Antioxidants – The Key to Long Life

You are only as old as your cells.

Research shows that cells are only allowed so many cell divisions in a human lifetime before they would have to give out. Based on their findings, scientists say that by the time you are 20 years old, most of the cells that make up your body have already used up half of their available cell divisions in their cell lifespan. That means by the time you are 40, your cells may only have 30 per cent of cell divisions left. This is actually the reason behind the physical changes that goes on not only inside but outside the body as you approach your years.

When your cells finally use up their naturally allotted cell divisions, the result is death. It is an inevitable occurrence and there’s no stopping it. There is however a way to retard it though. Recent research has found a way to give you new hope, a way to rejuvenate and extend the lifespan of cells.

What causes aging?

Much of scientific research these days are focused on finding a solution to aging. The aging process brings with it not only wrinkly skin or tired joints and muscles. Those can be tolerated. After all, they are part of the natural cycle of life. But what isn’t natural is disease. They are disorders – unnatural conditions of the body.

Aging is caused by harmful molecules called “free radicals.” This was according to Denham Harman, M.D., Ph.D., who first proposed the theory in the 1950s. Since then, scientists and researchers have sought to understand the body’s oxidation process and free radicals contribute in its acceleration.

There is growing evidence that the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), including free radicals, is behind the aging process and initiation of age-related disease. The more free radicals you have in your body, the faster the aging process becomes.

Free radicals are harmful, unstable substances (rogue oxygen molecules) that develop after oxidation, which is a naturally occurring process of the body. Free radicals are not harmful in themselves. In fact, they can be beneficial. The problem lies in the fact that free radicals are damaged molecules, which means that they are missing one electron.

Now, it is but natural for molecules to want to get their full complement of electrons, but in order to do that, they would have to “steal” them from other molecules surrounding them. Free radicals therefore react with other molecules, leading to the latter’s damage.

Depending on the circumstances, this tendency of free radicals to react can be good, but only if the molecules they react with are harmful. The trouble is free radicals do not distinguish between healthy and harmful molecules so that there is a great possibility that they would also “attack” your other healthy cells, causing massive cellular damage, tissue damage, and eventually resulting in a chronic disease or disorder that includes not only aging, but something more serious like cancer.

It is impossible for us to avoid damage by free radicals. Free radicals arise from sources both inside (endogenous) and outside (exogenous) our bodies. Oxidants that develop from processes within our bodies form as a result of normal aerobic respiration, metabolism, and inflammation. Exogenous free radicals form from environmental factors such as pollution, sunlight, strenuous exercise, x-rays, smoking, and alcohol.

The human immune system and antioxidant activity becomes weaker and less efficient with age. This reduced effectiveness in turn helps to explain the rising incidence of cancer and life threatening infections in older people.

In their focused attempts to find a solution to aging and other chronic diseases, scientists have finally made a breakthrough with the discovery of the anti-aging properties of antioxidants.

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