Antioxidants are extremely important for fighting disease, the signs of aging, and boosting our overall health. Antioxidants have been shown to literally reverse the aging process, not just in our skin and appearance, but on the inside as well.

One of the biggest problems we face is that our bodies are having trouble producing enough antioxidants to neutralize all the damaging free radicals that our diet, environment, and stressful lifestyles produce. Free radicals are highly unstable molecules that swim through our systems bumping into healthy cells and causing serious damage. They also steal electrons from healthy molecules, thus creating more free radicals in the body. The result is disease, bacterial and viral infections, radiation damage, and accelerated aging.

Researchers from Okayama University Medical School in Japan have now demonstrated that miso is a good source of antioxidants. In their experiments miso was found to scavenge free radicals and inhibit lipid peroxidation, which can cause cell membrane damage. The scavenging ability of miso may be attributable to soybeans, its basic component, which contain known antioxidants including vitamin E, and saponins, cholesterol-like plant compounds. A study at the University of Shizuoka, in Japan, identified daidzein, genistein, and alpha-tocopherol as the active antioxidants in miso. Substances produced during fermentation may also play a role in protecting against free radical damage. Another study in Shenyang, China, concluded that miso protects cell membranes from aging and is, therefore, a "good natural agent for resisting aging."