Free Radicals Confusing!..so easy to slip into pill mania…there seems to be a pill or vitamin for every possible and perceived health solution. One concept, and this is where I admire Dr. Mercola, who actually markets extremely good products and makes every effort to avoid toxic or tainted contaminants, (he is philosophically against just taking vitamins and anti oxidants for the sake of the stated objective).
Best approach is to cover this field naturally as there IS a risk to succumbing to the multi billion 4 vitamin industry! A classic example of over indulgence in vitamins and minerals is simply involving Calcium. This one product can cause a lot of harm if taken excessively. Particularly so for those at risk to osteoporosis and heart disease. The exact opposite result can materialize to what one is trying to avoid! Those with calcification of their heart and arteries must be particularly careful. This blog has repeatedly pointed out that we need to have the calcium flowing in the right direction…to the bones and not to the epithelial arena of our heart and circulatory system. Basically the concept is uniform…it’s getting calcium where it is positive and overdoing the supplement is a disaster. We can only deal with so much calcium supplement otherwise it is a negative. Now multiply this concept to every supplement and we usually will arrive at the same conclusion!
What causes aging in a nutshell?! After all the massive pill industry usually touts anti aging as one of it’s main objectives! In the end the culprit seems to be free radicals! Free Radicals Confusing!
These are unstable, tendency to be highly reactive, atoms…containing an unpaired electron and for a great article see: here. The result means that unpaired electrons become chemically reactive and try to grab an electron for a neighboring molecule, that now also becomes a molecule ‘short’… which becoming a free radical, will likewise try to grab an electron from an ‘elsewhere’ molecule…this results in what is known as the ‘free radical cascade’…a disaster for our tissues and health from DNA and protein damage among other negatives.
Results: incipient inflammation, accelerated aging and what is known as oxidative aging! Most free radicals are derived from oxygen atoms and consequently known as ‘reactive oxygen species’ or ROS. To fight this anti-oxidants…makes sense! Thus a main axiom of the pill industry! BUT sometimes free radicals are useful and our body immune system will create Free Radicals to fight and neutralize viruses and bacteria. But even HIIT with its production of ATP adenosine triphosphate… can create free radicals although the complicated process of exercise and it’s numerous benefits may it seems largely neutralize on balance any negatives! Even foods! oxidized fats! (the rancid taste!) or over heating or over reuse of cooking fats! (Restaurants?), meat foods oxidized at high temperatures (their fats!), preservatives in processed meats!, alcoholic drinks..they create free radicals thus the connection to cancer! Free radicals are also produced because of external impacts from for example pollutants…smoke from air pollutants: forest fires or industrial discharge, cigarette smoke, chemicals, x-rays even!, brain injury!, Just living means about 5% of the oxygen we breathe converts to free radicals!
Our own body produces anti oxidants which we can strategically supplement…they are glutathione that is in every cell! Alpha lipoic acid or ALA which can also cross the brain barrier and CoQ10 that is converted to ubiquinol and used everywhere! So a combination of health and the addition of Resveratrol strategically (not from drinking!) the consumption of carotenoids found in pigmented fruits and vegetables and finally the magic of Astaxanthin and vitamins C and E….a mouthful! All used strategically will fight free radical damage! But go carefully…some free radicals seem to some extent helpful! Other tips….enough sleep? Grounding!…after all this is electron driven! Diet to avoid pre diabetes or diabetes! Ah it goes on…just keep reading this site!!
It is complicated…but for aging persons there is one sure way to kick start our own anti aging magic and that is the activate our Stem Cells! Free Radicals Confusing!
