Oxidative Stress 
Diseases

Imagine trillions of little engines, one or more in each of the cells in your body, each one alight with the fire of energy production and cell maintenance. As each little engine uses the fuel provided by our digestive and enzymatic process and combines with oxygen, it draws fuel into itself and gives off metabolic exhaust. This metabolic exhaust is the free radicals that run amuck in our body. They become a grave problem because unless they are neutralized by anti-oxidant activity or anti-oxidant enzymes, they ricochet around our body, burning holes in our tissues by snatching oxygen molecules and regenerating. The process cycles continuously unless the free radicals are neutralized. This tissue destruction is called oxidative stress. As we get older, the tissues become inflamed by this oxidative attack and the signs of aging begin to appear. Even as children, oxidative stress and its accompanying silent inflammation can be the result of a poor diet, dirty air and acidic water full of free radicals.

When we eat less anti-oxidants in the form of fresh organic fruits and vegetables and high antioxidant water, we cannot keep up to the free radical production as metabolic exhaust. Pesticide and herbicide residues and environment pollutants must be metabolized in the body and released along with the metabolic exhaust. When there is more of what are called free radical promoters like processed foods, than there are anti-oxidants to neutralize them, the body becomes acidic, toxic and overloaded. This is what scientists call acidosis.  This is where the silent inflammation begins it’s rise, up onto the radar screen to eventually become pain or illness.

Anywhere you have a cell, you can have free radical damage; in the brain causing dementia and Alzheimers, in the joints causing arthritis, in the blood vessels causing heart disease, in the nerves causing MS, Myasthenia Gravis and ALS, and in the gut causing colitis, IBS and Crohn’s. Lupus and Fibromyalgia are serious forms of inflammation caused by free radical damage. Where free radicals are formed and released as metabolic exhaust, damage begins and the healthy tissue surrounding the damage will release growth hormone-like factors that minimize the damage and promote healing. Unless the anti-oxidant level is high enough to counter the free radicals, the damage site will continue to release more and more hormone in an effort to repair the damage. Scar tissue may form as the damage attempts to heal and may even build up over time causing joints to stiffen, blood vessels to narrow, thinking to get fuzzy, and muscles to tighten. This is where you can get soft tissue damage in organs, and skeletal soft tissues. If the damage becomes great enough, the immune system in the gut will be triggered and an allergy or an auto-immune disease may form.

What can we do? First of all, watch what you are putting in your mouth. Research what foods are acid or alkaline. Know that alcohol and smoking cause increased oxidative stress in the liver, blood vessels, lungs and heart. Smoking reduces the oxygen uptake capacity of the cells, further increasing acidity and oxidative stress. Do what you can to minimize their use.

Remove heavy metals from your body. Do not cook with aluminum cookware, even if it is anodized. As the coating wears, the under layer of aluminum becomes exposed to the food that you are cooking. Deodorants containing aluminum should also be avoided.  Be aware of products containing lead or mercury, even the fillings in your teeth.

Beware of copper or iron in your drinking water. Be sure to use a good water filtration system if you live in the country on well water. Have the acidity of your water checked. You should be drinking alkaline, ionized water to repair free radical damage in your body. Know that acidic water also tends to be full of free radicals which can compound the damage already occurring in your body.
Electrical contamination from high tension wires, computers, electrical outlets and electrical equipment push the body into stress, which is a strong free radical promoter.

It is also a really good idea to change your shopping habits. Try to buy as close to fresh organic as possible. Remember the advice from nutritionists a few years back. Only buy foods from the perimeter of the store and stay away from canned and refined, processed foods in the other aisles. All the chemicals found in the foods and on the labels impose a huge toll on our oxidative energy cycle. If you can consume more antioxidants than you produce metabolic exhaust, you are ahead of the game. If you can juice some of your fruits and veggies, you increase the antioxidant value and the natural pectin will help chelate heavy metals from your body.

Most people only consume between 1200 and 1700 oxidative units per day in the foods they consume. It is not enough to tip the balance and reduce your exposure If you want a phenomenal source of antioxidants, it is suggested that you supplement your diet with a Cerra  high antioxidant, alkaline ionized water. You can tip the scale and give your body the repair capacity it needs to clean up years of damage. The 300 billion cells that you renew every day have a chance to be free of damage and oxidative stress. You will have more energy to get through your day and you could feel just great!