Understanding Anti-Oxidants
Appropriate Anti-Oxidant Supplementation Should be a Primary Focus of Nutritional Supplementation
Understanding Anti-Oxidants
These naturally-occurring substances protect against free radical damage. Scientific research is now relating specific diseases to oxidation and damage to body systems by free radicals.
Examples of these diseases include Alzheimer’s, atherosclerosis, diabetes, cancer, emphysema, malaria, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and retinal degeneration.
Anti-Oxidants
Free radicals are formed by the body’s cells as they break down food to release stored energy from the food to do the mechanical and chemical work of the body.
Free radicals, in excessive quantities, can damage the body’s genetic material, immune system, and the cell membranes that maintain the integrity of our organs and systems and, ultimately, our total health.
These nutrients counteract the damaging action of free radicals and prevent any potential damage that the free radicals might create. The primary source is the food we eat. The principal ones in food sources are located within the fat of both plants and animals. An additional source of necessary compounds is animal protein.
The primary nutrients in the anti-oxidant system include vitamin Q (CoQ10), vitamin E, and vitamin C. Secondary nutrients include various bio-flavonoids such as vitamin P and other phytochemicals (plant based, herb-like chemicals).
Appropriate and Useful Supplements
An appropriate supplement should include vitamin Q, vitamin E, and vitamin C, along with selenium. Vitamin A, particularly as beta-carotene, should also be a part of the basic supplement program.
These nutritional items are the critical components in the body’s anti-oxidant strategy. Additional components, such as the bioflavonoid Pycnogenol, aren’t considered as a part of the primary supplement.
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Therefore, if a manufacturer decreases the amount of essential nutrients in a capsule or tablet to make room for a small amount of Pycnogenol, the supplement now short-changes the consumer.
Carnosine is a Powerful, Recently Discovered Free Radical Scavenger
Carnosine resides in skeletal muscle and is responsible for a variety of activities related to detoxification of the body from free radical species.
It can protect cell membranes, proton buffering capacity (you don’t want excess protons charging around and doing damage to tissues), grabs up heavy metals, and regulates immune cell functions.
Carnosine will grab up dangerous compounds produced as one’s body processes blood sugar coming from any and all carbohydrates consumed in loads by most Americans.
