you do? Consume antioxidants. These are your nightingales. They let you leave the house and don’t ask where you are every 15 minutes. They make you feel loved, and at the same time they let you keep your friends (cells).

Antioxidants are very stable. They bind to free radicals and tell them to chill out. What are the highest foods in antioxidants? Tea, blue berries, cloves and turmeric. There are many more options. A simple Google search will bring that up.

So, can you out exercise a bad diet? Sure. You can do whatever you want in this free democratic society, but I don’t think you’ll make it past age 50 if you do!