Oxidative Stress Quotes

For disease prevention, berries of all colors have “emerged as champions,” according to the head of the Bioactive Botanical Research Laboratory.39 The purported anticancer properties of berry compounds have been attributed to their apparent ability to counteract, reduce, and repair damage resulting from oxidative stress and inflammation.40 But it wasn’t known until recently that berries may also boost your levels of natural killer cells.

In one study, researchers asked athletes to eat about a cup and a half of blueberries every day for six weeks to see if the berries could reduce the oxidative stress caused by long-distance running.42 The blueberries succeeded, unsurprisingly, but a more important finding was their effect on natural killer cells. Normally, these cells decrease in number after a bout of prolonged endurance exercise, dropping by half to about one billion. But the athletes consuming blueberries actually doubled their killer cell counts, to more than four billion.

how you experience psychological stress has as much of a physiological impact as environmental stress. And this makes sense, since both psychological and physiological stresses are associated with increased oxidative stress in the body.

And more and more studies and reports were coming out demonstrating that the real initiators of damage in the arteries were oxidation and inflammation, with cholesterol more or less in the role of innocent bystander. Oxidation and inflammation, along with sugar and stress (more on that in chapters 4 and 8), were clearly what aged the human body the most.

WHAT’S GOOD FOR THE HEART IS GOOD FOR THE BRAIN. That is, vascular health (meaning low apoB, low inflammation, and low oxidative stress) is crucial to brain health. WHAT’S GOOD FOR THE LIVER (AND PANCREAS) IS GOOD FOR THE BRAIN. Metabolic health is crucial to brain health. TIME IS KEY. We need to think about prevention early, and the more the deck is stacked against you genetically, the harder you need to work and the sooner you need to start. As with cardiovascular disease, we need to play a very long game. OUR MOST POWERFUL TOOL FOR PREVENTING COGNITIVE DECLINE IS EXERCISE. We’ve talked a lot about diet and metabolism, but exercise appears to act in multiple ways (vascular, metabolic) to preserve brain health; we’ll get into more detail in Part III, but exercise—lots of it—is a foundation of our Alzheimer’s-prevention program.

Here's how it works. Your immune system protects you from all kinds of nasty bugs and helps repair tissue that has been damaged by injury or surgery. When a problem develops somewhere, your body does the equivalent of calling 911. The alarm sounds, and the immune system springs into action. The first responders, the white blood cells, travel to the site of the problem. As weapons, some of the cells released a shower of powerful free radicals (called an oxidative burst) that aids in the destruction of invading microorganisms and damaged tissue.

The explanation may be that gene activity in our muscles changes when the muscles don’t contract for long periods of time. In one experiment, researchers at the University of Massachusetts asked a group of healthy young men to walk around using crutches such that the muscles in their left legs never contracted. After only two days of inactivity, the scientists biopsied muscles in both legs. In the left leg, the DNA repair mechanism had been disrupted, insulin response was dropping, oxidative stress was rising, and metabolic activity within individual muscle cells was slowing.

In scientific circles, the phenomenon by which oxygen molecules grab stray electrons and go crazy is called oxidant, or oxidative, stress. According to the theory, the resulting cellular damage is what essentially causes aging. Aging and disease have been thought of as the oxidation of the body. Those brown age spots on the back of your hands? They’re just oxidized fat under the skin. Oxidant stress is thought to be why we all get wrinkles, why we lose some of our memory, why our organ systems break down as we get older. Basically, the theory goes, we’re rusting. You can slow down this oxidant process by eating foods containing lots of antioxidants. You can tell whether a food is rich in antioxidants by slicing it open, exposing it to air (oxygen), and then seeing what happens. If it turns brown, it’s oxidizing.

The bottom line is that if you want to reduce oxidative stress and the action of free radicals harming your brain, you have to reduce the glycation of proteins. Which is to say, you have to diminish the availability of sugar. Pure and simple.

