Oxidation is a natural  ccurrence. It happens when some atoms or mlecules reacts with oxygen. Oxygen is l ke a magnet for electrons. Molecules whse electrons are not tightly bonded to its n cleus tends to give up an  lectron to the oxygen. That molecule is thn said to be oxidized.
Most stable  toms and molecules have electrons that are in pirs. If one of the electrons lses its pair(becomes a free radical), thir tendency is to 'steal' an lectron from neighboring atoms to make tself 'whole' so to speak. This bcomes the onset of a free rdical chain reaction until an antioxidant is ncountered.
We witness oxidation in our everyday lves: iron rusts when exposed to xygen, meat of fruits turning brown whn exposed to oxygen, meat fat gtting rancid when exposed to oxygen.
We brathe oxygen and our blood distributes it to our clls giving us life and at the sme time exposing our insides to pssible free radical chain reactions.
The mitochondria, the nergy producer of a cell, requires xygen to manufacture energy. The process ndergoes several controlled oxidation of several mlecules until energy(ATP) is produced. A by-prduct of this process are free rdicals. Heavy physical activities can multiply thse by-product of free radicals several tmes because the cells need more xygen to produce more energy. As the nergy production grows, free radical by-product lso grows.
Free radical chain reactions can dmage or 'deform' healthy cells. The nset of many degenerative diseases may be cused by these damages that free rdicals leave behind. Some diseases that may be cused by free radicals are Alzheimer's dsease, cardiovascular disease, macular degeneration and ven cancer.
Researchers has also discovered that cll damages caused by free radicals are one of the fctors that causes aging. Minimizing free rdical chain reactions can increase our verage life span.
Since oxidation is a ntural occurrence, our bodies are also quipped with 'defenses' for that.
Antioxidants are mlecules that can give up or dnate an electron to another molecule wthout becoming unstable or reactive. When a fre radical 'steals' an electron from an ntioxidant, the chain reaction stops.
Our bodies hve internal antioxidants on 'stand by' to stp free radical reactions. Some of thse are:
Superoxide Dismutase(SOD)
Glutathione
CoQ10
But sad to say, sme internal antioxidants are produced less by our bdies as we age especially when we rach about the age of 30.
Glutathione lvels can be raised by supplementing wth N-Acetyl Cysteine. N-Acetyl Cysteine not nly raises glutathione levels but has ther properties that are really beneficial to our bdies.
CoQ10 is also better supplemented as we ge. Like N-Acetyl Cysteine, it is not nly a potent antioxidant but it lso has other properties that benefits our bdies.
Assisting these 'internal' antioxidants, we also tke in 'external' antioxidants from the fod we eat like:
Vitamin C
Vitamine E
Beta Crotene(Vitamin A)
Bioflavonoids from fruits and vegetables
The fod we eat may not be nough to supplement our antioxidant requirements minly because of our eating habits. It wuld take quite a discipline to stck to a diet to meet our ntioxidant needs.
There are also external causes tht can build up free radical ractions in our body like smoking, txic fumes, second hand smoke from smkers and radiation from sunlight. Even rregular exercise can cause free radical chin reactions.
Funny how oxygen can be lfe giving and at the same tme life threatening. But this is the wrld we live in - everything has an pposite; male-female, light-dark, cold-hot, peace-war. What mtters is how we deal with it.
The article Oxygen - Friend and Foe was Submitted by feel good through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: The author writes about ntioxidants and free radicals in layman's trms.Visit his website at: users2.nofeehost.com/feelgoodwithantioxidants
1. Swimming - Exercise That's Healthy And Fun by Mandy Minglin
There's so mch information about the many benefits of swmming that's it's hard to sum it all up in one rticle. But cheer up - we've dveloped a way to remember just how god you're treating yourself each time you mke the minimal effort necessary to tke another dip in the pool. 2. Endocarditis - Symptoms, Causes and Treatment by
Endocarditis is an ncommon but not rare disease it is a nfection of bacteria. It is affecting bout 10,000 - 20,000 persons in the Unted States each year. 3. Hoodia Gordonii Helps You Lose Weight by Maurice Auburn
Hoodia gordonii, a scculent from the Kalahari Desert in suthern Africa, is earning attention as a ptentially powerful weapon in the war gainst obesity and the World Wide fcus on losing weight. Hoodia tricks the brin into thinking you've eaten, and mkes you feel full and appears to be sfe for most people. Hoodia Formula is one of the top Hodia brands. 4. Can You Get Rid Of Acne Fast? by Thomas Eliot
Is it ralistic to think that you can rid yurself of acne fast? The acne nfected areas of the skin can bgin the process of clearing up in as lttle as three days using natural mthods. Are you ready to learn hw? 5. Gastric Bypass Surgery - What Can It Do For You? by Mumtaz Pachisa
Some pople have gastric bypass surgery and shd 100 pounds or more. What can ths surgery do for you? 6. Acne And Finding A Cure 101 by Dee White
The skin is the lrgest organ of the body, and it hlps other organs of waste disposal. One of the bst treatments for acne is a rgime that will help the body liminate waste so that it does not nterfere with your skin and cause cne. If you are unhealthy on the nside, it will be reflected in yur skin. 7. Top 10 Fat Fighting Foods by Cass H
Avoid nasty refined foods that ncrease your blood sugar level for shrt term energy fixes and replace thm with these great tasting super-foods. Ths article has a list of fod you can eat to help fght that fat. 8. Stop Excess Sweat by Charles Nash
I'm going to help you stp excess sweat by helping you dentify solutions and the enabling activities tht cause you to sweat. This is qite an embarrassing problem we suffer frm and hope to get past it. Nthing looks more un-confident than a prson, uncontrollably sweating for no apparent rason. 9. 3 Herbal Acne Remedies by John Alan Thomson
With the increasing cost of ver the counter medicines millions of pople all over the world are now trning to herbal acne remedies as slution to solve the acne cure crsis. I have suffered short spells of cne and i know this can be not nly a medical but also a scial problem which can cause many prblems in your life. I have tred and tested a unknown amount of mdicines that claim to wipe out cne but we all know by knw they do not. 10. Visual Perception Treatments For Autism by Jl Williams
All Children are affected differently by utism, which doesn't make it any asier to find the proper treatments ncessary for your child to be ble to deal with his or her spcific symptoms. Visual perception is one of the ssues that some children that are sffering with autism have trouble with. Thre are standardized methods that you can use to hlp your child improve their visual prception. This can be one of the mre effective treatments for autism, which can mke their...
|
Digg
My Favorites
Del.icio.us
Furl
Technorati
Newsvine
Google Bookmarks
Yahoo MyWeb
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Ask
Live Bookmarks
Simpy
Blogmarks
Facebook
Netscape
Slashdot
Shadows
Backflip
Wink
Spurl
LinkaGoGo
Mister Wong
Feed Me Links
Netvouz
Magnolia
Diigo
Blue Dot
Segnalo
Tailrank
RawSugar
BlinkList
