School holiday is over :(. Of course I'm not a student, but everyone benefits from school holiday right - good traffic! Meaning, had to wake up and leave house half hour earlier, true enough traffic was quite bad. Oh, my boss said cookies very nice... hee... I mean, "phew", that's a relief. Told him it's healthy (used brown sugar what... and it's cereal right? Never mind the butter k)
I was focusing on research today (among other tasks which might just pop up of course) and the main topic today was free radical, antioxidant and health supplement. A great topic to research since it might help me live a healthier life (haha). I don't take dietary supplement (because when you don't have so much disposable money, shoes might be more of a priority), took Vit C only when I'm sick, say when I catch a cold. I take lecithin occasionally when I feel guilty of consuming too much oily food.
These were what I found:
Free Radicals
After going thro this...
CH4 + Cl2CH3Cl + HCl
... and this...
... and going thro the numerous type of free radicals....
"There are numerous types of free radicals that can be formed within the body. This web site is only concerned with the oxygen centered free radicals or ROS. The most common ROS include: the superoxide anion (O2-), the hydroxyl radical (OH ·), singlet oxygen (1O2 ), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) Superoxide anions are formed when oxygen (O2) acquires an additional electron, leaving the molecule with only one unpaired electron. Within the mitochondria O2- · is continuously...." (!!!???)
This is slightly better...
"The nucleus of an atom is surrounded by a cloud of electrons. These electrons surround the nucleus in pairs, but occasionally an atom loses an electron, leaving the atom with an "unpaired" electron. The atom is then called a "free radical", and it is very reactive. When cells in the body encounter a free radical, the reactive radical may cause destruction in the cell. According to Dr. Harmon's free radical theory of aging, cells continuously produce free radicals, and constant free radical damage eventually kills the cell. When free radicals kill or damage enough cells in an organism, the organism ages."
Then I came across an interesting statement:
"Heart disease is NOT caused by eating butter and eggs. The traditional view has been that when you ate butter and eggs and other foods high in cholesterol, you increase the amount of cholesterol in your blood stream. This is false."
So, stop worrying about indulging youselves in desserts k... oppss... sorry, side track...
Okay. In short:
How free radicals are formed (from what I understand):
- Chemically activated forms of oxygen, which are generated in our body from day-to-day living;
- Our body oxidize food for energy which produce certain amount of free radicals;
- Due to pollutants, sun, stress, poor diet, alcohol, smoking and some medications which caused our body to produce high levels of free radicals;
- Some free radicals arise normally during metabolism;
- Our body can normally handle free radicals but when antioxidants are unavailable, the free radicals production become excessive;
- Production of free radicals can form dangerous chain effect;
- Free radicals damage accumulates with AGE!
- The higher toxic metal in our body, the higher the free radical activities. (so it's important to detox!)
Why is it bad to have excessive free radicals (from what I gathered):
- Cause heart disease, cancer, inflammation and other neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer's, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Osteoarthritis, Osteoporosis, conditions effecting memory, dementia, joint pain etc);
- Result in ageing;
- Effect eyesight, skin and over vitality.
Something that particularly interested me about the relation between exercise and free radicals:
Exercise and oxidative damage
Endurance exercise can increase oxygen utilization from 10 to 20 times over the resting state. This greatly increases the generation of free radicals, prompting concern about enhanced damage to muscles and other tissues. (oppss!) The question that arises is, how effectively can athletes defend against the increased free radicals resulting from exercise? Do athletes need to take extra antioxidants?
Because it is not possible to directly measure free radicals in the body, scientists have approached this question by measuring the by-products that result from free radical reactions. If the generation of free radicals exceeds the antioxidant defenses then one would expect to see more of these by-products. These measurements have been performed in athletes under a variety of conditions.
Several interesting concepts have emerged from these types of experimental studies. Regular physical exercise enhances the antioxidant defense system and protects against exercise induced free radical damage. (phew... ok no worries gymfreaks) This is an important finding because it shows how smart the body is about adapting to the demands of exercise. These changes occur slowly over time and appear to parallel other adaptations to exercise.
On the other hand, intense exercise in untrained individuals overwhelms defenses resulting in increased free radical damage. Thus, the "weekend warrior" who is predominantly sedentary during the week but engages in vigorous bouts of exercise during the weekend may be doing more harm than good. To this end there are many factors which may determine whether exercise induced free radical damage occurs, including degree of conditioning of the athlete, intensity of exercise, and diet.
Thus, so far, the solution or scavenger to excessive free radical is antioxidant.
Where do we get antioxidant?
- Fruits, berries & vegetable - dark and deep colour ones (5 servings a day);
- Some teas (green, red, white);
- Energy bar, cereal and chocolate, especially dark chocolate; (told you chocolate is healthy!)
- Dietary supplements - Vitamin C and other vitamins and minerals;
- In more scientific names:
- Beta-Carotene - orange coloured food
- Lutein (for healthy eye) - dark, green leafy veges
- Lycopene - tomatoes, watermelons, guava, papaya, apricots, pink grapefruit etc
- Vitamine E - almonds & other nuts, mangoes, broccoli, in oils (weat germs, corn, soybean)
(Among the most potent antioxidant fruits are raspberries, blueberries, and pomegranate.)