This brings us to the latest area being explored in connection with low-intensity lasers: Alzheimer’s disease, the commonest kind of dementia. The Alzheimer’s brain is also inflamed, and the mitochondria have difficulty functioning and show signs of aging called oxidative stress, which is a kind of “rusting” of the molecules. Lights, which improve general cellular functioning in the brain, can improve all three conditions—inflammation, mitochondrial problems, and oxidative stress.* The hallmark of Alzheimer’s is that the neurons build up excess misshapen proteins, called tau proteins and amyloid proteins, to form plaques that lead to degeneration.

Infectious diseases cause a rise in oxidative stress, which is largely responsible for coordinating our genetic response to the infection. As we age, mitochondrial respiration also causes a rise in oxidative stress, which activates essentially the same genes through a common mechanism that involves transcription factors like NFΚB. Unlike infections, however, ageing is not easily reversed: mitochondrial damage accumulates continuously. The stress response and inflammation therefore persist, and this creates a harsh environment for the expression of ‘normal’ genes. The expression of normal genes in an oxidized environment is the basis of their negative pleiotropic effects in old age

It turns out that sodium intake appears to suppress the activity of a key antioxidant enzyme in the body called superoxide dismutase,49 which has the ability to detoxify a million free radicals per second.50 With the action of this workhorse of an enzyme stifled by sodium, artery-crippling levels of oxidative stress can build up.

Mitahar can be defined as taking only the amount of food necessary to keep your body alert and functioning efficiently. If you overeat, you make your body work harder to metabolize the excess food. Eating in moderation has proven metabolic benefits. It can reduce oxidative stress and improve digestion, leading to better overall health.

Aldehydes have not yet been officially classified as a toxin, but even so, there have been fewer experiments on humans to date.XIX One exception was a trial in New Zealand on diabetic patients. Those who were fed “thermally stressed” safflower oil had a significantly higher level of markers for oxidative stress than those consuming olive oil. In fact, olive oil has consistently been shown to produce fewer oxidation products than do polyunsaturated oils like soybean and corn. Olive oil, a monounsaturated fat, as you might remember, has only one double bond to react with oxygen, whereas vegetable oils are polyunsaturated, with many double bonds. However, the fats that produce the fewest oxidation products are those without any double bonds: the saturated fats found in tallow, suet, lard, coconut oil, and butter.

In particular, raising blood sugar will increase the production of what are known technically as reactive oxygen species and advanced glycation end-products, both of which are potentially toxic. The former are generated primarily by the burning of glucose (blood sugar) for fuel in the cells, in a process that attaches electrons to oxygen atoms, transforming the oxygen from a relatively inert molecule into one that is avid to react chemically with other molecules. This is not an ideal situation biologically. One form of reactive oxygen species is those known commonly as free radicals, and all of them together are known as oxidants, because what they do is oxidize other molecules (the same chemical reaction that causes iron to rust, and equally deleterious). The object of oxidation slowly deteriorates. Biologists refer to this deterioration as oxidative stress. Antioxidants neutralize reactive oxygen species, which is why antioxidants have become a popular buzzword in nutrition discussions. The

Dr. Veech explained that humans are the only animals that go into ketosis when we fast because we have such large brains to support. Ketosis protects our big brains from oxidative stress and allows us to survive. Without ketones, we would die in six days without food, but with them we can survive much longer. Before

Spinach is another vegetable that will improve your hydration while delivering a powerful antioxidant boost to your body. Just like red bell peppers, spinach is high in vitamin C. It’s also an excellent source of vitamin A, which is great for hair health, and vitamin K, which helps fight off inflammation.  Avocado Avocados are a genuine superfood. They contain healthy fatty acids that ward off inflammation in the body and promote healthy skin. They are also rich in carotenoids and vitamins A and E. These two vitamins will help to keep the skin looking youthful and nourished. The high levels of antioxidants and avocados make them among the best foods you can eat to counter the oxidative stress caused by free radicals.

She bathed daily, a practice that fills the body with electrons, countering the free radicals that are a major source of oxidative stress and cell degeneration.

