CELLS: "The Building Blocks of Life"
Cell division is an essential process for an organism creation, growth, and repair and also to replace old, dead, or damaged cells. In human bodies, nearly TWO trillion cells divide every day.
In recent years, there has been a great deal of attention toward the field of FREE RADICAL chemistry. To fully understand Free Radicals, we have to look very closely into the molecules that make up our cells. Our body’s molecules, such as DNA and proteins, are made up of particles held together by pair of electrons. Electrons are the most stable when they are in pairs, so these atoms, called free radicals, scavenge the body to seek out other electrons so they can become a pair.
So, it is too bad that Free Radicals sometimes end up in our cells. They may steal an electron from whatever they bump into, turning their victim into a free radical that can go on to harm another set of cells.
In doing so, they can cause significant damage to cells in the body and can set off chain reactions of what is termed as oxidative damage or OXIDATIVE STRESS.
Oxidation is what most of us see in life – when we leave some sliced apples, and it turns brown – that is oxidation.
Still, when there are interruptions in the usual oxidation process, such as the appeal of a free radical to another molecule inside the body, the results ore often toxic.
The Oxidation or Oxidative Stress gradually damages healthy cells and contributes to diseases ranging from:
Cancer
Stroke
Premature Ageing
Arthritis
Alzheimer’s Disease
Atherosclerosis
Chronic Bronchitis
Diabetes
Renal Failure
Ischemia
Parkinson’s Disease
Heart Failure
Multiple Organ Failure
This is a dilemma: Damage from free radicals can kill a cell. Cell membrane damage can make the cell malfunction. And DNA damage can lead to Cancer.
ANTIOXIDANTS
ANTIOXIDANTS are fantastic little substances that wander through the body, giving up electrons to the ravenous free radicals charging through the body system. They neutralize the free radicals and allow the body to do its part of removing them safely and without harm.
Antioxidant levels in foods are measured by a test called ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity). ORAC test is a unit of measurement for antioxidant content which was originally developed by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institute of Health (NIH). It measures the amount and length of time it takes to restrain the actions of an oxidizing agent. With the absence of ORAC or a low value of it, the Antioxidants will not be absorbed nor will they function as expected.
Our bodies make several different types of antioxidants all on their own. However, when there is an increase of exposure to harmful free radicals in the environment and through our lifestyles, it becomes a necessity to supply outside sources of antioxidants that are vital in the war against aging and Chronic Degenerative Diseases.