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Medical science reminds us every day that good
nutrition and good health go hand in hand.
One of the largest growing areas for research today has placed
focus on ‘oxidative stress’.
This occurs when some molecules take electrons form other
molecules and electrons. Substances
that can exist with missing electrons are called free radicals.
Free radicals damage proteins, DNA and lipids, generally
causing mayhem inside cells.
Two common examples of oxidative stress are why a
cut apple browns or why iron rusts.
This form of destruction is caused by free radicals; so just
think of what these unstable molecules can do inside your body.
To understand the way free radicals and
antioxidants interact and effect your health, you must first
understand a bit about cells and molecules.
Molecules are composed of atoms bonded together;
this bonding process is accomplished by the sharing of electrons.
When two atoms come together and their electrons pair up, the
bond is created. It is a
general principle of quantum chemistry that only two electrons can
exist in one bond. Specifically,
each electron must have opposite spin from the other. Now paired electrons are quiet stable and nearly 100 percent
of all electrons in your body exist in a paired state.
Now when a bond is broken by for example radiation,
the electrons can stay together…(two electrons go to one atom and
the other atom gets none) or they can split up (one electron goes to
each atom)…. it’s when these split that they are now called free
radicals…. molecules with an unpaired electron.
These unpaired electrons are highly energetic and seek out
other electrons with which to pair and stealing them in the process.
This electron stealing is what makes free radicals very
dangerous. When the unpaired electron comes and steals an electron from
a paired electron then it becomes a free radical and goes in search of
another electron to replace the one it lost and the chain continues.
So how does all this stop?
Well antioxidants offer easy electron targets for free
radicals. They will trap or stabilize the lone free radical electron
and make it stable enough to transport to an enzyme, which combines
two stabilized free radicals together to neutralize them and then it
is easily cleaned out as waste by your body.
Sound Confusing? Simply put free radicals are
molecular thugs, indiscriminately stealing electrons from other
molecules and converting them to potentially harmful forms.
Free radicals are inherently extra energy.
To reduce the energy load, free radicals react and interfere
with the cells ability to function normally.
In fact free radicals are believed to play a role in more then
60 different health conditions.
When free radicals affect your blood vessels you
can have heart attacks and/or strokes.
When they knock chunks off your DNA you may get certain forms
of cancer. When it
affects your skin you get wrinkles and possibly skin cancer…. your
joints, arthritis and rheumatism.
When free radicals affect your brain you can get dementia and
depression and your glands can lead to diabetes.
Can you feel the effects of free radical damage?
Not immediately, but unless you take the necessary steps to
help counteract the attack of free radicals, you run the risk of
allowing cumulative damage to your tissues, joints, organs and blood
vessels. And these
effects over time will begin to be felt. Reducing your exposure to fee
radicals and increasing your intake of antioxidant nutrients can
reduce the risk of free radical health problems.
So what causes free radicals to form in the first
place? Well Oxygen
although essential to life is a source that carries potentially
damaging compounds. Other
damaging compounds include; your environment (from exposure to
ionizing radiation), from industry, sun exposure, cosmic exposure,
medical x rays, automotive exhaust, heavy metals (like mercury cadmium
and lead), cigarette smoke, alcohol, unsaturated fat, and other
compounds from food, water and air.
Normally your body can handle free radicals, but if
antioxidants are unavailable, or if the free radical production
becomes excessive, damage can occur and it becomes accumulative with
age. Antioxidants work in several ways by reducing the energy of
the free radicals, stopping the free radical from forming in the first
place or interrupting an oxidizing chain to minimize the damage.
Your body normally produces antioxidants to
counteract the free radicals, but with our increasingly toxic
environment, sometime it just cannot handle the workload.
In addition to the enzymes, vitamins and minerals act as
antioxidants to help out, like vitamin C and E, Beta-Carotene, Lutein,
Lycopene,
Vitamin B3 (niacin), Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), Vitamin B6,
coenzyme Q10 and an amino acid cysteine.
Also herbs like bilberry, turmeric, grape seed or pine bark
extracts and ginkgo can also provide powerful antioxidant protection
for the body.
It’s also known that people who eat adequate
amounts of fruits and vegetables high in antioxidants have lower
incidence of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and cataracts.
Although fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants it is
not known exactly which dietary factors are responsible for the
beneficial effects, so it’s important to eat whole fruits and
vegetables. Vitamins and minerals in nature are never isolated; they
are combined with the thousands of other nutrients found in the whole
food to work together in ways science is only beginning to understand.
To isolate one vitamin or mineral and call it a nutrient is
like taking your cars steering wheel or battery and calling it an
automobile.
Vitamin and mineral supplements are sometimes
necessary for specific needs, but they are not for everyone.
Whole foods are the key to good nutrition.
Unfortunately despite the growing evidence on the
importance of eating whole fruits and vegetables, less than 10% eat
the acquired amount, and those that do try to eat the necessary amount
end up eating foods that are over processed, over cooked and far to
removed from the farm. And
lets face it buying and preparing 5 to 9 servings a day, everyday can
be difficult not to mention expensive.
And it’s not your imagination when you think that
the number of overweight people is increasing.
Our children watch about 10,000 food commercials a year, and
with an advertising revenue of over 36 billion dollars promoting, fast
foods, snack foods, sugar cereals and candy, its no wonder we grow up
eating too much sugar, salt and fat.
According to one survey of school age children 25% do not
consume at least one serving of vegetables and 50% eat less than one
serving of fruit a day.
We as North Americans have become the most overfed
and undernourished people in the world and when you eat nutrient
deficient food, your stomach may be full, but your body continues to
send out the ‘I’M HUNGRY’ message, which leads to overeating and
weight gain.
Also as you age you generally lose lean muscle mass
and gain more fat. It
takes 25 to 30 calories per day to maintain one pound of lean muscle
and only 2 calories to look after a pound of fat.
Over time this is another cause, which can lead to weight gain.
Drinking plenty of
water is also a secret weapon to
losing weight as water is a natural appetite suppressant. It also helps to metabolize stored fat, because without
enough water, the kidneys can’t function properly, sending some of
their workload to your liver. Since
one of your livers main functions is to metabolize stored fat, this
means they can’t be doing their job function adequately, and this
means less fat is metabolized and remains stored in your body.
So a proper balance between exercise and nutrition
is key to your health. How
you eat can be just as important as what you eat.
A few simple changes here and there to your eating habits can
go a long way towards creating a healthier you.
I know you want to get in shape and look great. Whatever your fitness goal…to slim down…gain muscle…tone your arms or flatten your tummy…I’m here to help you accomplish your goals and to improve your fitness level. You will learn how to select and combine your diet with exercise, so that you can be the best you can be.
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