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Antioxidants are one of the hottest topics in the health field today.
Most people read one or a few articles on the topic of antioxidants and
think they know how antioxidants work and why they are important. Think
again! What you are going to learn about antioxidants in this article is
probably going to surprise and delight you.
Most of us use antioxidant vitamins such as Vitamin A, C and/or E. And, in
so doing, we think that we’ve got the problem of oxidative damage in our
body under control! Not so, as you are about to learn!
It starts with chemists who have attempted to isolate and identify some of
the components of food complexes, labeling the seemingly “active” elements
as vitamins or other essential nutrients. Yet, there is no possible way that
the sum of the parts is equal to the naturally occurring whole. It is only
the whole food, intact and unaltered, that works as a nutritional
antioxidant source. The isolated parts are not recognized by the body as
foods. In large amounts, isolated chemicals function more like drugs, which
stimulate or suppress biochemical functions, not provide nourishment or
protection for the cells to carry on their vital activities. Vitamins are
intricate, interrelated, integrated, united organic nutritive groups. Nature
made them as an indistinguishable part of foods for the benefit of human
health. Vitamins are inseparable as working nutrients from trace elements,
minerals, proteins, and other elements.
Let’s look at the antioxidant Vitamin E. Vitamin E complex found naturally
in foods is micro-blended naturally with Vitamin E co-factors or components,
such as Vitamins A, C & K, Vitamins B6 and B12, folic acid, pantothenic
acid, zinc, iron and essential fatty acids. The problem is that the body
cannot use Vitamin E in any internal chemical reaction without the other
co-factors. Vitamin E is a complex of nutritional factors, not alpha-tocopherol
or mixed tocopherols alone which is what you find in store bought
supplements. Once separated from the whole, tocopherols cease to function as
vitamins. Natural forms of the Vitamin E complex lose up to 99% of their
potency once separated from their normal synergists (DeCava, 1996, p. 119).
How about the antioxidant Vitamin A? Vitamin A is a whole family of
compounds, including retinol, retinal, retinoids, carotenes, and carotenoids,
and always occurs in nature with synergists such as fatty acids,
chlorophyll, other vitamins, enzymes, minerals and trace elements.
Scientists have identified more than 600 carotenoids so far, and are
beginning to realize and admit that “there appears to be a biological
relationship between all these carotenoids” (p. 84). Humans need all the
related nutrients as found in foods in their natural forms. A synthetic
fraction such as the antioxidant beta carotene is not a vitamin in the body;
Beta carotene is only a “chemical identifier” on a shelf because it is so
labeled and sold as though it was the complete naturally occurring Vitamin A
complex (which it is not).
How about the antioxidant Vitamin C? A complex Vitamin C is made up of
several parts including ascorbic acid, which is what most Vitamin C
supplements are made of. Ascorbic acid is only the outer layer of the
Vitamin C complex of nutrients. No lab is capable of duplicating all parts
of Vitamin C as found in food sources. The Vitamin C complex as it is found
in plants contains rutin, the bioflavonoid complex, the “K” factor, the “J”
factor, tyronsinase, and components not yet identified, as well as ascorbic
acid and ascorbigen (p. 183). If you split up the individual components of
the Vitamin C complex in natural food, you destroy its ability to display
its normal biological activity. If separated it must recombine with the
other members of the complex molecule before it can function as a nutrient.
In short, the complex Vitamins A, C and E are like a close-knit family of
nutrients. Without the support of the other family members, a single element
cannot reach the full health-optimizing potential of all of the members of
the family.
So what should your antioxidant supplements be made of, if these isolated
antioxidant substitutes are not going to effectively help control oxidative
damage?
Whole foods antioxidants are the solution. Since some oxidative damage is
created through normal body functions, our body’s own cells produce specific
enzymes designed to reduce oxidative damage. Two of these important enzymes
produced by the body are superoxide dismutase or SOD and catalase. These
enzymes are our front line of defense against oxidative damage.
To summarize: Besides the antioxidant nutrients (Vitamin A, C and E) found
in foods, antioxidant enzymes (SOD and catalase) are equally as important in
protecting the body from oxidative damage. The antioxidant nutrients (A, C
and E) are derived from foods and have their primary effect while
circulating in the blood ouside of the cells, while the antioxidant enzyme
system (SOD and catalase) produced by the body and also found in foods, have
their primary effects inside and outside the cells.
Is there such a supplement that is made of foods that combine both the
antioxidant nutrients and enzymes? Yes, it is Cell Tech’s unique proprietary
formula; Super Sprouts and Algae. This supplement contains the essential
nutrients from nearly one full quart of custom grown organic wheat sprouts,
coupled with a generous portion of blue green, wild, freshwater microalgae
and red beta marine microalgae. Being a whole food antioxidant supplement,
it not only contains one of the highest amounts of antioxidant enzyme
activity, but also contains every single co-enzyme factor naturally
occurring within these foods (A, C, E, different catotenoids,
minerals....etc.). The overall synergisitc effect of having all of the
enzymes together with it’s natural host of nutrients instead of isolated, as
in many antioxidant products, is a huge reason why this product is highly
effective in controlling oxidative damage.
The most important thing to remember is that only with whole foods can you
be certain that you are receiving all of the nutrients that you need to help
you reduce the harm of oxidative damage. Optimal human health requires
“live” biochemicals. It is simply a matter of chemistry versus biochemistry.
References:
DeCava, Judith A. (1996). The Real Truth About Vitamins and Antioxidants.
Columbus, Georgia: Brentwood Academic Press.
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