RUST AND ANTIOXIDANTS
Wellness expert and best-selling author
On January 23, 2011, America lost a fitness legend. Many of us grew up watching him on television every morning in his workout clothes, exercising with a chair or a towel or other household items to the sound of organ music in the background with his faithful dog right beside him. Of course, I am speaking of Jack LaLanne, the godfather of fitness, who was responsible for getting many generations of Americans off the couch and into regular fitness routines.
An interesting fact about LaLanne that many people do not know is that he was a doctor of chiropractic who received his Chiropractic degree in 1936. Not only was he famous for his daily televised exercise routines, he was also famous for the many world records he set - including the record for greatest number of push-ups (1,033 in 23 minutes done at the age of 42).
LaLanne was also well known for his quotes or "LaLanne-isms" as they are
often called. One of my favorite LaLanne-isms is this: "It is better to
wear out than to rust out." This, of course, speaks of the benefits of
exercise on the body but it also speaks to the problem of free radicals
and the effect they have on our bodies; that is, rust or oxidation.That is what I want to discuss this month - Rust and Antioxidants.
When most people hear the word "rust," they think about something that happens to old cars or tin cans. But did you know that the human body can also rust on the inside? It is a similar process to the kind of rust that happens to old cars because it is a simple chemical reaction.
Chemistry 101
To better illustrate how rust works, here's a quick refresher course of the chemistry class you may had in high school or college.
Remember that an atom consists of a nucleus (neutrons and protons) and electrons. The neutrons have a neutral charge, the protons have a positive charge, and the electrons have a negative charge. The number of protons in the atom's nucleus determines the number of electrons that surrounds the atom. The electrons have shells that fill at different levels around the nucleus of the atom. These electrons combine in the chemical reactions and are what bonds the atoms together to create molecules.
The number of electrons in the outer shell of the atom determines the chemical behavior of the atom. Because atoms always seek a state of stability, they will bond with other atoms to complete the outer shell if an electron is missing. Ordinarily, bonds of atoms don't split in a way that will leave a molecule with an unpaired electron. However, weak bonds will sometimes split and form what is called a free radical.
Since all atoms try to maintain maximum stability, a free radical will always react with other compounds in an attempt to maintain stability. Free radicals will scavenge an electron from the nearest molecule that has stability, which changes that molecule into another free radical which can cause a chain reaction that, in the end, causes damage to a living cell.
The element that our bodies require for so many of the life processes - oxygen - is the same element that can create these harmful free radicals. Left unchecked, these free radicals lead to the cell damage
I just mentioned and, ultimately, to chronic disease.
Free radicals containing oxygen, known as reactive oxygen species (ROS), are the most significant free radicals in our bodies. These free radicals can be produced by many different external sources such as exposure to the sun, ozone, pollution, use of electrical appliances, and stress.
They can also be created in our bodies by the things we do or put into it, like drinking alcoholic beverages, smoking, exposure to x-rays, or junk foods. Free radicals are also created by normal body processes like breathing, metabolism and inflammation. As we age, our body parts become damaged by free radicals - in other words, we "rust."
There are normal processes our bodies go through as we age and are common to everyone. There are also other factors that influence our body's processes, including genetics and environmental differences, which effect free radical damage in our bodies.
Some forms of cancer and atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), two major causes of death in America, are common examples of free radical diseases. Damage to the arterial walls by free radicals can affect how the lipids in our blood can stick to the arterial walls and form blockages. This is why it is important that we watch what foods and other substances we put into our bodies. We need to have a diet filled with good foods that protect against these deadly diseases that are so prevalent around us.
We need antioxidants!
So What Are Antioxidants?
Antioxidants are anti-oxidation agents that reduce the free radicals by binding together with these harmful molecules, thus eliminating the damaging effect they can have on healthy cells. They can even help to repair some of the damage the free radicals have inflicted upon healthy cells.
There are a couple of ways that antioxidants do their jobs. There are chain-breaking antioxidants like beta-carotene and vitamins C and E which break the cycle of electron-stealing by free radicals, thus stabilizing them so they are unable to do further damage to other cells.
Another type of antioxidants is preventative. Preventative antioxidants are enzymes like superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase which scavenge free radicals and stop the oxidation chain from even getting started. These particular antioxidant enzymes are produced in the body.
Many antioxidants are plentiful in the healthy foods we consume. Foods with lots of color are usually the best. Colorful foods such as oranges, red peppers, tomatoes, spinach, and carrots are brimming with powerful antioxidants. These fruits and vegetables also contain high concentrations of vitamin A, C, E and beta-carotene.
