Antioxidants – The Secret to Super Cells
Think
for a moment that you are a cell.
You
are inside your body where everything is running smoothly just like
a machine. A biological machine, that is. This machine creates life
and is the very reason why you are even sitting in front of your
computer right now and imagining you are a cell and that you are
inside your own body.
As
this machine keeps running, day in and day out, it begins to wear
out. You, as a cell, begin to feel the friction and processes that
lead to your damage. Your enemy is the free radical, tiny little
entities that are highly destructive and generated by biochemical
processes – processes that you, yourself, take part in, although
free radicals may also be introduced through environmental
pollutants, exposure to UV radiation, and other sources.
The
free radicals will start to create havoc around you. You try to
fight it, but as time goes, you begin to lose the battle. What else
is to be expected? You are just one tiny cell against a sea of free
radicals. Furthermore, the free radical is not your only enemy.
Sooner or later, you may have to give in to disease, old age, and
ultimately death.
So,
in truth, everything is working against you. And, in truth, your
battle would be over much sooner were it not for the numerous
mechanisms that you and other mammalian cells developed over
millions of years.
These mechanisms were specifically evolved to serve
as protection from the injury that can result from your normal
functional processes. One such internal protective system is the
Antioxidant System.
The Antioxidant
Have
you ever felt like wishing you had more energy? That you could get
rid of those nagging aches and pains? Have you ever wished to
improve your health overall and not just that, but once and for
all?
If
you answered yes, then look out, because that answer is now!
Today’s medical science has led to several wondrous discoveries
about our health and the food we eat. You might be familiar with the
saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” And it’s true
because recent studies show that there are certain substances found
in fresh fruits and vegetables that can be very beneficial to our
health. Such substances are called antioxidants.
When
you slice an apple and leave it on the table, you will notice that
the flesh turns brown after some time. This is caused by
oxidation – when the oxygen in the air reacts with the
substances found in the apple.
Oxidation is a natural process that occurs in the human body as
well. Our cells need oxidation in order to undergo metabolism of
fats and glucose so they can turn into heat and energy. Oxidation is
a vital part of life. But as vital as oxidation is, it can also have
some negative effects on the body.
During the process of oxidation, highly unstable substances called
free radicals are produced. These free radicals react
with other molecules in the cell by stealing their electrons and
turning them into free radicals like themselves. When this happens,
a chain reaction is created, one that when accumulated could result
in massive cell damage.
The
job of antioxidants is to hunt down free radicals but not to
eliminate them. No. But to neutralize them so they’ll stop their
disease-causing rampaging. Literary tools aside, antioxidants do
indeed react against the harmful effects of free radicals by
stopping them from reacting with the molecules in the first place.
Some
antioxidants may also act primarily to break off the chain reaction
of free radicals. Others act by repairing damages caused by the
accumulation of free radicals in tissues.
Countless studies have been devoted to determining
the extent of the health benefits antioxidants may have.
Antioxidants have been the subject of various cancer research
studies and even research on how to reverse aging. In more recent
years, studies on antioxidants are focused more on how to prevent
degenerative diseases that affect the body’s brain processes. These
studies led to the discovery of a master antioxidant, the
Glutathione.
Glutathione - The Brain’s Master Antioxidant
According to Dr. Jimmy Gutman, “The brain is particularly
susceptible to free radical attack because it generates more
oxidative by-products per gram of tissue than any other organ.”
He
further added that many neurological and psychiatric disease
processes are characterized by…abnormalities in glutathione
metabolism and antioxidant defenses. This led scientists to conclude
that generation of reactive oxygen species (free radicals) and
oxidative damage are an important cause of neuron (brain cell) death
from brain injury.
A
small molecule, Glutathione is actually composed of three amino
acids – glycine, glutamate, and cysteine.
Together, these three amino acid types contained in Glutathione act
as your cellular “super-mop”, soaking up free radicals with the help
of the sulfur-containing portion of the cysteine molecule.
In
addition, Glutathione also helps protect the cellular membranes and
internal organs of your body from cascading destruction these free
radicals can cause.
These
functions of Glutathione make the substance a major antioxidant
produced by the human body as protection from free radicals. In
research studies of old, scientists proclaimed that humans are one
of the few animal species that are incapable of producing their own
brand of antioxidant to fight against free radical damage. However,
with the discovery of Glutathione, that theory has just been
disproved.
Glutathione and the Brain
An
important cause of neuron or brain cell death due to brain injury is
the degeneration of reactive oxygen species (free radicals), and the
resulting oxidative damage. In addition, there are chemicals that
cause toxicity particularly to certain brain cells. Such chemicals
are also known to decrease cerebral glutathione (GSH), making the
cells more vulnerable to reactive oxygen species (ROS).
On
the other hand, over-expression of the glutathione peroxidase
(GPX) enzyme potently decreases cell death from brain
injury.
A
research study by scientists at the Children’s Hospital of
Pittsburgh was recently conducted. The study showed that males and
females respond differently to brain injury.
