ANTIOXIDANT / OXIDANT BALANCE:
Antioxidant /
Oxidant Balance:
Body's NON-Enzymatic Antioxidants
(2) Non-enzymatic
Antioxidants
Major water-soluble Antioxidants
Major Fat-soluble Antioxidants
Major Water-Soluble Antioxidants
Protect aqueous areas
(most of the cell's cytoplasm)
from oxidation
Vitamin C
(Ascorbic Acid/Ascorbate)
-
Nutritional
requirement - since the human
body can not make it (mainly obtained from fruits and vegetables). It is
largely destroyed by high heat and extended freezing
-
Chelating
(metal grabbing)
and Reducing Agent (radical
scavenging -donates electrons to superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, hypochlorite,
hydroxyl radicals, peroxyl radicals, ozone and nitrous oxide).
-
Recycles
vitamin E (re-reduces
vitamin E radical
back to vitamin E ).
-
Needed for the
production of Collagen and Elastin - Involved in the formation of hydroxyproline, a major component of tissue
collagen, which is the most abundant protein in our body. Collagen provides the
scaffolding for, and is the main component of
cartilage, ligaments, tendons and other
connective tissue - the reason
why broken bones regenerate and wounds heal. It is the main protein in
bone and teeth. It strengthens blood
vessels, preventing atherosclerosis, and along with keratin, it is
responsible for skin strength and
elasticity, without which we are looking at wrinkles!
-
The CNS (Central
Nervous System)
has inbuilt
double -pumps to increase
vitamin C
concentration - The brain
and spinal cord, rich in highly unsaturated, easily oxidized fatty acids, are
thus provided 100x the ascorbate antioxidant protection than in other organs.
-
Involved in the
synthesis of norepinephrine from
DOPAMINE
- in the brain.
- Pro-oxidant under some circumstances
Vitamin C -"God's Medicine"
Glutathione (GSH)(requires
selenium )
- PRIMARY antioxidant and detoxifier in cell's
cytoplasm.
-
A tripeptide (glutamyl-cysteinyl-glycine)
-The cysteine provides a highly
reactive free sulphydryl group (SH) providing a "Bulls-eye"for oxidation by
radicals. The reduced form is regenerated in a redox cycle involving
gluthathione reductase and the electron donor NADPH;
-
Produced inside EVERY cell via glutathione peroxidase
- Helps red blood cells carry oxygen - and keep their shape, enhancing their delivery to
vital organs;
-
Prevents formation
of methemoglobin -
an altered
form of hemoglobin unable to carry oxygen, produced by heme iron-oxidation;
-
Aids amino acid
transport across cellular membranes - needed for
protein synthesis and cellular function.
-
Immune system
enhancer - Needed for
creation / maintenance of T-Cell lymphocytes - body's frontline defense against
infection.
-
Detoxifies toxins - including heavy
metals, cigarette smoke, fuel exhaust, etc,
For more details on this major
antioxidant and how to increase your body's intracellular levels:
Glutathione -"King of the Antioxidants"
Major Fat-Soluble Antioxidants
Powerful radical
scavengers protect lipid membranes from oxidation
Generally, these are phenols that donate a
hydrogen atom to a peroxyl radical , converting it to a lipid
hydroperoxide .
Vitamin A / Carotenoids
(E.g β-carotene (with fat can be converted to
Vitamin A ), lutein, zeaxanthin and lycopene);
-
Singlet Oxygen
quenchers
-
Abundant in - green plants, carrots, tomatoes and other brightly
colored vegetables
Vitamin A -"The Grass Vitamin"
Vitamin E
(Tocopherols)
-
Sole purpose to scavenge
peroxyl radical
in cell membranes
-
Important in fertility
-
Found in - fish oil, nuts, seeds, wheat germ.
Vitamin E
CoEnzyme Q-10 (a phenol)
-
Present in the
mitochondrion inner membrane - Important
in the energy producing respiratory chain;
-
Powerful reducing agent
-
Found in beef, herring, chicken, trout
For more detail :
CoQ10
-"Spark and Dampener"
Vitamin D
-
Formed by sun
acting on skin - or in
animal products, if animal went outside in the sun, or ate foods containing
vitamin D .
For more detail :
Vitamin D
-"The Sunshine Vitamin"
Vitamin K
Vitamin K -"For Klotting and Kalcium"
MELATONIN
-
Hormone produced in
the pineal gland in darkness (usually at night) - i.e. during a "Good night's sleep"
-
Direct scavenger of highly
toxic
OH• (hydroxyl radical) ,O2 •- (superoxide radical) NO • ( Nitric Oxide) , OONO ‾
(Peroxynitrite ),
1 2 * (singlet oxygen), ROO• (Peroxyl radical)
-
May stimulate other
enzymatic
antioxidants - including SOD (superoxide dismutase),
GPx ( glutathione peroxidase), glutathione
reductase, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH);
-
Reduces oxidative damage in membrane lipids,
proteins and nuclear DNA
-
Enters cells with ease
- MELATONIN
levels diminishes with age
For more detail :
MELATONIN -"Darkness Hormone"
Uric Acid
(most important plasma
antioxidant
in humans)
Flavonoids
Lipoic Acid
Bilirubin/Histidine -
singlet oxygen
quenchers
