Most people want to have good health and wellness.
There is a process going on inside your body as you read this article that can jeopardize this healthiness.
It is oxidation and something called free radicals.
I want to discuss those nasty free radicals focusing on what are they; from where do they come; what harm they do and what can be done about them.
Our body is exposed continually to a cellular process called oxidation.
The same air we breath in, oxidizes.
Oxidation takes place when the oxygen in this air is turned into energy.
Oxidation inside our body can cause damage to the tissues at a cellular level as oxidation produces a toxin called free radicals.
Free radicals are a natural by-product of cellular metabolism, a beneficial bodily process needed to fight infection; to convert glucose into energy; to build muscle and so on.
Free radicals are damaged molecules that are missing one of its electrons and wants to be balanced.
Therefore, they go bouncing around in our bodies looking for electrons to steal.
When they bump into a neighbour, they steal an electron, then the neighbour becomes a free radical.
This is the same process that rusts out cars or turns a banana brown when exposed to the air.
However, the oxidative process that goes on inside our body is much more complicated as after all we're not a car or a fruit.
It is estimated that every cell experiences 10,000 free radical attacks each hour of the day.
Think of what has happened inside you body in the time that you've been reading this article.
When they steal from healthy cells, this process can leave these cells damaged.
They leave the cells unstable creating a reaction of dangerous cell mutation.
DNA damaged by free radicals can cause cells to replicate incorrectly, interfering with proper cell function and even cell death.
Over time, these mutations cause aging, cancer and numerous other forms of chronic diseases.
There are some 200 diseases linked to free radical damage and oxidative stress.
They are as follows: high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, cataracts, arthritis, cancer, Alzheimer's /dementia, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, lung disease, autoimmune dysfunction, fibromyalgia to name a few.
This list is growing and it is estimated that 80% of debilitating diseases are related to free radical activity in the body.
All of the above diseases are very serious.
Since heart disease is one of the leading "killers" of the western world, it's important to keep our cholesterol levels within normal range as high cholesterol levels can lead to serious heart problems.
Remember high cholesterol is free radicals.
It is normal for the body to experience some free radical productions as mentioned earlier.
However, our modern everyday life style has added to this production.
We have pesticides, food additives, preservatives, contaminants, sunlight, cigarette smoke, alcohol, environmental chemicals and so on that are exposing the body to extreme levels of free radicals.
If one adds all of this to poor dietary habits and lack of exercise, lack of sleep, and high stress levels, there is a perfect recipe for a health disaster.
As well, our ability to fight damages by this process decreases with age.
Bleak isn't it! But there is help! Antioxidants scavenge and trap free radicals giving them that extra electron neutralizing them and making them harmless.
Antioxidants are found in fruits, vegetables and nuts.
The darker the skin colour of the fruit and vegetables the more antioxidant potent and in some cases the bitter the taste.
Antioxidants made artificially are believed to have little value as our bodies often pass them straight through and end up being very expensive urine.
The amount of antioxidant found in foods can be measured by their capacity to neutralize free radicals.
A testing method called ORAC developed by The National Institute on Aging gives a standard for measuring the antioxidant ability of foods.
ORAC means oxygen radical absorbance capacity.
The foods ability to mop up those nasty free radicals.
The Brunswick Laboratories is an independent third party who tests the ORAC value in food.
This test is run on raw food and after processing that food.
Look for their seal on food packages to get the true ORAC value of the contents of the products inside.
Below is a list of the top antioxidant foods(per 100g) and their ORAC value: unprocessed cacao26,000 acai berry18,500 dark chocolate (if cold processed) 13,120 prunes 5770 raisins 2830 blueberries 2400 blackberries 2036 strawberries 1540 spinach (raw) 1260 broccoli 890 red grapes 739 red cherries 670 This is by no mean a definitive list.
However, it is important to be aware of the foods that are have a high ORAC value since the USDA recommends a daily antioxidant intake of 3,000-5,000.
A recent research suggests that certain life styles require even higher values.
Those nasty free radicals can be neutralized stopping damage to cells inside our body through a diet of antioxidant rich foods.
This will hopefully ensure the health and wellness we all seek.
