The benefits of antioxidants in cat nutrition
How Antioxidants Work
Antioxidants and Ageing
You want your cat to have a healthy immune system. The Iams® Company is helping make that happen, by including antioxidants in our cat nutrition.
Antioxidants are important, naturally occurring nutrients that help maintain health by slowing the destructive ageing process of cellular molecules. Antioxidants can also be important in supporting immune responses in cats. This may be especially critical for young animals whilst their immune system is still developing. Antioxidants can also help counter the decrease in immune-cell function for older (senior) cats.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants are nutrients found naturally in the body and in plants such as fruits and vegetables. Common antioxidants include vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E.
How Antioxidants Work
As cells function normally in the body, they produce damaged molecules called free radicals. These free radicals are highly unstable and steal components from other cellular molecules, such as fat, protein or DNA, thereby spreading the damage.
This damage continues in a chain reaction, and entire cells soon become damaged and die. This process is called peroxidation. Peroxidation is beneficial because it helps the body destroy cells that have outlived their usefulness and kills germs and parasites. However, peroxidation, can also destroy or damage healthy cells.
Antioxidants help reduce widespread cellular destruction by readily donating components to stabilize free radicals. More importantly, antioxidants return to the surface of the cell to stabilize rather than damage other cellular components.
When there are not enough antioxidants to hold peroxidation in check, free radicals begin damaging healthy cells, which can lead to problems. For example, free radical damage to immune cells can lead to an increased risk of infections.
Antioxidants and Ageing
Recent research also examined the effect of ageing on immune response. This indicates that as cats age, their immune cell responses may decline. Including antioxidants in the diet can help counter the age-related decrease in immune cell function.
