CONTINUED...   by Mitra Ray, Ph.D. [Excerpted from From Here to Longevity, Chapter Eight]

Whenever we burn fuel of any kind, we produce toxins. Think about a wood fire in your fireplace, or the gas combustion engine in your car. Burning or combustion requires oxygen; therefore this chemical process is also known as oxidation. In much the same way, our cells need to “burn” metabolites for energy. During metabolism free radicals are produced as a by-product. A free radical is a highly unstable molecule that is aggressively searching for its missing electron. Free radicals can also be purposefully generated within the body for such processes as:

• phagocytosis: immune cells called macrophages fight infection by surrounding and consuming debris and foreign bodies with the use of free radicals
  
• signal transduction: cells perceive input and carry out necessary functions based on that input using free radicals as messenger molecules.

In these processes, the free radical production is highly regulated and their awesome chemical power is being put to use to serve the body. What we need to focus our attention on, however, is the unregulated overproduction of free radicals. In this case, free radicals become loaded guns looking for a target, ready to harm any innocent molecule in the body that they come into contact with.

Mitra Ray, Ph.D. is a Stanford-educated research biochemist and author who lectures audiences around the world about health and prevention. Article: "Radically Free" Complete Bio Video Clip 1.2 megs Audio Clips Order her book

This list of what are considered to be essential nutrients is far too short and sadly outdated in my opinion. The bottom line is that Mother Nature’s foods contain a multitude of important nutrients; as science and technology progress, we learn more and more about them, give them names, try to categorize them, and study their specific roles in our health. Still we must recognize that our knowledge is incomplete about what is truly essential and what is not.

The important molecules that were discovered in the “first round” of studying food were given the name “vitamins.” These vitamins act as important cofactors for making enzymatic reactions work in the body. As we discovered the role of free radicals, we found that some of these vitamins also acted as antioxidants to protect the body from free radical damage. A preponderance of free radicals leaves a trail of damaged molecules in the body. Then the body has the burden of working hard to clean up the damaged molecules, and producing new functioning molecules to replace the damaged ones, or even worse, replacing entire cells. This process exacts a huge, unnecessary toll from the body; we call it oxidative stress. No wonder we feel tired all the time! We do have a limited, inborn capacity to defend against free radicals; however, it is crucial to realize that the scale is always tilted in their favor. The balance between free radical activity and antioxidants is often referred to as the antioxidant status in humans.

In time we began to discover that there were actually many antioxidants to be found in food. Today, as science progresses further, we are finding other nutrients in food, and their roles are still being determined. While there is much more that remains unknown than known, it’s clear that we need to pay close attention to the power of Mother Nature’s foods in keeping the body functioning optimally. For instance, most of the antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables still haven’t been identified and recognized officially as essential; yet the body cannot manufacture most of the antioxidants it needs in order to protect itself from oxidative stress.

The various colors of produce represent different families of antioxidants: such as the orange carotenes found in carrots, the purple anthocyanins found in berries, or the red lycopenes found in tomatoes. In order to thrive, we do know that the body requires the full color spectrum of antioxidants, just as it requires all of the nine essential amino acids. Yet, our diet is often tragically lacking in these vibrant and protective plant pigments. We all need to have the power of antioxidants on our side when it comes to confronting oxidative stress.

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