Antioxidants & Free Radicals
Oxygen and Free Radicals
Antioxidants
one of the most important issues regarding aging is oxygen. Too much of it, or too little, and we age very fast. Most people are aware of oxygen’s benefits, but many people don’t realize its potential harm: the conversion of the stable O2 molecule to its very unstable and destructive cousin, the superoxide or free radical. When this occurs inside the body, it can lead to serious health problems.
Scientists now associate excess oxygen free radicals, also called oxidative stress, with every major chronic disease, including heart disease and cancer. Free radicals also play a major role in the aging process. Aging is the result of continuous reactions of the body’s cells with free radicals. It is important to become aware of these potentially harmful substances, what increases their production and how to control them, in order to reduce the devastating effects of disease and control the process of aging.
Normally, the body produces free radicals to protect against harmful bacteria, viruses, chemical pollutants and even toxic substances produced within the body. However, in this chemical-saturated world, it is possible to produce too many free radicals. When this occurs, free radicals can react with and damage any cell in the body.
The most vulnerable part of the cell is the part containing unstable polyunsaturated fats, as these fats are easily destroyed by free radicals. This destruction is called lipid peroxidation and it’s associated with chronic inflammation. Together, this is the first step in the disease process. For example, before LDL cholesterol can be stored in the coronary arteries, damage from lipid peroxidation must first take place. Lipid peroxidation can produce toxins capable of traveling throughout the body, creating damage anywhere. These toxins are known to be carcinogenic and even have the potential to cause genetic mutations.
The damage from free radicals, oxidative stress, results in what we know as aging. The more of this damage, the more physiologically older we become. Fortunately, the body has an effective way to combat this problem. The antioxidant system controls free radicals by chemically changing them to harmless compounds. This system requires raw materials to function nutritional antioxidants from food and key places in the body to perform this task the aerobic muscle fibers. Too much free-radical activity, too little antioxidant activity, or both, speeds the aging process, sometimes significantly.
Antioxidants to the Rescue:
The importance of antioxidants(sometimes called free-radical scavengers). there are two key groups of them. The most common group of antioxidants includes vitamins A, C and E, beta-carotene, selenium, the bioflavanoids, and phytonutrients such as phenols. As powerful as these are, there’s a more potent antioxidant: glutathione.
Glutathione is not found in food and can’t be taken in a pill (it’s broken down in the stomach), although now intravenous and transdermal forms are being used. The best way to get enough glutathione is to give the body what it needs to make it certain other antioxidants. The most potent of these include the amino acid cysteine, found in animal protein (especially whey).
the phytonutrient sulphoraphan, high in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli but very high in broccoli sprouts (before their leaves turn green); lipoic acid found in many dark vegetables and even beef (lipoic acid can also be produced in a healthy body); and both gamma-tocopherol and alpha-tocotrienol, parts of the vitamin E complex (however, too much alpha tocopherol, such as the typical 400 IU dose, can reduce levels of these other nutrients in the vitamin E complex).
The following is a list of the most potent antioxidants in order of their effectiveness the most powerful being those that help the body make glutathione. As you can see, some of the most popular nutrients, such as vitamins C and E, and especially the over-hyped quercetin and Co-Q10, are not the most potent. And, these are food sources of nutrients, not synthetic vitamins or unnatural doses and forms of nutrients that may not work as well.
- Sulforaphan Lipoic acid
- Cysteine Alpha-tocotrienol
- Gamma-tocopherol Alpha-
- tocopherol
- Vitamin C Lycopene
- Beta-tocopherol Beta-carotene
- Zeaxanthin Delta-tocopherol
- Lutein Canthaxanthin
- Astaxanthin Quercetin
- Co-Q10
It’s not necessary to remember the names of these antioxidants, but you do need to remember to eat as many antioxidant-rich foods as possible. Vegetables and fruits, berries, raw sesame seeds and almonds, extra-virgin olive oil, green and black tea, and red wine are excellent sources of antioxidants. Meats, especially grass-fed beef, contain significant amounts of certain antioxidants, as does whey. Of course there are now hundreds of antioxidant products available in pill, liquid, powder and other forms. If needed, be sure to take only supplements made from real, raw foods.
Signs and symptoms of a need for more antioxidants may include immune problems such as lingering cold or flu, frequent illness, sensitivity to chlorine or other chemicals, and chronic inflammation.
Exercise and Free-Radical Activity
A well-developed aerobic system is a key to making the antioxidant system work best. Even if you obtain all the best antioxidants, the body needs a place to put them to work. Improved circulation that accompanies aerobic fitness helps antioxidant activity. And, free-radical breakdown occurs in the mitochondria contained within aerobic muscle fibers. Therefore, people in better aerobic shape, those who have more aerobic muscle fibers and mitochondria, are more capable of controlling free radicals compared to those who are out of shape.
exercise itself produces free radicals :
Different levels of exercise intensity can produce varying amounts of free radicals. Easy aerobic exercise, especially at a moderate heart rate produces little or insignificant amounts of free radicals, and this smaller amount is most likely well controlled through the body’s natural defense system, especially if enough antioxidants are present. However, exercising at higher intensities or lifting weights any anaerobic exercise can have the opposite effect. Anaerobic activity can produce more oxidative stress some studies show a 120 percent increase over resting levels. This is the result of physical damage to muscles, lactic-acid production and higher oxygen uptake, which may increase tenfold during the activity.
Higher injury rates are also associated with increased free-radical production. In addition, the development of more anaerobic muscle fibers means less aerobic mitochondria for free-radical elimination.
