Cellular Oxidative Stress

Welcome to the Warriors 4 Wellness Group! The primary mission of Warriors for Wellness is to make wellness education widely available to the community, especially to underserved segments of the population that have not typically had equal access to wholistic approaches to health. My hope is that this blog will be a good starting point!

I thoroughly enjoy taking complex physiological, biological and neurological principles and explaining them in ways that are meaningful to the average person! I remember trying to get a handle on many of these principles when I was in physical therapy school.. I recall that I was able to memorize the concepts to spit back out on the exams, but four weeks later the details were pretty much erased from my memory banks! I have found in later years that it can be very helpful to break complex ideas down into simpler principles, examples and metaphors that people can easily relate to--that makes the information retainable and much more relevant for most people. So, I will do my best to offer that kind of understanding on this blog page.....

So, let's start by talking about stress....not the kind of stress you feel when you can't get your work done and are under a deadline, but the kind of stress that impacts you down to the smallest functional unit of your body: the cell. Cells make up all of the tissues of the body: skin--cells, nerves--cells, brain--cells. And all cells have to be able to produce energy in order to function. Just like most things, there are pros and cons to this process: the good part of the process is that your body generates energy to be able to function. The bad part is that this process also produces some "cellular byproducts" (kind of like waste from an energy plant) that can be very harmful to the tissues. These "wastes" are really unstable molecules. You may have heard them referred to as "free radicals", and they are the waste byproducts that are left over after the cell produces energy. They cause damage (oxidative stress) to the cells and tissues of the body if the body cannot quickly "neutralize them" to make them stable.

There are between 30 and 100 trillion cells that make up your body (more by far than the number of stars estimated to be in our solar system!) So, 30-100 trillion cells in your body are regularly creating free radicals that have the ability to stress the cells and the tissues! Unfortunately, other stressors such as disease; exposure to x-rays, air pollution and chemicals; unhealthy activity habits (too much or too little); poor sleep; and poor nutrition (processed foods and sugar to name a few things) ;and cigarette, alcohol , and illicit drug use will increase one's free radical production even more.

Just like a power plant needs to deal with the waste it produces in making energy, the body also needs to deal with the free radicals that occur as the cells produce energy to function. And the way that the body deals with these wastes is by creating and using its "super-neutralizers", antioxidants. One molecule of the type of antioxidants which the body produces naturally can neutralize millions of free radicals, which is fortunate for us!

If the body does not have access to enough antioxidants to neutralize all of the "enemy free radicals", the oxidative stress which remains will create damage in the tissues. This typically looks like increased chronic inflammation, increased tissue damage/dysfunction, and increased disease!

So you might be asking yourself how you can get some more of these powerful antioxidants? Or maybe you have heard the word mentioned in respect to supplements. The good news is that the body does produce its own antioxidants: Superoxide D, Catalase, and Glutathione Peroxidase These are the most powerful of all of the antioxidants.

You can also boost your antioxidant free radical fighters with healthy nutrition: glutathione, coQ10, vitamins A,C,E and some minerals and proteins can act as antioxidants, although they are much less powerful than those naturally produced by the body. Some people take additional antioxidants as supplements, however, you would always want to check with your healthcare professional before beginning any supplement.

And one final tip: getting enough vitamin B2 (also known as Riboflavin) can be very helpful, as B2 helps to recycle the glutathione produced in the body and found in the diet so that it can work longer in neutralizing free radicals! It gives it extra bang for its buck!

Take Aways:

1. Minimize some of the factors that cause increased free radical production, because if your body cannot deal with its free radicals, you will experience increased inflammation, disease, and dysfunction.
   

2. Eat a good healthy diet, full of the foods high in vitamins and minerals. Minimize processed foods and sugar.
   

3. Get enough foods high in vitamin B2. Vitamin B2 specifically helps the energy center of the cell to produce energy and helps recycle glutathione so that it can continue doing battle against free radicals!!
   

Disclaimer: This BLOG is for Educational Purposes, Only. This information provided is educational and informational in nature and is made only as general information. The information does not establish a patient-provider relationship, establish a standard of care, or offer medical, dietary, or therapeutic care, advice, opinion, diagnosis, or treatment. This information does not replace independent professional or medical judgment and should not be relied upon as medical, psychological, or other professional advice of any kind or nature whatsoever. This information should not be used for diagnosing or treating any mental or physical health problem or disease. You are solely responsible for any action taken based on your interpretation of this information and you are responsible for your own health care decision-making by obtaining any necessary consultations with appropriately licensed health care professionals such as physicians and psychologists.