Antioxidants got a bad rap last
year. A couple of well-publicized studies ran again and
again in journals, blogs, newspapers, online
postings, and more with the following grim headlines:
-
Vitamin C, E supplements
Won't Help Prevent Cancer
-
Prostate Cancer Prevention
Study Shows No Benefit from Selenium and Vitamin E
Supplements
But before you go doubting the
value of your antioxidant friends, you should know about
dozens of studies getting near zero press over the last
few years, such as:
With regard
specifically to cancer, Dr. Rodier’s 2007 Blog on the
subject gives you
a few (hundred) more citations on the proven
positive benefits of antioxidant intake:
“Despite
lots of evidence through the years that very good diets,
and the antioxidants therein are helpful to prevent and
treat cancer, poor studies still come out once in a
while that not only reflect a very poor understanding of
nutrition but what antioxidants really are, and how they
function.” -- Hugo Rodier, M.D.
For those of you who made it this
far (or have issues sleeping), here's a good scientific
review of antioxidants.
Oxidation and Cellular Health
Cellular Energy
Respiration is the basic function
of inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide --
without it, cells cease to exist. The energy required to
power individual cells comes from the chemical energy
stored in foods. That energy is released in a multi-step
chemical reaction where a food source is oxidized to
form carbon dioxide and water.
This oxidation reaction is
constantly occurring in mitochondria that exist inside
your cells. Thus all living cells in the human body are
taking in oxygen and giving off carbon dioxide just as
you are breathing in and out as you read this article.
If oxidation is the fundamental
source of cellular energy then why is it necessary to
take antioxidants?
Free Radical Formation
While oxidation reactions are the
primary source of cellular energy, unwanted oxidation
can also occur inside living cells leading to free
radical formation. This occurs as a normal byproduct of
respiration where 2 to 5% of available oxygen is
converted to free radicals.
Environmental toxins from
pollution, radiation and heavy metals can greatly
increase this oxidative stress. Free radicals are
formed in an oxidative reaction where a single electron
is ripped from a stable molecule converting that
molecule to a highly unstable free radical.
Electrons always want to exist in
pairs so when a single electron is taken away, the
molecule with the unpaired electron (the free radical)
will try and steal an electron from another
molecule. This begins a chain reaction of free radical
formation that can rip through cells damaging cell
membranes, proteins and DNA by altering their chemical
structure.
Just as rust can cause premature
aging of your car, free radical damage can cause
premature aging of your cells and ultimately your body!
Antioxidants Protect Against
Free Radicals
Luckily, there is a class of
molecules called antioxidants able to neutralize
or “scavenge” free radicals. Antioxidants have the
amazing ability to donate an electron without becoming a
free radical, thus halting the vicious electron stealing
chain reaction!
Antioxidants not only neutralize
free radicals, they can also minimize the formation of
new free radicals and repair some of the damage from
oxidation!
In the modern world where
pollutants are constant, it is vital that you arm your
body with antioxidants to combat the damaging effects of
unwanted oxidation and free radical formation.
Antioxidant-Packed Co-op
Products
Alpha Lipoic Acid
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Sam's Advanced Antioxidant Plus D
Grape Seed Extract
Green Tea Extract
CoQ-10 50mg (150mg)
Cranberry Concentrate
Oil of Oregano
Milk Thistle
A Variety of Antioxidants are
Necessary to Maintain Constant Cellular Health
It is important to have a variety
of antioxidants in your diet since different antioxidant
molecules work in different compartments of the cell or
in different places in the body.
For example: vitamin C is water
soluble and protects against free radicals in the
aqueous intracellular fluid whereas vitamin E is fat
soluble and therefore can protect against oxidation in
cellular membranes.
Eating a balanced diet including
fresh fruits and vegetables and taking supplements like
Constant Health can supply your body with the
antioxidants needed to fight dangerous free radicals and
maintain cellular health.
Constant Health Provides
a Suite of Powerful Antioxidants
Many vitamin and mineral nutrients
have powerful antioxidant properties. Many plants also
have unique phytonutrients that function as
antioxidants.
Constant Health contains both nutrient and
phytonutrient antioxidants (see table below).
Antioxidants in Constant Health
|
Vitamin and Mineral Nutrients |
Plant Products Containing Phytonutrients |
|
Vitamin A |
Red Raspberry Seeds |
|
Vitamin C |
Turmeric |
|
Vitamin E |
Grape Seed Extract |
|
Zinc |
Milk Thistle |
|
Selenium |
Quercetin |
