How Antioxidants Can Protect Your Cellular Health
This might seem hard to believe, but our bodies don’t actually age or get sick – our cells do. Humans are made up of about 75 trillion cells that operate with innate intelligence to perform their given role in the body, and must replicate on a continual basis to do so. Our body’s health is literally dependent on our cellular health. Healthy parts make up a healthy whole, right?
To break it down even more, cellular health is dependent upon the health of the atoms that make up the cell. When the atoms are healthy, the cell is able to replicate perfectly; they make an exact copy of themselves and our body stays well and disease free. An atom is healthy when it has a pair of electrons that keep the atom stable.
When an atom is missing an electron, it is called a Free Radical. There’s a lot of talk about free radicals in current health research and for good reason. Free radicals threaten cellular health because they destroy surrounding atoms by stealing their electrons. Free radicals actually alter or destroy cells in this way.
Lester Packer, from the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California at Berkley says it well:
“Don’t underestimate the threat free radicals pose to our health. Scientists now believe that free radicals are causal factors in nearly every known disease, from heart disease to arthritis to cancer to cataracts. In fact, free radicals are a major culprit in the aging process itself. “
So if the oxidizing impact of free radicals is the underlying problem in damaged cellular health, aging and disease, what’s the solution? The solution is “antioxidants.” Antioxidants have extra electrons that can be taken up by free radicals, thereby eliminating their harmful effects. Antioxidants are your body’s defense against destructive free radicals, and therefore your body’s defense against aging, sickness and disease.
While it is important to reduce our exposure to free radicals, we cannot avoid them altogether. Oxidizing processes and chemicals are part of our daily lives and our body’s functioning. To name just a few, free radicals come from: stress, pollution, foods, smoking, medications, sunlight, exercise, airline travel, pesticides, food additives, x-rays and many more. (See The Healthy Home by Dr. Myron Wentz for more information).
For this reason it is important to optimize our intake of antioxidants with a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and other foods rich in natural antioxidants. Research suggests that organic and less processed foods retain more of their antioxidant properties. In addition high quality safe supplements are essential to protect your cellular health.
Stay tuned for more information about “How to Select a Good Vitamin/Mineral Supplement.”