subject: Free Radicals -What They Do To Your Health! [print this page] Free Radicals -What They Do To Your Health!
So what do you know about free radicals? Do you know how they occur in the body? Do you know why they are damaging to the human body and your health?Well we can get heavy into molecules and electrons here and have a major science lesson, but what we really need to understand is the basic facts; Why we create these damaging foreign bodies, how harmful are they to our health, and what do we need to do to help ourselves!
Not all free radicals are harmful to us, some are produced naturally during metabolism. If we have a virus or overload of bacteria, the immune system will create them to neutralize and attack the virus. However, environmental factors such as pollution- especially car fumes, radiation, cigarette smoke and herbicides can also spawn free radicals. If free radical production becomes excessive this is when damage can start to occur, the immune system will not be able to cope. Our bodies are biochemical battlegrounds! We can cope with normal production of free radicals, but as we age and take in more pollution, the system is overloaded and the immune system is under too much pressure. We now have all these, what I like to call bad soldiers, this is how I used to try to teach my young son "we need to make more good soldiers to kill the bad soldiers!" hey it worked! Now 25 he still say's it lol, So moving on swiftly, the bad soldiers are roaming around freely and in time, these groups of cells become mutated and cancerous, our body is now in dis-ease state!
This is the basic raw truth of it! I can hear you say, well years ago we did not hear our peers talking of chemical change and free radicals and they had no problems! Ok I hear you, but how do you know that they did not suffer? Of course they did, but they did not have the knowledge that we have available to us today given to us through extensive studies. It is our responsibility to work with that knowledge and do the best we can for our own and our children's health! But you know what, their diet was pretty poor, everything over processed, but they didn't have meat full of drugs!If I were to say to you now, you can add another 10-20 years to your life if you have and use this knowledge, you would not ignore this would you?
Ok so lecture over, sorry I am passionate about this! So what do we do? How do we help ourselves? Well as with most things its easy when you know how! Firstly, the obvious thing is, if our body is strong, our immune system is strong and we eat a well balanced diet then we will create all the healthy cells we need to protect ourselves, however most of us these days live fast lives, we all work long hours, hence fast food and we don't rest enough! Good rest is essential for our body to repair! And even when we try to eat fresh food, there is no guarantee that it is particularly good quality these day's (understatement!) So what then ????
Antioxidants
Right, we need to have an adequate supply of antioxidants, these are our good soldiers and will neutralize and attack the bad soldiers (free radicals) we then help to prevent the risk of heart disease and strokes, and cancerous cells.The three most powerful antioxidants are beta-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E.
Beta-carotene is what gives many fruits their appearance. It also stimulates the release of natural killer cells (good soldiers), which hunt down and destroy cancer producing cells before they can do any damage. It only takes about 15 to 30 milligrams a day to stop these free radicals and destroy them. You can find beta-carotene in carrots, cantaloupes, sweet potatoes, spinach, and apricots
.Vitamin C is the next powerful antioxidant. According to scientific studies at the University of California, those who took at least 66 milligrams of vitamin C every day, found their bodies to be free of any foreign antibodies! Vitamin C is found in fruits and vegetables such as citrus fruits, kiwi, potatoes, green and red peppers, carrots, spinach and apricots.(wash your fruit to rid skin of any pesticides, the skin is then very good)
Vitamin E this is the most versatile antioxidant. This vitamin not only blocks free radicals, it also protects the body and its cells by stimulating the immune system. When the immune system is strong and active, it goes about its job of destroying any bad cells in the body. The best way to get vitamin E is by eating wheat germ. Other foods that contain vitamin E are whole grains, legumes, almonds, Avocados, spinach and seeds.
What We Have Learned
Ok so, now we know how to build the good soldiers and ward off the bad! lets not go overboard though ok? if you have been used to a conventional diet and you go whole hog into a new way of eating, you will upset your chemical balance this way too and your digestion will go wild, you will feel awful and then wonder what the heck you bothered for!The best thing you can do for yourself is change bit by bit, start to cut out the rubbish and include the good stuff, build up to 5-8 portions of fruit and veg per day and watch your progress carefully! But keep at it and look after your good soldiers!
