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What are Free
Radicals and what do they do? |
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 Have you ever noticed how an
apple will turn brown when its surface is cut? Or how nails rust?
This process is known as oxidation. It occurs when high
levels of oxygen react to the exposed surfaces. The very same
process is occurring in our bodies every second of the day. Each
time we take a breath, the oxygen we take in becomes part of the
oxidation process, a by-product of which is free radicals.
Free radicals are
molecules of oxygen with unpaired electrons that float freely
throughout our bodies seeking to rebalance themselves by stealing
electrons from healthy cells. This scavenging process can create a
dangerous chain reaction that may wreak havoc by killing healthy
cells and damaging tissue. It even speeds up the aging process as
skin loses its elasticity, muscles weaken, hair thins, eyesight and
hearing fail, teeth decay, immunity decreases and degenerative
diseases increase.
Many aging and health
problems occur because of free-radical oxidation. Human aging, many
cancers, and most degeneration of the brain involve uncontrolled
oxidation.
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Oxidation is essential for life. However, when oxygen is uncontrolled, oxidation
occurs and free radicals are formed in the body. Free radicals are chemically
unstable molecules that cause tissue and organ damage. Free radical damage is
the first step in virtually every health problem and degenerative disease. Free
radical damage is even thought to be the basis for the aging process.
Cross-linkage is only one example of the damage free radicals can inflict. They
can supposedly split up molecules, garble information in cells, clog cell
membranes, promote cancerous mutations, and impair the function of the
mitochondria (the energy factories inside each cell). Free radicals will attack
almost any molecule; the extent of the damage they do is so wide ranging that
the free radical theory of aging has grown in popularity with each passing
decade.
During the course of everyday metabolism in an air-breathing (aerobic) organism,
oxygen generates many toxic free radicals such as the superoxide radical, the
hydroxyl radical, the singlet oxygen radical, and the hydrogen peroxide radical.
Fortunately, the cellular damage of these compounds can be kept to a minimum by
the quenching effect of antioxidants. |
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OPC-3
combats the effect of free radicals and promotes/supports:
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Healthy blood vessel dilation
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Healthy nitric oxide levels
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A healthy complexion
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Healthy blood glucose levels
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Healthy platelet activity
Medical College of Wisconsin Free Radical Research Center
Long Term Goals -
To promote translational research in free radical-mediated diseases at the Medical College of Wisconsin and neighboring institutes.
To understand the mechanism of action of antioxidants (i.e., agents that scavenge or inhibit free radical formation) in human disease.
To develop therapeutic interventions in free radical based disease processes.
To develop and share a comprehensive knowledge base in all aspects of free radical reactions and free radical scavengers in basic and clinical research.
To develop the capability of non-invasive imaging of free radicals in diseases using animal models. |
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Free radical damage is one of the main causes of
aging, deterioration in the brain and, indeed, the whole body. Free radicals are
electrically charged atoms within molecules that react easily and quickly with
other compounds at the cellular level. They are distinguished by being
incomplete with a single unpaired or "free” electron available for bonding with
other electrons, thereby creating strange, unnatural, and ultimately, unhealthy
molecular combinations.
Research on free radical damage is being done at a rapidly developing rate. It
is believed that many health maladies may be the result of collective free
radical damage. The human aging effects on the body have also been linked to
free radical damage as well as accelerated aging.
If you imagine a cell undergoing excessive free radical damage as a house on
fire, then antioxidants are like giants who can dump water on the fire.
Therefore, it would logically follow that a single giant with a big water bucket
could handle the entire problem. This is why people sometimes prefer to take
mega-doses of individual vitamins. Unfortunately, the process of quenching free
radicals is more like a bucket brigade. Many medium-sized people (moderate
amounts of numerous antioxidants) will quench the fire more effectively and more
quickly.
Free radicals damage membrane proteins, alter cell identity, and can cause an
autoimmune response as the body does not recognize them and tries to destroy
them. They also cause the cell membrane to harden as they damage proteins and
fats in the membrane, which subsequently fuse together, thereby decreasing the
permeability of the cell. They can actually ruptures the cell membrane also,
leading to death of the cell.
The result of the action by free radicals on cells can be diminished or impaired
cellular functioning or even cell death. For instance, oxygen-free radicals are
believed to play a significant role in the aging process.
Free radical damage to the brain causes brain aging and dementia. Free radical
damage is now believed to play a formative role in Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's,
Multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's.
Free radical damage is accumulative and spreads like wildfire over time. Do your
body a favor. Feed it a diet rich in antioxidant nutrition. If that isn't
possible, consider supplementation. Eat your fruits and vegetables, and
try to stop, or cut down on, damaging bad habits. You will thank yourself in the
coming years. |
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