Antioxidants protect us. They are the body’s natural defences against oxidant agents that can do us harm. Oxidants cause oxidative activity can damage or destroy our tissues, initiating disease and accelerating normal aging. Our innate, natural antioxidants work as a biochemical self-defense against oxidation. Our antioxidant defence team includes antioxidant enzymes, backed up by antioxidant minerals and nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10, alpha-lipoic acid, glutathione, taurine, carotenoids, and flavonoids (see sidebar 1). Whenever the antioxidant defences are breached, whether through mineral or antioxidant nutrient deficiencies or simply excessive oxidative challenge, oxidative reactions self-propagate and explode out of control. DNA becomes mutated, enzymes crippled, membranes disrupted. As cells disintegrate, oxidative products leak out, to travel around the body and trigger oxidative attack at other sites. As they escape antioxidant restraints, oxidative processes can become amplified into inflammation. Inflammation:
Runaway Oxidation Linked to Disease The entire spectrum of environmental pollutants (including petroleum derivatives, solvents, heavy metals), lifestyle factors (smoking, alcoholism, other drugs of abuse) and toxic pharmaceuticals (acetaminophen, for example) are oxidant agents. The pathogens HIV-1, hepatitis viruses, mycoplasmas, fungi, the intestinal bacterium Helicobacter pylori, Giardia and the ameboid protozoan parasites trigger tissue oxidation that can readily progress to inflammation. Excessive ultraviolet exposure, chronic emotional stress, food intolerances, all contribute to our cumulative oxidative stress. As these diverse agents converge on our antioxidant defences, our limited adaptive capacities can become overwhelmed. The result: accelerated aging and chronic ill-health. The typical SAD (Standard American Diet) clearly is not supplying enough antioxidants to forestall the obvious epidemic of oxidation-related disease. But the better the antioxidant contributions from our foods, and the more supplements we take, the more prepared we can be against the modern oxidant holocaust (see sidebar 2). The healthy antioxidant defence system strives to conserve the nutritional antioxidants through metabolic recycling. Still, daily living in the real world places a “burn” on our antioxidant reserves. Dr. Robert Cathcart, foremost clinical authority on vitamin C, speaks of a “hundred-gram cold,” an influenza so severe it can consume 100 grams (not milligrams) of vitamin C in a mere few days. Integrative practitioners and academic researchers agree that everyone can benefit from supplementing with antioxidants. As healthcare costs continue to soar, serious thought should be given to fortifying foods with antioxidants. Take CoQ (Coenzyme Q10), for example. This is a vitamin-like antioxidant and energy cofactor, proven to lower gum disease, support healthy immunity, and boost muscle performance, even (yes) able to salvage a failing heart. Any insufficiency of CoQ can endanger the heart. Further, statin drugs commonly prescribed for lowering cholesterol can block the body’s intrinsic CoQ synthesis, making CoQ supplementation even more imperative. Selenium is an essential mineral specifically required for various glutathione peroxidase enzymes that provide crucial control over free radicals. It has great anticancer potential: in 1996 the New England Journal of Medicine reported on a large double-blind trial in dietary supplementation with selenium produced a 50% reduction in total cancer mortality. The carotenoids are, like vitamin E, fat-soluble antioxidants. One of them—lycopene—seems to help against prostate cancer, lowering PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) and prostate tumor size. Lutein is found concentrated in the retina, that thin layer at the back of the eye, which takes a high dose of oxidative light radiation. Lutein is being researched against retinal macular degeneration, which afflicts 25% of Americans over age 65. Plants are a treasure trove of “phytochemicals”, many of them potent antioxidants. There are more than 4,000 known flavonoids, overlapping with oligomeric proanthocyanidins, polyphenols, and tannins. These all benefit the circulation, very likely through multiple action mechanisms. Rosmarinic acid (RA) is extracted from a naturally high-yielding strain of oregano and also occurs in thyme and rosemary, plants all traditionally revered for their medicinal properties. RA appears to have anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic properties, while its high antioxidant potency has proved useful for stabilizing vegetable oils against frying. Another phytochemical that’s showing great promise is a complex of water-soluble substances from the olive squeeze—previously discarded in favor of the oil. Antioxidants trend to work best when ingested in combination with each other and with phospholipids, the building blocks of cell membranes. From a novel animal source—krill, a zooplankton—comes a nutrient complex of a carotenoid (astaxanthin) together with a potent flavonoid and phospholipids enriched in the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA. This complex is astonishingly stable, with a very high antioxidant value and great clinical promise for curbing inflammation. Antioxidants are an intensively researched, large family of nutrients with profound nutraceutical applications. Whether long-term supplementation with these nutrients can extend the average human lifespan remains an intriguing possibility. The current scientific understanding is that insufficiencies of these nutrients increase the risks for a great variety of life-shortening degenerative diseases. By searching out super-antioxidant foods, beverages, and supplements we keep our eyes on the prize: long life with optimal health and freedom from disease. For more information on antioxidants and other nutrient classes and their roles in human health, see Why You Should Take Vitamins: Developing Your Personal Vitamin Program. |