It is incredibly important that avenca can be beneficial for so many types of diseases. What is more surprising, though, is that so many of these disorders have chronic inflammation and oxidative stress as underlying or contributing causes. This demonstrates just how significant avenca’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions are.

the fatty tissue is suffering from oxidative stress and is secreting many more pro-inflammatory substances and less anti-inflammatory ones.

One study conducted on rats showed that Roundup might lead to excessive extracellular glutamate levels and glutamate excitotoxicity and oxidative stress.[1] In other words, Roundup can cause excessive levels of the neurotransmitter glutamate, which, in turn, can cause damage to the neurons. Another study showed that glyphosate could cause toxicity to the cells, oxidative effects, and apoptosis on human cells.[2] Yet another study showed that inhalation of glyphosate may cause DNA damage.

Interval training is the repeated performance of high-intensity exercises, for set periods, followed by set periods of rest. Intervals can consist of any variety of movements with any variation of work and rest times. It burns far more calories and produces positive changes in body composition with much less time than aerobic training. This is not only because of the muscle it builds, but also the effect it has on the metabolism following the workouts. Strength training creates enough stress on the body’s homeostasis that a large energy (calorie) expenditure is required long after the exercise has stopped. During low-intensity aerobic exercise, fat oxidation occurs while exercising and stops upon completion. During high-intensity exercise your body oxidizes carbs for energy, not fat. Then, for a long time afterward, fat oxidation takes place to return systems to normal: to restore depleted carbohydrates, creatine phosphate, ATP (adenosine triphosphate), circulatory hormones, re-oxygenate the blood, and decrease body temperature, ventilation and heart rate. Not to mention the longer term demands: strengthening tendons and ligaments, increasing bone density, forming new capillaries, motor skill adaptation, repairing muscle tissue and building new muscle. And the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you are able to burn during and after exercise.

Activate adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK). AMPK is an enzyme that stimulates mitochondrial autophagy (mitophagy) and mitochondrial biogenesis as well as five other critically important pathways: insulin, leptin, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), insulin-like growth factor 1, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma co-activator 1-alpha (PPAR⊠). It also increases nerve growth factor and helps protect against the type of oxidative stress that leads to Parkinson’s disease. Your AMPK levels naturally decline with increasing age. Following a cyclical ketogenic diet will help you maintain healthy AMPK levels.

asked athletes to eat about a cup and a half of blueberries every day for six weeks to see if the berries could reduce the oxidative stress caused by long-distance running.42 The blueberries succeeded,

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have also found ginger to be effective for treating osteoarthritis,2648 premenstrual syndrome,2649 and menstrual pain;2650 preventing2651 and treating migraine headaches;2652 and reducing cholesterol, triglycerides,2653 blood sugars,2654 blood pressure,2655 excess body weight,2656 and signs of oxidative stress2657 and inflammation2658—typically for just pennies a day using the type of ground ginger you’d find at any grocery store.

AMPK prompts the cell to conserve and seek alternative sources of energy. It does this first by stimulating the production of new mitochondria, the tiny organelles that produce energy in the cell, via a process called mitochondrial biogenesis. Over time—or with disuse—our mitochondria become vulnerable to oxidative stress and genomic damage, leading to dysfunction and failure. Restricting the amount of nutrients that are available, via dietary restriction or exercise, triggers the production of newer, more efficient mitochondria to replace old and damaged ones. These fresh mitochondria help the cell produce more ATP, the cellular energy currency, with the fuel it does have. AMPK also prompts the body to provide more fuel for these new mitochondria, by producing glucose in the liver (which we’ll talk about in the next chapter) and releasing energy stored in fat cells.

