It’s The Free Radicals Man!If you are alive and breathing you produce free radicals. We live in an oxygen-rich atmosphere, and radicals, particularly reactive oxygen species (ROS), are natural by-products of respiration. "One per cent of the oxygen we consume turns into ROS," says biochemist Barry Halliwell from the National University of Singapore. "It doesn't sound like much but humans are big animals and we breathe a lot. Over a year a human body makes 1.7 kilograms of ROS." Exposure to X-rays, ozone, tobacco smoke, air pollutants, microbial infections, industrial chemicals and intensive exercise also trigger free radical production. Moses Gomberg was the founder of radical chemistry. The first radical he identified was “triphenylmethyl radical in 1900 while a researcher at the University of Michigan. The one thing Gomberg found is that radicals have unpaired electrons in their cell makeup. The formation of radicals is a chemical reaction that reminds me why I nearly flunked chemistry in college. A scientific definition is a mind boggle. However if you are interested look in Wikipedia here. If science isn’t your strong suit like me here is a simple description. Radicals are found on the atom level of the human body All atoms have an outer ring (like the rings of the planet Saturn).and in the outer ring of healthy cells all electrons are paired. electrons moving in an orbit around the atom.(like the moons of Saturn) During the bodies normal function free radicals are formed when oxidation and other chemical reactions take place. During this oxidation process (rusting) some electrons are damaged and die. When one or more electrons die it creates unpaired electrons in the ring around that atom. This atom is now referred to as a radical. And like it’s name it has radical action which causes more damage to other cells by trying to “steal” there electrons in an attempt to regain their healthy balance. If there are not enough antioxidants in the area to repair or neutralize the radicals then a domino effect can take place causing lots of cell damage and therefore aging. Clear as mud right? However the scientific explanation is not really important to us. The body can fix and handle any free radical if it has the nutritional tools to do so. Enter stage left Denham Harmon MD PHD who made himself famous for having developed the free radical concept of aging. His original idea has now been tested successfully many hundreds of times. Harmon’s theory states that antioxidants like Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and the phytonutrients in Goji berries, blueberry and the other antioxidant fruit and vegetables will prevent free radicals from oxidizing (read removing electrons) from healthy cells and by so doing slow the aging process. A particularly important and sensitive part of our cell structure is the mitochondria. The mitochondria are the part of the cell that is responsible for producing the chemicals that the cell uses for energy production. Every cell also contains a large set of molecules called DNA. The DNA is the cell blueprint. The DNA is located in the nucleus of every cell as well as the mitochondria and provides all the chemical instructions for cell function much like a command center. The cell can readily fix much of the damage to nuclear (read nucleus) DNA but has a much harder time with Mitochondria DNA. When extensive damage to DNA accumulates over time it cause the mitochondria cells to shut down and die and the body ages. One of the major changes in our society is causing even more free radical damage to our bodies. Environmental agents meaning our air, water and food is becoming increasingly toxic every day. The more toxins in the body the more radicals develop faster. There are also much more heavy metals in our environment now. These metals like mercury, cadmium, lead and many others are highly dangerous to the body. These heavy metals molecules have been found to cause several thousands more radical chain reactions than other substances. So it seems that antioxidants can delay aging and make us a healthier population by eliminating free radicals. At this time it is the best information available which will probably change tomorrow. The real test is how the increased intake of antioxidant foods or supplements make you feel. If over time, say 30 to 90 days, you feel better then it is a pretty safe bet the antioxidants and other phytonutrients are doing some good. Add to that a little exercise and good sleep and you will be closer to realizing your optimal health goals.
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