How to Be Healthy

Antioxidants are more important today than at any other time in human history.  Living in today’s modern world is like living in a chemical ocean filled with heavy metals, exhaust gases and pollution in our air, water, ocean, and food.  Antioxidant activity is particularly evident in skin and skin condition as these are the most easily noticed parts of the body.  In young people, skin is tight and close to the body; there are no folds or wrinkles.  These develop as we age.  The question is why.  Skin, which has several different types of cells and is a complex organizational structure, is particularly vulnerable to free radical damage because of its contact with oxygen and with other aspects of the environment.  There are several layers of skin and underneath all these layers is connective tissue which acts as glue, holding the skin tight to the body.  Free radicals eventually damage this underpinning, loosening the skin on top which eventually loses its elasticity allowing wrinkles and folds to be created.  Do antioxidants that are contained in skin creams, oils and other emollients actually combat free radical activity?  The short answer is yes but only to certain degree.  It is much more important to have a large antioxidant reservoir in the body rather than on the body to combat free radical damage on the skin as well as elsewhere.  Remember the separate systems that make up the human body are not independent from one another.  When free radical damage is apparent in the skin then surely it is happening internally.  Don’t be satisfied with just taking care of the skin when in fact even more damage is occurring elsewhere; it is just that you can’t see it as easily.   Another example of easily seen free radical damage is the formation of cataracts.  Remember, just because you don’t feel or see the damage in the rest of the body as it is occurring does not mean it isn’t happening. 

 The free radical theory of aging has received much broader acceptance as the years have gone by.  More and more health science researchers have concluded that free radical caused oxidation is central to the process of aging, and is at the heart of age related deterioration.  It has been said that aging is in fact a process of oxidizing or “rusting”.

  Free radicals are not only found in the outside environment; they are created the body as a natural side effect of metabolism and cellular energy creation.  If these were the only free radicals we had to deal with, antioxidants we produce would be more than enough to handle this load. This is not the case and has not been for many decades though.

  A free radical is an atom or compound missing one or more electrons, which unbalances the atom making it unstable.  This forces it to try and replace the missing electron by any means needed.  These electron seeking atoms will pull an electron from the first place they can free one. 

  With the loss of electrons comes destruction of chemical bonds which in turn dramatically changes the structure of chemicals and other compounds causing gradually stiffening tissues and muscles along with changes in function of hormones and enzymes found throughout the body.  Protein cross linkage is thought to be a major cause of Alzheimer’s.   When cell DNA changes as a result of electron theft due to free radical damage, this change or mutation can be the first step towards a cancerous state. 

  The closest parallel is a domino chain; it keeps on going until the dominos run out.  In this case the dominos are the body’s cells.  A free radical chain reaction can only be stopped by one of the many antioxidants such as Vitamin C and E.  Antioxidants stop the domino chain of free radical production by capturing these free electrons.  This fundamental activity is so important that our body naturally creates antioxidants for just this purpose; sadly our environment has way too many free radical generators from pollution for the body to keep up. 

 
  This is one very excellent reason to supplement every day.  Vitamin C and vitamin E are the two most prevalent and well studied antioxidant nutrients.  The carotenoids, lipoic acid, and numerous phyto-chemicals naturally available in the plants we eat, all act as antioxidants in the body as well.