Raw fruits and vegetables, rather than cooked, provide the highest concentration and best absorption of free radical-destroying antioxidants. Dietary supplements like Trévo are also fantastic for providing the antioxidants your body needs.
Trévo is one of the best dietary supplements I have seen for providing a wealth of antioxidants because it is full of so many powerful and free radical-busting foods.
Take, for example, just the ingredients in Trévo's SuperORAC PowerBlend Proprietary Blend. Each and every one of these ingredients is among the highest rated (ORAC number) antioxidants available. ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity and is a unit of measure that determines the antioxidant levels in food.
Foods that have a higher ORAC score have more antioxidants in them. Of course, this means that the higher the ORAC score, the greater ability that specific food has to protect against free radical damage.
In Trévo's SuperORAC PowerBlend Proprietary Blend, you have fruits such as mangosteen, acai berry, Tibetan goji fruit, noni fruit, maqui berry, amalaki berry, schizandra berry, acerola cherry, ashwagandha, bacopa, green tea, and Chinese wolfberry. Each of these foods contains very high ORAC scores.
Notice that on Trévo's product label, the SuperORAC PowerBlend Proprietary Blend contains 12,000 mg of these fabulous antioxidant-rich foods in each serving. This tells us that when you take a serving of Trévo, you are receiving 12,000 mg of these incredibly potent, high ORAC scoring, natural ingredients. And that is just one of the blends in this amazing formula!
Take a look at the other blends in Trévo and you will find ingredients like blueberry, cranberry, and grape which are all great sources of antioxidants.
Disease Prevention and Antioxidants
Science has identified about 4,000 different antioxidants. Vitamins E, C and the carotenoids are certainly the best known and a majority of the research has been done on these three essential nutrients.
Vitamin E has been the focus of a variety of studies regarding its role in disease prevention. It has been found that Vitamin E, being a free radical scavenger, enhances the body's immune responses which are critical for fighting off disease. It is also known to inhibit the build-up of platelets in the blood caused by free radical damage (rust) to the LDL in our blood which, in turn, contributes to arterial wall damage.
Vitamin E, along with selenium supplementation, has been shown to improve the mental well-being of the elderly, as well as help provide relief from arthritis symptoms.
Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) is a powerful antioxidant that has also been shown to be beneficial in many different studies.
One disease that was a horrible problem for sailors and pirates long ago was scurvy. It was found that a diet without vitamin C, common amount the sailors and pirates at that time, led to this disease of bleeding gums and spots on the legs and thighs. Once treated with Vitamin C in citrus fruits, the disease was cured.
There is evidence that Vitamin C increases the HDL ("good" cholesterol) levels in the blood and also lowers total blood cholesterol, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. It has also been shown to suppress the formation of cancer-causing agents.
Carotenoids are the red, orange, and yellow pigments found in plants, specifically in fruits and vegetables. One of the most well-known is beta-carotene, which is a precursor to Vitamin A. Others include lycopene and lutein.
It has been found that beta-carotene may alter the way some cancer cells interact or communicate with healthy cells. Beta-carotene acts as a go-between for the two cells and helps the cancer cells to act more like healthy cells. This effectively suppresses or slows the growth of the cancer cell. Carotenoids have also been linked to decreased cataract risk.
Diet is critical for the prevention of many diseases. The more colorful our foods, the better they are able to offer us the necessary antioxidants we need to fight off infection by boosting our immune systems, reduce inflammation, and eliminate the free radicals that are the cause of so many diseases.
A Life Well Lived
Jack LaLanne started out his life as a sickly child. When he was asked about his early life he said, "I was a sugar-holic and a junk food junkie! It made me weak and it made me mean."
He completely changed his life around when he attended a lecture by a nutritionist as a teenager. He cut out the sugar and other unhealthy foods from his diet and began exercising.
LaLanne was soon chosen by a health food company to host a local health food show. Of course, you know that show went national and skyrocketed LaLanne to his status as the original fitness guru.
LaLanne was also a super salesman. One of the most popular products he promoted was a juicer that made healthy drinks available to everyone. He knew the benefits of eating healthy and the advantages of having antioxidants as part of our daily regimen.
He truly lived his LaLanneism of "wearing out rather than rusting out."
And you can, too! It is important to get up and get moving, as Jack LaLanne did. It is also important to eat a diet filled with colorful natural foods and to get the proper amount of rest.
Be sure to also make Trévo an important part of your daily routine. With its wide spectrum of wonderful antioxidants, Trévo truly is the ideal nutritional tool to help you to "wear out rather than rust out."
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