We hope to be a voice of change in the health care industry. Mainstream health care is very reactive and virtually not at all proactive. The current system seems to okay with waiting until a disease manifests before it will take any action. The very nature of being reactive and the therapies it enlists ensures that disease will perpetuate ...this is disease-care not health-care. If health promotion were the goal of the health care industry, they would use their massive revenues and absurdly inflated profit margins to tap into every public media available to discuss wellness and prevention of disease.

One wellness promoting aspect that prevents disease and needs to be discussed again and again is the power and necessity of antioxidants. The word antioxidant is a very general term that encompasses thousands of different compounds and nutrients. But one of the key similarities between all antioxidants is that they help to combat free radicals.

What Are Free Radicals?
Free radicals are highly reactive compounds that are created in the body during normal metabolic functions (exercise, digestion and even breathing) or introduced from the environment (certain foods, alcohol, air pollution, etc.). Free radicals are inherently unstable, since they contain "extra" energy. To reduce their energy load, free radicals react with certain chemicals in the body, and in the process, interfere with the cells' ability to function normally. Antioxidants work in several ways: they may reduce the energy of the free radical, stop the free radical from forming in the first place, or interrupt an oxidizing chain reaction to minimize the damage caused by free radicals.

Free radicals are believed to play a role in more than sixty different health conditions, including unhealthy aging, cancer, and atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Reducing exposure to free radicals and increasing intake of antioxidant nutrients has the potential to reduce the risk of free radical-related health problems. As we discussed a few months ago, for example, fats and cholesterol are very susceptible to oxidation and free radical damage (Click Here if You Missed). When the damage is done, fats form lipid peroxides and cholesterol gets oxidized which injure the artery walls and accelerate the progression of atherosclerosis. Antioxidants block the formation of these destructive compounds.

Oxygen, although essential to life, is the source of the potentially damaging free radicals when it's combined with certain environmental triggers. Environmental sources of free radicals include exposure to ionizing radiation (from industry, sun exposure, cosmic rays, and medical X-rays), ozone and nitrous oxide (primarily from automobile exhaust), heavy metals (such as mercury, cadmium, lead, and even iron in excessive levels), cigarette smoke (both active and passive), alcohol, fat, excess sugar, and other chemicals and compounds from food, water, and air.

The Body Knows How to Defend Itself
The body produces several antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and glutathione peroxidase, which neutralize many types of free radicals. Supplements of these enzymes are available for oral administration, however, they are difficult for the body to absorb. Supplementing with the "building blocks" the body requires to make SOD, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase may be more effective. These building block nutrients include the minerals manganese, zinc, and copper for SOD and selenium for glutathione peroxidase. In addition to enzymes and their building blocks there are many other types of antioxidants that we will discuss on Wednesday.

We will help shed some light on questions like:

• What are the best antioxidants to take?
  
• Are there antioxidants that are best for specific conditions, like heart disease and diabetes?
  
• What does ORAC mean?
  
• Can I get antioxidants from food or do I need to take supplements? How much is enough?
  
• Can I take too much?
  
• We will also discuss some of the most popular antioxidants and how they are best used.

What to Learn More About Antioxidants? Then Visit Our Health Library