Oxidative stress

Oxidative stress refers to the impact of a number of factors on cellular health - and therefore the health of the body as a whole.

Briefly, if your exposure to these risk factors for oxidative stress is high, the likelihood of sustaining damage to your DNA - and other structures needed for healthy cell function - is also high.

It has been estimated that humans sustain ten thousand oxidative hits to the DNA of every cell ... every day! (Ray 2004, page 128). And remember, this kind of damage can make us age prematurely (doesn't the skin of most smokers look dull and prematurely aged to you?) more prone to the diseases of old age, and to cancer.

So ... What should we avoid if we want to keep oxidative stress to a mimimum?

We need to avoid the following:

A diet that lacks fruits and vegetables. Plants are well-protected themselves from oxidative stress. When we eat plant foods, we absorb those valuable antioxidants. It is likely that our metabolism evolved in the presence of far larger quantities of natural antioxidants (obtained from food) than modern western diets.

Supplementing with food concentrates like noni juice helps to provide the body's needs for healthy function.

Experiments have shown that increasing antioxidants in the diet reverses damage to cellular DNA, even in the elderly. These were preliminary studies, but the results were encouraging.

Junk food. I'm sure there's a clue in the name! If you're full of junk food, you can't be full of those crispy salads and fruits and vegetables!! And ... you are increasing the oxidative stress on your system.

Processing the empty calories, fats, additives and so on creates more work for the antioxidants that you do have available.

Remember those ten thousand oxidative hits a day? Give the system a rest from that assault rather than adding to it.

Environmental toxins. I could have put food additives under this heading. But consider all the chemicals we're exposed to; cleaners, detergents, aluminium in antiperspirants, fertiliser and pesticide residues ... and so on.

Alcohol. One glass of red wine a day might well be fine. It retains plant chemicals that are beneficial, and the mild relaxation that a small quantity of alcohol induces could well be beneficial. But ... excess compromises liver function and can lead to damage (cirrhosis in some very heavy drinkers).

Most alcohol increases the oxidation of some fats, creating work for those over worked antioxidants! Your noni juice will go further if you decrease the demands on your system.

Injury and trauma creates a situation that triggers the body's immune response.

Inflammation, increased activity of white cells and the release of cell contents (from damaged tissue) into the circulation all create free radicals.

Disease and illness cause similar changes to those described above. Where appetite and basic nutrition is compromised, the body may lack protection offered by basic dietary intake of antioxidants.

Drugs can affect the way nutrients are absorbed and used by the body. Be as healthy as you can be, even if you have an illness. Natural approaches with nutrition and alternative medicine can reduce reliance on drugs, and therefore reduce oxidative stress.

Strenuous exercise. Surprised? I was.

But it quickly became clear: the surging of excess oxygen into the cells during strenuous exercise "heats-up" all the cellular metabolic processes. It is precisely these processes that create free radicals (that our antioxidant system evolved to counteract).

However, unusually demanding exercise regimes create more oxidative stress than the system was designed to deal with.

Committed athletes should ensure the are well topped-up with a source of antioxidants (to promote recovery after a work out, build muscle and to support recovery from injury).

Raising the metablic rate to the level that most of us achieve in aerobic sporting activity is fine. Long periods of exercising where it is impossible to speak might mean that the athlete would benefit form an antioxidant boost.

Stress - both physiological and emotional. The stress of illness, hormonal changes and overwhelming emotions can all increase the rate of free radical production.

In your quest to remain healthy and/or use a natural approach to managing illness, it will be important to make changes to decrease the impact of oxidative stress.

For me, what is positive is that there is a lot we can do. And just as the problems associated with stresses in our life are cumulative - so are the benefits.

This information does underpin the need for a daily boost to antioxidant consumption - a maintenance dose of noni juice (or other, reputable plant food concentrate) provides a ready source.

What are you doing to change a potentially vicious cycle into a virtuous one?

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