Using
animal models, the researchers found that levels of Glutathione
remain constant in females who have suffered brain injury, but drop
by as much as 80 percent in males with the same injury.
It
has been consistently found that when Glutathione levels drop, brain
cells die much more quickly. This suggests that boys with brain
injuries may require different live-saving treatments than girls.
A primary cause of degenerative diseases like
Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease is free radicals and
oxidative damage in neurons. In one study, genetics researchers have
found that there might be a significant genetic connection between
these kinds of brain disorders and the presence of Glutathione in
the body. They found that the glutathione S-transferase gene
controls the onset of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and
determines, not if we get the disease, but
when.
Considered a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD),
amyloid-B peptide (AB) had been implicated in neuronal degeneration
as well. Apparently, the encroachment of amyloid plaques on the
grain increases the production of free radicals, or oxidative
stress. And the more oxidative stress the cells in the brain go
through, the more likely massive brain cell damage occurs, leading
to disorders like Alzheimer’s.
If
you take in a lot of antioxidants like vitamin C and vitamin E, you
have a marginal chance of preventing this. These vitamins help “mop
up” the damaging free radicals, but their function in the brain is
minimal. The real story lies in Glutathione (GSH) precursors.
They are the ones that can really prevent death of brain cells as
induced by amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s disease.
Evidence has been piling up over the link between the amount of an
amino acid called homocysteine in the blood and the
chance of developing Alzheimer’s.
There
are, after all, people who supposedly do not have the genetic mark
up to develop Alzheimer’s Disease and yet, develop the disorder
anyway later on in their life. Scientists say that cholesterol and
homocysteine, both largely caused by an unhealthy lifestyle, are the
core causal factors.
Andrew McCaddon, Welsh GP, showed that the more homocysteine that
patients with Alzheimer’s had, the worse their mental performance,
and the worse their “cognitive impairment,” the less they had of the
antioxidant gluthatione.
Other Functions of Glutathione
Besides being a major brain antioxidant, Glutathione is also a very
important detoxifying agent. The substance enables you to get rid of
undesirable toxins and pollutants that when accumulated in the body
may lead to development of highly destructive free radical chains.
For this reason, high content levels of Glutathione can be found in
the liver, kidney, or lungs, which are the main organs most exposed
to the greatest levels of toxins.
As a
powerful antioxidant, Glutathione helps you dispose of many
cancer-producing chemicals, heavy metals, drug metabolites, etc.
that invade the pristine recesses of your cellular system. What
makes Glutathione even more amazing is that your body was designed
to allow you to use Glutathione so you can recycle other well-known
antioxidants, such as vitamin C and vitamin E, keeping them in their
active state and ready as ever to seek out free radicals.
Glutathione is good for your immune system. Glutathione is required
to carry out many of the intricate steps needed to carry out your
essential immune response functions, such as:
How Glutathione Works
As
wonderful as Glutathione is, there is, however, a catch to how it
functions as an antioxidant. For one, the cell membrane is
semi-permeable, which is really just another scientific jargon for
“finicky.” It will not allow just anything to cross over directly
into the cellular spaces within, anything including whole
Glutathione molecules.
So to
compensate for this minor downside, Glutathione neutralizes
destructive free radicals or toxin by binding itself with the
undesirable element. Apparently, this is the only way a Glutathione
molecule can properly perform its function. The binding is fatal, of
course, to both the Glutathione molecule and the free
radical, but once bound, both are then washed out in the bile or the
urine.
Now,
the only question left is how do you replenish your stores of
Glutathione and get your daily fix of the antioxidant?
How to Boost Glutathione and Other Antioxidants in the Body
Taking a single dose of Glutathione orally cannot increase your
body’s Glutathione levels to clinically beneficial extent. Unlike
other antioxidants, like Vitamin C and A, Glutathione is
manufactured inside the body, so simply ingesting oral
supplements of the antioxidant – like you do with other antioxidants
- won’t do the trick.
How does your body manufacture
Glutathione?
Well,
first your cells must have the precursor amino acids of Glutathione,
and these are what else but glycine, glutamate, and cysteine. Hence,
if you want to boost up your Glutathione, you must take food sources
or supplements that increase or provide the precursors of
Glutathione. If not that, then choose those food types that enhance
its production by some other means.
Once
your body has all the necessary amino acids, then that will be the
time when it will start the manufacture of more Glutathione that
seek out and rid your body of harmful toxins.
However, the manufacture of Glutathione in cells is limited by the
levels of its sulphur-containing precursor amino acid, cysteine.
Cysteine is a free amino acid and can be potentially toxic. Because
of this, it is spontaneously catabolized or destroyed in the
gastrointestinal tract and blood plasma. However, when it is present
as a cysteine-cysteine dipeptide, called cystine, it
is more stable than cysteine and has less potential for toxicity.
To
help boost your Glutathione levels, consume foods rich in sulphur-containing
amino acids. Below are some food sources and dietary supplements
that help boost Glutathione levels naturally:
