Anti-Oxidants, Free Radicals & Aging
In less than a century, chronic degenerative disease has become analogous with the natural process of aging. Naturally, this should not be the case, though through issues of diet, lifestyle, and environment, degenerative disease and aging have become quite a pair. It is not time that ages the body, it is abuse and neglect that ages the body. Aging should be a natural process, free of illness, and without serious loss of mental or physical abilities. Chronic degenerative diseases are merely the visible symptoms of unhealthy lifestyles. Such chronic degenerative diseases that have become mistakenly accepted as aging are strokes, arthritis, heart disease, arteriosclerosis, senility, cancer, dementia and others. Sadly enough these so called diseases of aging are now afflicting younger and younger generations of people.
The underlying cause of most degenerative disease can be found at the cellular level—the actual destruction of the cells. So what destroys the cells? Free Radicals! Free radicals are unstable molecules that are constantly searching to steal electrons from healthy cells to make themselves more stable. In doing so they damage the healthy cells by turning them into free radicals. This turns into a chain reaction that exponentially creates more and more free radicals. Sources of free radicals are radiation, pollution, smoking, sunburn, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, stress, excessive exercise, and countless others.
How do we neutralize free radicals? One way is Antioxidants! Antioxidants come in the form of vitamins and nutrients such as Vitamin A, Beta Carotene, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Alpha Lipoic Acid, CoEnzyme Q10, Selenium, Green Tea, bio flavanoids and carotenoids. Antioxidants are found in food sources, tea, and nutrient supplementation. Foods with the highest amounts of antioxidants are fruits and vegetables; organic is the best choice when available.
There is a function of antioxidant synergy. Antioxidants do not work independently; they work synergistically with one another. Vitamin C and Selenium regenerate and strengthen Vitamin E. Selenium is integral in the body’s production of glutathione, another antioxidant important in liver detoxification. Lipoic acid regenerates Vitamins C and E while increasing tissue Glutathione and Co Enzyme Q10 levels.
With the destruction and dissemination of our natural food sources, obtaining adequate amounts of vitamins, minerals, and anti oxidants through diet is becoming more and more difficult. The National Cancer Institute now recommends between 7 and 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. How many servings do you consume? And are they organic, free of pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides? This further supports the consumption of optimal nutritional supplementation.
This is why it is no longer a question of if we should bolster our nutritional levels with supplements, it is now a necessity.
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