Item Code: GB228

70-page abridgement. Same message at less cost.

From the start of his career as a cell biologist in the Fifties, Lester Packer, Ph.D., has looked at the multiple ways that oxygen affects each cell in the body—for good and for ill. In The Antioxidant Miracle, his first book for a lay audience, Dr. Packer presents his evidence—much of it discovered at the Packer Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley—which clearly shows the benefits that antioxidants can offer. At the heart of Packer's theories is the notion that single antioxidants may be powerful, but that these compounds work more effectively as a team.

Individual chapters are devoted to Dr. Packer's five star players—vitamin E, vitamin C, glutathione, lipoic acid, and co-enzyme Q10—and to the back-up second-stringers—flavonoids, carotenoids, and selenium. Packer argues convincingly that these antioxidants are the key to preventing diseases (such as heart disease and cancer), wrinkled skin, and memory failure—and possibly to extending the length and quality of human life.

Although Dr. Packer doesn't discount the importance of fruits, vegetables, beans, and other plant foods, his emphasis is clearly on supplements, and he outlines a basic supplement regimen that everyone can follow. Of particular interest are his add-ons for special cases, such as picky eaters, smokers, or people at risk of cancer.

If you want to understand how free radicals can harm your health and how antioxidants protect it—and what practical steps you can take to affect this process—you can't go wrong learning from an expert who's pioneered much of the major research in the field.

Price: $4.95