By Christopher Job
A free radical is a molecule that has lost one of its electrons, which normally orbit in pairs. To restore balance, the free radical frantically tries to steal an electron from a nearby molecule or give away its unpaired electron. In doing so, it wreaks molecular havoc on proteins, fats, and the genetic DNA of cells, disfiguring and corroding them. Over time, free radical damage leaves the body aged and diseased.
We need free radicals to live, but they are also the bane of our existence. Through free radical reactions in our body, it is as though we are being irradiated at low levels all the time. They grind us down. It has been estimated that each of our cells endures 10,000 oxidative hits every day from errant free radicals, but most of these cells are immediately repaired.
Even if we lived in a pure environment, our own bodies would produce free oxygen radicals. There is no way to avoid their presence within the body. Many free radicals are produced in our personal environment, such as sunlight, smog, high altitudes, exposure to X-rays, toxins in food and water, pollen, ozone, moulds, dust, etc. They are everywhere. What we can do is diminish their impact on the body.
Free radical damage can impair the immune system and result in various types of cellular damage. As might be expected, such cellular damage is associated with many of our degenerative diseases, such as arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, some types of cancer, cataracts, heart attacks, hardening of the arteries, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral vascular changes (senility), and many others.
Free radicals are rendered harmless by antioxidants. An antioxidant is a substance that can donate a sought-after electron to a free radical without becoming dangerous itself. An antioxidant that comes into contact with a free radical puts an end to the rampage of cellular and bodily destruction.
Antioxidants can prolong life. Antioxidant means “against oxidation”. Antioxidants are the good guys that continually combat the harmful effects of oxidation in the body. They are constantly on duty to render wayward free radicals harmless. The net result of their work is that they prolong the life of cells, and thus, prolong life itself. Taken in sufficient amounts, antioxidants can saturate all of our cells and tissues to provide protection against free radicals. Antioxidants are the good guys in the war against ageing. They can prevent or repair damage to the cells. They are important nutrients in detoxifying the body and cleaning up harmful wastes. Your body makes special antioxidant enzymes, but you can also get many antioxidants in foods and nutritional supplements.
The major antioxidants are Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Beta-Carotene. Others include bioflavonoids, ginseng, molybdenum, zinc, ginkgo biloba, B vitamins (folic acid, riboflavin, B12), carotenoids (lycopene, beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lutein/zeaxanthin), garlic, manganese, CoQ10 (Coenzyme Q10), glutathione, and grape seed extract.
Two antioxidants are variations of Vitamin A. Vitamin A (known as retinol or retinyl) is always found in animal products such as liver, milk, eggs, butter, cream, and fish liver oil. Beta-carotene is converted to Vitamin A once inside the body. It is found in carrots, sweet potatoes, and many other dark green vegetables, as well as fruit characterised generally by yellow/orange pigment. Virtually all carotenoids work as antioxidants to rid the body of potentially cell-damaging free radicals.
High blood levels of carotenoids are usually associated with a lower risk of degenerative disease. Carotenoids lower the risk of certain cancers, such as lung, stomach, cervix, breast, oral, and bladder cancer. It has been shown that eating fruit and vegetables regularly slashes your chances of getting cancer in half. Carotenoids also appear to enhance the immune system and protect against age-related ailments, such as stroke and heart disease.
Phytonutrients, also known as phytochemicals, refer to plant-derived nutrients. Carotenoids are phytonutrients, the nutritional elements that occur naturally in fruit and vegetables, giving them their distinctive yellow, orange, and red colours. Green leafy vegetables are also high in carotenoids, but chlorophyll hides the yellow and orange pigments.
Vitamin C is one of the most widely acclaimed antioxidants. The proper use of Vitamin C throughout life may provide the long-awaited breakthrough in geriatrics. Vitamin C can prolong the period of vigorous and healthy maturity. Signs of old age are actually symptoms of subclinical scurvy. Vitamin C may well be one of the best life-extending and anti-ageing products available today.