There is a process going on inside your body as you read this article that can jeopardize this healthiness.
It is oxidation and something called free radicals.
I want to discuss those nasty free radicals focusing on what are they; from where do they come; what harm they do and what can be done about them.
Our body is exposed continually to a cellular process called oxidation.
The same air we breath in, oxidizes.
Oxidation takes place when the oxygen in this air is turned into energy.
Oxidation inside our body can cause damage to the tissues at a cellular level as oxidation produces a toxin called free radicals.
Free radicals are a natural by-product of cellular metabolism, a beneficial bodily process needed to fight infection; to convert glucose into energy; to build muscle and so on.
Free radicals are damaged molecules that are missing one of its electrons and wants to be balanced.
Therefore, they go bouncing around in our bodies looking for electrons to steal.
When they bump into a neighbour, they steal an electron, then the neighbour becomes a free radical.
This is the same process that rusts out cars or turns a banana brown when exposed to the air.
However, the oxidative process that goes on inside our body is much more complicated as after all we're not a car or a fruit.
It is estimated that every cell experiences 10,000 free radical attacks each hour of the day.
Think of what has happened inside you body in the time that you've been reading this article.
When they steal from healthy cells, this process can leave these cells damaged.
They leave the cells unstable creating a reaction of dangerous cell mutation.
DNA damaged by free radicals can cause cells to replicate incorrectly, interfering with proper cell function and even cell death.
Over time, these mutations cause aging, cancer and numerous other forms of chronic diseases.
There are some 200 diseases linked to free radical damage and oxidative stress.
They are as follows: high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, cataracts, arthritis, cancer, Alzheimer's /dementia, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, lung disease, autoimmune dysfunction, fibromyalgia to name a few.
This list is growing and it is estimated that 80% of debilitating diseases are related to free radical activity in the body.
All of the above diseases are very serious.
Since heart disease is one of the leading "killers" of the western world, it's important to keep our cholesterol levels within normal range as high cholesterol levels can lead to serious heart problems.
Remember high cholesterol is free radicals.
It is normal for the body to experience some free radical productions as mentioned earlier.
However, our modern everyday life style has added to this production.
We have pesticides, food additives, preservatives, contaminants, sunlight, cigarette smoke, alcohol, environmental chemicals and so on that are exposing the body to extreme levels of free radicals.
If one adds all of this to poor dietary habits and lack of exercise, lack of sleep, and high stress levels, there is a perfect recipe for a health disaster.
As well, our ability to fight damages by this process decreases with age.
Bleak isn't it! But there is help! Antioxidants scavenge and trap free radicals giving them that extra electron neutralizing them and making them harmless.
Antioxidants are found in fruits, vegetables and nuts.
The darker the skin colour of the fruit and vegetables the more antioxidant potent and in some cases the bitter the taste.
Antioxidants made artificially are believed to have little value as our bodies often pass them straight through and end up being very expensive urine.
The amount of antioxidant found in foods can be measured by their capacity to neutralize free radicals.
A testing method called ORAC developed by The National Institute on Aging gives a standard for measuring the antioxidant ability of foods.
ORAC means oxygen radical absorbance capacity.
The foods ability to mop up those nasty free radicals.
The Brunswick Laboratories is an independent third party who tests the ORAC value in food.
This test is run on raw food and after processing that food.
Look for their seal on food packages to get the true ORAC value of the contents of the products inside.
Below is a list of the top antioxidant foods(per 100g) and their ORAC value: unprocessed cacao26,000 acai berry18,500 dark chocolate (if cold processed) 13,120 prunes 5770 raisins 2830 blueberries 2400 blackberries 2036 strawberries 1540 spinach (raw) 1260 broccoli 890 red grapes 739 red cherries 670 This is by no mean a definitive list.
However, it is important to be aware of the foods that are have a high ORAC value since the USDA recommends a daily antioxidant intake of 3,000-5,000.
A recent research suggests that certain life styles require even higher values.
Those nasty free radicals can be neutralized stopping damage to cells inside our body through a diet of antioxidant rich foods.
This will hopefully ensure the health and wellness we all seek.
Source...