Showing posts with label free radicals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label free radicals. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Avocados Naturally Conquer Aging and Disease


Contrary to many anti-aging pills and creams, avocados are extremely inexpensive and also quite a delicious addition to any seasonal meal. The best part, however, is that they are actually effective in fighting both again and bolstering your immune system to fight off disease — no expensive medical interventions required. The powerful yet 100% natural effect has to do with how the oil from the fruit can combat free radicals, which have been linked to countless conditions including cancer and heart disease (as well as aging, and in many cases accelerated aging).
What’s most amazing about the antioxidants found in avocados is their ability to ‘deeply’ penetrate inside the body and actually enter the mitochondria, a tiny ‘powerhouse’ which actually turns food into energy inside your body. Your mitochondria are actually teeming with free radicals, which are assaulting the tiny energy assimilators on a daily basis. While other fruits and vegetables — powerful in many ways as well — offer beneficial antioxidants, avocados possess the unique ability to actually make their way inside mitochondria. This is an effect that has scientists raving over the usage of avocados in the prevention of disease and aging.Researcher Christian Cortes-Rojo summarized the findings, explaining:
The problem is that the antioxidants in [other] substances are unable to enter mitochondria. So free radicals go on damaging mitochondria, causing energy production to stop and the cell to collapse and die.
It is these free radicals, brought upon by toxins that enter the body, which are causing serious damage to public health. Breeding disease through the destruction of DNA and cell membranes, free radicals are unwanted invaders of the body. Avocados present themselves as an excellent way to fend off the issue, and researchers say that avocado oil can even allow certain cells to survive in the presence of high iron concentrations — an element that produces a particularly ‘huge’ amount of free radicals. It is also interesting to note that avocado oil is similar to olive oil in terms of composition. Not only has olive oil been found to benefit your overall health, but the consumption of olive oil has been linked to unusually low levels of serious disease in some Mediterranean countries.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Are you Rusting from the inside out?

From UltraPrevention


Many of you may be taking antioxidants, but do you know why? The reason is to reduce rust, or oxidation. This concept is confusing; oxygen is good, or isn't it? Yes, it’s true we need oxygen to live and breathe........

................... and yet oxygen itself can be damaging. What does our body use oxygen for? - to make energy. In the process of making this energy, however, oxygen molecules temporarily are changed into highly reactive molecules called 
free radicals that can cause damage to our cells. 




Our bodies normally produce their own natural antioxidants to protect us from these free radicals. The higher the amount of these free radicals, the more antioxidants are required to protect us from this damage. If our body’s natural antioxidants are depleted, oxidative damage occurs to our cells. Some everyday examples of oxidative damage include the rusting of metal (oxidation of iron), or the browning of a bitten apple when exposed to air.
When oxidation occurs in our cells, the result is damage to the structure and as a result, impairment of the function of these cells. Many disorders are characterized at least in part by oxidation including heart failure, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, liver and kidney disease, arthritis, cystic fibrosis, scleroderma, and even aging itself.
We can protect ourselves against oxidative damage in two main ways:
  • 1) Reduce oxidative stress
  • 2) increase our antioxidant stores.
There are several processes which lead to oxidative stress. This includes foremost the processing of food and energy production. This is the likely explanation for why several animal studies have shown that by simply reducing the calories eaten (not reducing the nutrients) substantially increases lifespan while greatly reducing the incidence of diseases typically associated with aging. A lower caloric intake results in less oxidative stress.
Another process which leads to oxidative stress is the process of detoxification and elimination of foreign substances from our bodies. This takes place to a large extent in our liver, although almost every organ is involved in detoxification at some level. Detoxification of even over-the-counter medications such as aspirin and acetaminophen can place added oxidative stress on organs such as the liver.
Although moderate exercise stimulates our bodies own antioxidant systems, excessive exercise can place additional oxidative stress on our system and may require additional antioxidant support.
Antioxidant supplements are not the final answer. Foods contain many natural antioxidants that work together in combination. Simply giving a single antioxidant in a vitamin capsule is not as effective as eating foods that contain many antioxidants, which work in concert together. Antioxidant-rich foods should supply the majority of our antioxidant needs. In cases of increased oxidative stress additional supplementation may be required. In that instance, these supplements should probably be given in combination. These supplemental antioxidants include Vitamins A, C, D, E, Co-Q-10, carotenoids and flavonoids, zinc, selenium, manganese, copper, glutathione and N-acetyl cysteine among others. New testing is also available to gain insight into your own levels of oxidative stress and antioxidant status.
Oxidative stress is one of several biochemical imbalances which can eventually lead to cellular and organ damage and ultimately aging or disease.
Please click on more of the Five Forces of Illness to learn more about the biochemical imbalances that represent the key to true prevention. 


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