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Keep your DNA from shortening your life
Our modern lifestyle is one that provides a host of conveniences — rapid communication devices, air travel, instant foods, medical technology, a rapid pace and constant stimulation. With this comes a dizzying array of daily exposures to harmful pollutants including chemicals and heavy metals.
All of these take a toll in ways we are only beginning to understand, with potential unknown cumulative effects. Compared to the modern world, humans evolved in a relatively toxin-free environment. What does this mean for how well prepared our own inherent protective systems are for current challenges?
Cells are designed to protect our precious DNA from danger. Genomic information is sequestered deep inside each cell’s nucleus. Our cells’ energy factories, the mitochondria also contain DNA. DNA has built-in repair mechanisms to help protect it from damage.
The human body also has complex systems for detoxification of harmful compounds so they can be safely eliminated. Up until now, these mechanisms have work remarkably well, but the consequences are not something you want to leave to chance…
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The free radical
To really understand the problem, we have to go down to the atomic level. Free radicals are atoms or molecules, including oxygen, that are missing an electron, which makes them unstable until they grab an electron from another atom.
We can see how this could generate a cascade of atomic dysfunction. This “free radical” cascade produces “reactive oxygen species” (ROS), causing oxidative stress.
One interaction is probably nothing to worry about, but hundreds or thousands over a period of decades can have a seriously detrimental impact on cellular health. That’s why so many diseases are associated with aging -a slow erosion of cellular health.
Oxidative stress and free radical damage can affect any cellular structure. For example, damage to lipid-rich (fatty) structures like cell membranes or nerve tissue, can damage the ability of these structures to function properly. It would be like using rancid oil, which is an oxidized fat, in your favorite recipe.
The rust that accumulates on exposed metal is another image of oxidative damage similar to what can occur in watery compartments such as the interior of the cell, or the circulatory system, damaging protein structures and interfering with healthy cell functions.
DNA is also subject to damage from oxidative stress. Studies have shown that the DNA in the mitochondria is especially vulnerable. Your inherent DNA repair mechanisms may not be adequate for the task of dealing with constant insults due to free radical-oxidative stress exposures.
Antioxidants to the rescue
It’s important to recognize that free radicals — at least some of them — are built into the system. Our bodies naturally produce free radicals through a number of metabolic and immune processes. Let’s take energy production for example. In a similar way to coal plants that produce energy but also have polluting by-products, our cells’ energy factories, the mitochondria, produce chemical energy, but in the process also produce free radicals that need to be cleaned up.
Fortunately, the body also generates antioxidants to correct that imbalance. But these protective mechanisms are often inadequate to handle the current level of onslaught and can break down with age or environmental exposure.
As noted, environmental toxins have become a major problem. Sunlight, chemicals, radiation exposure on planes or in medical procedures and the various forms of electromagnetic radiation, including our constant proximity to cell phones and electric equipment, can all generate oxidative stress.
We can all benefit from support to maintain healthy cell function in the form of healthy food choices, stress reduction practices, regular exercise and time spent in nature, and a supplement regimen that is focused on antioxidant support.
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Fighting oxidative stress
Fortunately, there are a wide variety of foods, herbs and botanicals that provide antioxidant effects.
The same mechanisms that our bodies use to counterbalance free radicals are also common in the plant world.
In recent years, researchers have begun to focus more on different plants and their antioxidant content. Green tea, astragalus root and holy basil leaf extracts have been shown to have a powerful impact on the cellular oxidation caused by free radicals.
Medicinal mushrooms, such as Cordyceps sinensis and Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi), have an equally powerful effect. The long chains of carbohydrates in these mushrooms fight oxidation as well as tune-up immunity.
These medicinal mushrooms, as well as astragalus and holy basil, have been used for centuries in traditional medical systems as “adaptogens,” containing numerous bioactive compounds that support the body’s response to multiple stressors, enhancing vitality, immunity and overall well-being.
There are also a variety of sulfur-containing compounds that provide essential elements of antioxidant and detoxification support, such as N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC), Alpha Lipoic Acid and Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM).
With all our daily stresses and exposures, it’s important to take a proactive approach to promote healthy cell activity. Antioxidant support is one of the most important measures we can take to ensure our cells continue down their normal, healthy path.
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By Dr. Isaac Eliaz
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