Oxidative Stress

So what is oxidative stress?
Oxidation is the chemical reaction that makes iron rust and a cut apple turn brown when left exposed to air.
In the body, oxidative stress is a chemical imbalance that promotes the oxidation of our cells and tissues. The main agents of this process are chemicals called free radicals; these are highly reactive molecules that have lost one of their electrons. They then attack another molecule and steal its electron. This causes damage to that molecule and the process then carries onto the next molecule and so on and so on.
This chain reaction has serious consequences for our health, especially if the molecule is part of a cell membrane, an enzyme or part of DNA.

Free radicals come in a variety of sources including cell metabolism, air pollution, cigarette smoke, poor diet and excessive drinking. The free radical theory for aging is that the damage free radicals cause to the cells and tissues is the key force behind the aging process.

Our bodies do have an internal defence system against free radicals, but we can also assist in this on going battle by taking in dietary antioxidants.
These are natural chemical compounds found in food that are absorbed by the body that help to neutralise free radicals before that can do damage to the cells and tissues.

There are thousands of these compounds that come from fruits, vegetables and whole grains. We need to consume a variety of dietary antioxidants to provide protection to all our cells in the body against the wide variety of free radicals that attack the cells.

Different antioxidants protect us from different free radicals and different antioxidants are accumulated in different tissues. Antioxidants also work better in groups.
As the name states, dietary antioxidants can only be consumed though the diet or by taking dietary supplements and we need these vast amounts every day.
Regardless of how good our diet is, supplements are a necessity to take every day and play an important role in the fight against degenerative disease.

2 times Nobel Peace Prize winner Linus Pauling coined the term ‘orthomolecular medicine’, which is the practice of preventing and treating disease by providing the body with optimal amounts of substances which are natural to the body. Substances like vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

A pioneer in chemistry and microbiology Linus Pauling won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 for his research into the chemical bond and in 1962 he won his second Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

Oxidative stress is the process underlying the onset and progression of most degenerative diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Parkinson’s disease and MS.