Why Fighting Free Radicals with Holistic Foods is Essential to Long-Term Health
By Jeremiah Johnson
Free radicals refer to substances that affect the homeostasis of your body. Homeostasis is where the body maintains balance and a normal working order. The free radical is a grouping of atoms that can be influenced by certain forces (such as radiation or oxidation) that “wander” and then become attached to another molecule and alter the molecule’s makeup.
The molecule is then altered in function, as well. Oxidation is the primary method that free radicals are brought into play. Oxidation does occur normally in the human body. Oxidation is a slow process that leads to cellular death. Scientists believe that the overall effect of damage brought on by free radicals in combination with oxidation is what causes human beings to age.
Harry Pettit writing for Mailonline published an article on 3/23/17 entitled “Would YOU choose to live forever? Age-reversing pill that NASA wants to give to astronauts on Mars will begin human trials within six months.” The article bears reading because it presents some interesting information on DNA instructions inherent within the body’s cells and how this experimental pill may be used to throw that into high gear.
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So, how do we fight free radicals?
With good nutrition, rest, and exercise for one. Another way is with Ginseng and Vitamin E. I wrote an article on the many benefits of using Ginseng, and we’re really being specific here. There are two major types that have beneficial effects: Panax ginseng (the Asian ginseng found in China and Korea), and Eleutherococcus senticosus (Siberian ginseng: closely related with almost identical effects).
Both types of ginseng are adaptogens, meaning they have a broad range of beneficial effects physically and chemically in the human body while being nonspecific. That last word means they are not for an ailment; however, they have wide-ranging effects that will help with virtually any malady in the human body. Injuries, diseases, and stress are a few of the maladies that ginseng will help with. Ginseng will help to reduce toxic effects on the body and return it to homeostasis. Ginseng reduces oxidation and the formation of free radicals.
Vitamin E is the second wonder-food that fights those free radicals. The cells contain mitochondria (the cell’s “powerhouse,” where the ATP, or Adenosine Triphosphate is manufactured), and organelles (structures that maintain the function and homeostasis of the cell). These two areas/parts of the cell are where most oxidation takes place at the cellular level. Guess what? Vitamin E is bound up in the cellular membrane of the cells and is a natural antioxidant. Vitamin E is also the chief antioxidant found in the body. For a source, you need to find d-alpha tocopherol (that’s Vitamin E as supplied in food).
Be advised, you need d-alpha (the natural form of Vitamin E) and not dl-alpha tocopherol, as this latter is the synthetic form of it with only about 50% of the potency of naturally-derived Vitamin E. Your dosage can be between 1,000 and 1,500 IU per day. For the ginseng, it can be 1,000 to 2,000 mg, dependent on the type and the manufacturer.
Foods that are high in antioxidants can fight free radicals and should be incorporated into your diet. Whole foods, in particular, have been consistently found to be protective because of the bioactive compounds contained therein, which are linked to a reduction in the risk of major killers, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. The antioxidant and anticancer activity of plant foods is derived from the additive or synergistic effects of each of these compounds in combination.
So, there we have it: some holistic foods that may give you a whole new lease on things. Use this material here as a primer, and check out Ginseng and the Vitamin E. There are a lot of benefits to using both of them, and the fact that oxidation is being equated with aging means you can get a “head start” before that experimental pill comes out and perhaps slow down the aging process. Do your research on each and stay in that good fight! JJ out!
Jeremiah Johnson is the Nom de plume of a retired Green Beret of the United States Army Special Forces (Airborne). Mr. Johnson was a Special Forces Medic, EMT and ACLS-certified, with comprehensive training in wilderness survival, rescue, and patient-extraction. He is a Certified Master Herbalist and a graduate of the Global College of Natural Medicine of Santa Ana, CA. A graduate of the U.S. Army’s survival course of SERE school (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape), Mr. Johnson also successfully completed the Montana Master Food Preserver Course for home-canning, smoking, and dehydrating foods.
Mr. Johnson dries and tinctures a wide variety of medicinal herbs taken by wild crafting and cultivation, in addition to preserving and canning his own food. An expert in land navigation, survival, mountaineering, and parachuting as trained by the United States Army, Mr. Johnson is an ardent advocate for preparedness, self-sufficiency, and long-term disaster sustainability for families. He and his wife survived Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Cross-trained as a Special Forces Engineer, he is an expert in supply, logistics, transport, and long-term storage of perishable materials, having incorporated many of these techniques plus some unique innovations in his own homestead.
Mr. Johnson brings practical, tested experience firmly rooted in formal education to his writings and to our team. He and his wife live in a cabin in the mountains of Western Montana with their three cats.
This information has been made available by Ready Nutrition
