By Briana Hayes
Staff Writer

Q: Many food and even skin products boast their antioxidant content, but what are they and why do we need them?

A: Antioxidants are generally made up of vitamins A, C, and E, beta-carotene, and lycopene. They help fight free radicals (which can damage your cells) in your body by giving off their own electrons to stabilize the unstable free radicals, thus preventing damage to be done.

Beta-carotene converts to vitamin A, which helps maintain healthy skin, hair, and mucous membranes – you will hear about both antioxidants in anti-wrinkle and aging products.

Many orange things are associated with beta-carotene such as sweet potatoes, carrots, and cantaloupe.

Vitamin A can also be found in beef liver, egg yolks, and mozzarella cheese.

Vitamin C helps form and maintain collagen, bones, and teeth.

Vitamin E helps with the formation of blood cells, muscles and tissues. Vitamin E is known to be in almonds, broccoli, and mangos.

You can find Vitamin C in citrus fruits, vegetables, beef, and fish.

Lycopene is contained in tomatoes, papaya, and blood oranges.

It gives these fruits their red color and has been linked, based on food association, to lower the risk of certain cancers.

As a rule of thumb, just eat plenty of brightly colored fruits and vegetables and your supply of antioxidants should be more than met.