They demonstrated that the elevated emotional states described by mystics weren’t just subjective fantasies; they were grounded in objective molecular interactions that could be measured and quantified. INGREDIENTS OF THE BLISS BRAIN COCKTAIL Research has shown that each one of the seven bliss neurochemicals is associated with meditation. A review and synthesis of the research literature found increases in serotonin, GABA, vasopressin, and melatonin. The dopamine levels of meditators rose by 56%. Cortisol dropped, and norepinephrine declined to levels appropriate to focused attention without anxiety. The rhythms of the brain’s production of beta-endorphins changed. Heightened oxytocin mobilized the synthesis of anandamide in the nucleus accumbens. A number of studies and reviews show that meditation stimulates the production of nitric oxide, providing meditators with the health benefits of better circulation and brain neuroplasticity. Nitric oxide release is closely coupled with anandamide production; thus meditation and other stress-reducing activities may stimulate the synthesis of both together. Anandamide can also improve cognitive function, motivation, learning, and memory, while triggering the growth of neurons in the brain centers that govern those functions. A blissed brain is a learning brain; meditation cements our feel-good experiences into brain hardware through increased neuroplasticity. Anandamide also relieves anxiety and depression while stimulating closeness and connection with others. The scientific literature shows that oxytocin is increased by meditation. As we saw earlier, oxytocin triggers the release of nitric oxide and anandamide, providing the meditator with a trifecta of pleasurable brain chemicals. 5.18. The only way to get all the most pleasurable neurochemicals surging through your brain at one time is the ecstatic flow state found in deep meditation. Each of these neurochemicals is pleasurable in its own right, and you can get them from activities that stimulate their production. These activities might get you one or two but not all seven in one package.

There’s only one activity that stimulates the brain to produce all seven at the same time, and that’s the ecstatic state of flow. The shortest way there is deep, alpha-driven meditation. When you blend all seven into a single cocktail, the result is euphoria. Let’s see: What might a combination of the first letters of each drug look like? Serotonin, Oxytocin, Norepinephrine, Dopamine, Anandamide, Nitric oxide, and Beta-endorphin? Just for fun, let’s combine them, and call our cocktail’s special blend SONDANoBe. This is the magic formula that, produced inside our own bodies in the proper ratios, bathes the brain in the chemicals of ecstasy. GETTING HIGH ON YOUR OWN SUPPLY When I meditate, I can feel the moment when each drug in the cocktail kicks in. First, I use EFT tapping and release any and every negative thought, emotion, and energy. This drops my level of cortisol, along with suppressing the high beta brain waves of stress. I now have a molecular substrate in my brain upon which I can build a deep and focused meditative experience. Next, I close my eyes and focus. Dopamine kicks in as I anticipate the delicious hormone and neurotransmitter drug cocktail I’m about to be rewarded with. The dopaminergic reward system of my brain fires up and the “body learning” of how to meditate—stored in my basal ganglia, which memorize frequently performed actions—comes online. Ingredient one. My mind starts to wander. My email inbox. The morning’s first meeting. The laugh line of the movie I watched last night. An overdue deadline. Damn, I’m way out of the zone already, cortisol rising, and I haven’t been meditating more than 5 minutes. Dopamine brings me back to focus, aided by norepinephrine. I’m motivated. I want Bliss Brain more than I want an endless loop of the Me Show. I return to center. Cortisol drops. Ahhh, I’m back. Norepinephrine stimulates my attention. Ingredient two. Then I realize that my body is uncomfortable. I have a twinge in my right knee. My lower back hurts. My tummy’s rumbling because it’s empty. I consciously shift my wandering mind back into focus. Back in sync, my neurons secrete beta-endorphin, which masks the pain. The discomfort drops away, and being in a body feels wonderful. Ingredient three. I tune in to each of the archetypal strands that guide me. Mother Mary. Kwan Yin. Healing. Strength. Beauty. Wisdom. I imagine myself meditating in a field of a million saints. I’m lost in Bliss Brain, as serotonin, the satisfaction drug, kicks in. Ingredient four. I feel one with the universe. Oxytocin starts to flow, as I bond with everything. Ingredient five. That releases nitric oxide and anandamide. Ingredients six and seven.

But, if the person had been eating one and a half teaspoons of ginger powder a day for a week, oxidative stress–induced DNA damage drops about 25 percent, down to 8 percent of cells, which is similar to what’s been found in those fed the same amount of rosemary. Researchers also tested cumin, paprika, sage, and turmeric. The first three don’t seem to help in this regard, but turmeric worked best.

