Or those laugh lines around your mouth? Sure, these things are but part of the normal aging process. But what causes aging anyway? And is there anyway to retard it? In biological systems, the normal processes of oxidation are what lead to aging. Oxidation causes the production of substances called free radicals which are highly reactive. No problem though because you can always find antioxidant foods almost anywhere. The best way to lay an antioxidant-rich foundation that's inhospitable to toxins and free radicals is through a combination of whole foods. With antioxidant supplements still far from the high expectations of the scientific community, you can in the meantime turn to the more reliable source of these helpful compounds, which are antioxidant foods. This antioxidant antiaging therapy looks at intrinsic aging which is aging due to the rate of passing time. What are the benefits of antioxidant antiaging? According to scientific studies, one of the most significant factors contributing to the aging process is chronic inflammation. These are the identifiable inflammatory diseases which the body develops as we age. A recent food Olympics has been conducted and out of the 100 different varieties of foods, vegetables, and nuts, 20 antioxidant rich foods came out at the top. This list of foods contained most of the very rich antioxidant foods as ranked by nutrition scientists at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and reported by the University of Alabama website on November 1, 2004. This antioxidant dietary supplement works best when taken with Vitamin C as it seems that both vitamins have synergistic effect when taken in combination. Besides vitamins, antioxidant dietary supplements may be in the form of botanicals. Green tea, for example, is a rich source of the flavonoid derivatives (polyphenols) epicatechin (EC), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). A better way would be to supplement the body with the "building blocks" required in order for our body to manufacture its own SOD, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and other such antioxidant enzymes. The building block nutrients of antioxidant enzymes include the minerals manganese, zinc, and copper for SOD and selenium for glutathione peroxidase.