Our body's superheroes: Antioxidants.. This is how you prevent aging
As long as there is a balance between the rate at which free radicals form and the rate at which they are cleared, the organism is not affected by this. When this balance is disrupted, tissue damage occurs in many vital organs such as the heart, kidneys, liver, stomach, small intestine, lungs, and brain.
Within our bodies, we are constantly waging a war against diseases like cancer and heart disease. One of the important enemies that need to be controlled is free radicals. Free radicals are molecules that attack the cells and immune system in our bodies. Antioxidants are substances that neutralize or reduce the effects of these free radicals. In short, antioxidants are important molecules that block the reactions of free radicals, which can cause cancer, heart disease, and premature aging. The vast majority of free radicals that form in the organism are oxygen-derived.
Antioxidants, meanwhile, form an easy electron target for free radicals. They form a stable structure with the radical until it is carried to an enzyme (glutathione peroxidase, catalase, superoxide dismutase, etc.) capable of combining and neutralizing two bound free radicals.
ANTIOXIDANT MOLECULES
Antioxidants and Aging: Antioxidant intake not only protects us from disease, but also prevents premature aging. Animals supplemented with antioxidants have a longer lifespan than those not given antioxidant supplements. Vitamin E and Vitamin C are important vitamins that extend lifespan.
Antioxidant foods: contain beta-carotene (Vitamin A), Vitamin C, Vitamin E, selenium, and manganese. Beta-carotene prevents the formation of free radicals from the oxygen molecule. Fat-soluble Vitamin E works like an antioxidant enzyme and prevents the breakdown of the cell membrane.
Selenium is an antioxidant enzyme that converts free radicals called peroxides into polyunsaturated fats. Water-soluble Vitamin C prevents harmful reactions from occurring in cells. In this way, antioxidant foods serve as an effective protector against heart disease, heart attack, cancer, and premature aging.
In Summary, Free Radicals and Aging: The story of antioxidants begins with free radicals. These highly active compounds (free radicals) are found in polluted air, cigarette smoke, radiation, pesticides, spoiled food, and normal body metabolism (metabolic processes). Free radicals attack cells in the body and damage them. In the initial attack, a new free radical is primarily formed, and an uncontrollable chain reaction begins.
When a free radical attacks one of the fats in the cell membrane, the fat molecule undergoes a change. This change is a small alteration that also causes vegetable oils to turn rancid. When fats are altered in the body, the structure and functions of the cell membrane are damaged; the cell membrane can no longer transfer food, oxygen, and water over the long term, and it can no longer regulate the elimination of waste products. The continuation of free radical attack causes the fats within the structure of the cell membrane to break down, the cell membrane to tear, and the cell's components to disperse. The leakage of intracellular components outside the cell also damages surrounding tissue. Free radical attack and destruction of the cell membrane is called "Lipid Oxidation" or "Oxidative Damage."
The damage free radicals cause to tissue is thought to be a leading cause of arteriosclerosis and heart disease. The adhesion of blood cells (as platelets) broken down by oxidative damage to arterial walls, and the rise in cholesterol, damages the arteries. All of these developments cause arteriosclerosis to progress. More advanced stages involve cardiovascular disease and a decrease in blood and oxygen reaching the heart and brain. Tissues deprived of oxygen display the effect of free radicals, which accelerates disease progression and increases the risk of a person having a heart attack.
Free radicals also affect the nucleic acids (DNA) that carry the cell's genetic code and enable the cell's production and growth. Cells can die when their genetic code is altered, because they can no longer read the message coming from the parent cell over the long term. Excessive cell death leads to premature aging, and on the other hand, if cells undergo alteration, cell lines form that support cancer and similar diseases.
The energy production center of the cell (the mitochondria) is damaged by the attack of free radicals. Oxidative damage in this center causes energy production and protein synthesis to stop. The cell continues to live merely as a remnant and slowly dies. Cellular aging in tissues is the accumulation of cellular remnants formed by the premature aging of tissues as a result of damage from free radicals.
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