Vitamins, Minerals, Enzymes - Anti-aging,
Anti-Cancer
© Dr. Deborah Baker 2007
Aging, cancer and many other detrimental processes within
our bodies have one very large factor in common. Oxidation ..or the mass
production of free radicals.
Essentially in nature, electrons need to
have their "balance". They live in harmony when they live
in pairs..and they constantly seek this existence.
Therefore when they are solitary....they zip around..looking for and stealing
electrons indiscriminatly from any other molecule or structure it can find,
to bring itself back to balance.
Just visualize these free radicals careening
off your cells' components and walls..literally "burning" them..changing
the structures' chemistry..and creating even MORE free
radicals!
Picture this...if you had a line-up of people,
each with an apple in their hand..the only food they had and someone came
to the top of the line and stole the first person's (let's call him Jones')
apple, he'd then turn and steal from Smith, who'd then turn and steal from
Brown, who'd then turn and steal from Green, etc, etc, all the way down
the line. What we need is a farmer ( an antioxidant) who comes and places
an apple in the one empty hand to stop the cascade of events and bring
everything back to harmony.
That is essentially what is going on in free
radical propagation and damage..a process called "Oxidation"
and why we need "Antioxidants" or those substances which stop
the madness.
When this type of damage occurs in your DNA
for example, the end result is often mutations or serious changes in the
DNA which replicate themselves to become cancer, possibly. Again this emphasizes
the need for antioxidants.
Free radicals even damage cellular proteins..many
of which are enzymes which control your body's functions..to allow it to
perform at its best..and now these enzymes become either weakened or destroyed
altogether...and because of this...if this process is allowed to carry
on for a long time...chronic diseases of aging set in....That's what's
going on.
Now, every cell has mechanisms to repair DNA damage...the
problem again lies in the fact that these repairing enzymes are....proteins...which
are susceptible to free radical damage themselves. This
is exactly what happens with aging. Slowly, but steadily we lose the ability
to repair DNA damage and our cells get old, less functional, and even dangerous
if they actually turn cancerous.
As you probably guessed..all of this is a product of time...the
longer we are on the planet, exposed to toxins, etc. and the longer our
cells are subjected to this destructive processes..the worse the results
are and the more overwhelmed our systems become. Hence the beginning of
chronic, debilitating diseases of aging!
In the scheme of things, Nature has depended on our food
to supply the antioxidants we need to combat this whole process. And, boy
that's where we run into trouble.
Here is an excerpt from my new, upcoming book Dr.
Deb's Dictionary of Vitamins and Minerals" - A Complete Step-By-Step
Guide To Recognizing The "Real Deal" in Nutritional Supplements .......
Why our food is desperately failing us....More
Dr. Deb's Favourite Anti-Aging Products:
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