Antioxidants & Free Radicals

So many of you have emailed me with questions on how antioxidants work and why they are so important to living a healthy life. Although there are a lot of sensational articles saying that antioxidants can affect everything from obesity to cancer to arthritis, at least knowing the basics of antioxidants and why they work in supporting the body’s proper function is probably the biggest reason to supplement with a proven antioxidant regimen.

First we must understand the concept of “Free Radicals” and how they play a role in disrupting and stressing the body’s repair mechanisms. Free Radicals are oxygen atoms that have lost one of their paired electrons. Oxygen atoms normally have 2 electrons in their inner ring circling the nucleus. Challenges occur when one of the paired electrons is knocked from the oxygen molecule creating destructive instability. Free Radicals are created by radiation, environmental pollution, pesticides and even our own body functions like muscular contraction and exercise.

A Free Radical seeks to stabilize itself by “stealing” an electron from another molecule which then creates another Free Radical and the process continues creating what is known as a “Free Radical Cascade”!  When this occurs inside the body, individual cells are damaged, mutated or destroyed. If the nucleus of a cell or cell membrane is damaged, the cell either dies or a mutation is created. Our body’s deal with this damage with our immune systems cleaning up the mess and with antioxidants such as vitamin C, E and Beta Carotene which “contribute” they’re excess electrons thereby neutralizing the “Free Radical” effectively controlling the Free Radical cascade.

As I mentioned, our own body functions create Free Radicals and we even use them to help kill bacteria and viruses. But an uncontrolled cascade of Free Radicals may lead to disastrous consequences such as degenerative diseases like arthritis, ADD, cancer and immune challenges. When the immune system is overloaded by such a cascade, then it cannot effectively deal with ordinary daily challenges and we experience a state of disease not wellness. This is why supplementing with a strong antioxidant helps to support immune function and limit Free Radical damage.

As such, we formulated OPC-AX™, a powerful antioxidant and our Active Essentials™ Whole Food Multi Vitamin both of which are designed with intensive antioxidants and metabolic immune enhancers to support proper immune function and Free Radical control.

I will discuss in several days the specifics of each product and its formulation by myself and our consulting Bio Chemist; Dr. Socorro PhD and why they represent such a powerful and affordable therapy for optimum health. Here’s to your health, Cheers!

By: Philip Stoetzner, Director of Product Development, Your Holistic Life