From Amanda's very early writing (1990s to early 2000s), shared as it was originally written.
Exercise - just when you thought it was safe....
Well, it's good news week for those who hate exercise! It has now appeared in several reputable medical journals that exercise of any sort increases our need for antioxidants. And that excesssive exercise (the majority of us are likely not to fall into that category!) can be harmful , not just from the old overuse aspect but from a much deeper and more serious angle.
No doubt you will have heard a lot about antioxidants lately. And you will be wondering what all the hype is about. Wonder no longer - here is a summary of the latest and greatest on antioxidants and those evil little critters - free radicals.
Oxygen is one of the substances , like water, without which humans cannot live. Unfortunately, oxygen naturally breaks down in our bodies and loses an electron or two. Electrons are itty bitty little particles that swirl or appear in and out of the area around an atom. A atom is balanced when it has a certain number of electrons 'orbiting'. (For those quantum physicists out there, I know orbiting is not actually what the electrons do but it gets the message across!)
If the atom goes out of balance and loses one or more electrons, it begins a frenzied search to restore balance by stealing the number of electrons it needs from any other cell/atom/ area it can find. So imagine this wild, three wheeled car hooning around until it finds another car from which to steal a wheel. The hoon car drives off nice and balanced and leaves the poor old previously fine, minding it's own business , innocent bystander car mortally wounded.
This is what happens to yoru own body. These free radicals attack normal cells just doing their own healthy thing, and leave a trail of destruction and damage that can lead to the death of the cell or worse , incite it to grow uncontrollably and form a tumour.
Free radical damage has now been linked to aging. heart disease, strokes, arthritis, cancer, cataracts, alzheimers, parkinson's, varicose veins and stress. In fact , in many cases, they are not just linked, there is substantial evidence to hint that free radicals are at the root of most disease processes attacking us today. Other than that, free radicals are just fine!
An easier an more common example to demonstrate the effects of free radicals is to remind you of what a apple does when it has a slice cut off. It goes brown. yup, you guessed it - free radical damage. Or when iron rusts - yet another example of free radical damage.
Enter the hero on a white horse! Antioxidants. Yea! Humans produce our own antioxidants to combat the normal daily production of free radicals. But...the problem arises now that we are not living in clean , fresh, healthy environments, which nurture and emotionally and spiritually support us. So we are being exposed to trillions and squillions more free radicals than ever before. Our own defences are no longer enough.
Our food supplies like fruit and vegies are supposed to provide all the extra anti oxidants we need. But...not only do we not often eat 5 servings ( each serving a cupful) but the fruit and vegies are often grown in nutrient deficient soil!
So if you are interested in staying younger longer; in minimising your chances of developing arthritis, heart disease, cancer, stroke, cataracts and stress related damage then maybe you should think about taking extra anti oxidants.
If you check with your doctor and are informed that extra supplements are unnecessary, ask me for a list of the relevant scientific journal research papers that may help you feel comfortable with that decision.
If you decide that it makes sense to take supplements - beware. There is a bewildering array of products flooding the market. The most important (to date) anti oxidants are vitamins C, E and A in the form of beta carotene; proanthocyanidins (big word meaning grape seed extract! That's the bit in red wine that is so good for us!) and selenium. The environment in which we take these little saviours is important - for maximum effect certain minerals need to be present.
Find a reputable company that makes excellent products and note the use by dates. See if they have an antioxidant combination that includes all of the above ingredients. if not perhaps you can take individual amounts. It's always useful to check with a good nutritionist or doctor or qualified naturopath first.
I'll do some more research to find out what levels of each of the anti oxidants is optimal and keep you posted.
If you don't exercise , you may or may not need supplements - if you feel fantastic then you probably don't. If you exercise, it's the pesky little free radicals released from all the oxygen (and pollution) inhaled during exercise that causes the damage. And unless you boost your antioxidant intake it's most likely that by overexercising , you are over aging!