Amla has also been shown to reduce triglycerides,6918 improve blood fluidity, reduce markers of oxidative DNA damage6919 and systemic inflammation,6920 improve blood sugar control in diabetics,6921 and may decrease the effects of stress on the heart.

As a bonus, the same cardamom dose over two to three months can significantly improve markers of inflammation and oxidative stress,1911 and be a safe, cheap, convenient way to decrease the level of triglycerides in the blood by about twenty points (mg/dL).

Flavonoids and polyphenols. These substances—found in virtually all fruits and vegetables—have been shown to have protective effects throughout the body. They’ve also been shown to have influence on the brain. For example, some research has shown that flavonoids may significantly decrease oxidative stress in the brain.

In fact, several studies show that eating all our food within a 6- to 10-hour window regulates our circadian rhythms, which also leads to improvements in body composition, glycemic control, insulin sensitivity, oxidative stress, and energy levels.77,78,79,80 This is without changing any of the foods that we would normally eat.

What’s important to understand is that it’s not the iodine that actually damages the thyroid gland, but hydrogen peroxide or other ROS.[8] For example, if someone takes a 50mg potassium iodide supplement, then this will lead to higher levels of hydrogen peroxide, which can result in an increase in oxidative stress. If someone has abnormally high levels of oxidative stress and/or low amounts of antioxidants, then this, in turn, can result in damage to the thyroid gland, which can lead to an increase in thyroid antibodies, typically thyroid peroxidase antibodies.

Thus, it makes sense that people with higher levels of antioxidants can tolerate higher amounts of oxidative stress from consuming larger amounts of iodine. Unfortunately, many people have low levels of antioxidants. So how can you increase the levels of these antioxidants? Well, both of the antioxidants I just mentioned are selenium-dependent, so one of the main keys to preventing any adverse effects from iodine is to make sure you have sufficient levels of selenium.

It loves cranberry, pomegranate, olives, prickly pear, and green tea! Stimulating the growth of just this one bacterium is associated with reduction in body weight, oxidative stress, and intestinal and liver inflammation and improved insulin sensitivity.

As we have learned, the immune system stimulates inflammation to defend us from pathogens as well as self-inflicted damage caused by physical activity. In short bursts, inflammation is lifesaving, but low levels of inflammation that last for months or years are pernicious because they slowly attack our bodies. Over time, the destructive effects of chronic, simmering inflammation accumulate in cells and tissues from head to toe including neurons in the brain, cartilage in joints, the walls of arteries, and insulin receptors in muscle and fat cells. If oxidation, mitochondrial dysfunction, mutations, glycation, and inflammation were not enough, plenty of other processes also contribute to senescence by damaging and degrading cells. Over time, tiny molecules glue themselves to the DNA in cells. These so-called epigenetic (on top of the genome) modifications can affect which genes are expressed in particular cells.31 Because environmental factors like diet, stress, and exercise partly influence epigenetic modifications, the older we are, the more of them we accumulate.32 Most epigenetic modifications are harmless, but the more you have for a given age, the higher your risk of dying.33 Other forms of senescence include cells losing the ability to recycle damaged proteins,34 inadequately sensing and acquiring nutrients,35 and (less likely) being unable to divide because the little caps (telomeres) that protect the ends of chromosomes from unraveling have become too short.36

Yes. There are a variety of reasons that we as humans age, one of which is oxidant stress from free radical formation. Known as the Free Radical Theory of Aging, this explanation was first proposed by Denham Harman in the 1950s. Other theories include unchecked inflammation, glycation, cell membrane and DNA damage. Interestingly, they are interrelated as I will explain. Every cell in our body requires energy for a variety of processes. The production of such cellular energy or ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is occurring at the molecular level, unbeknownst to you, billions of times per second, in cellular structures known as mitochondria. Through a complex series of chemical reactions, electrons are ultimately transferred to oxygen, driving the formation of ATP molecules. No oxygen, no electron receptor, death ensues. (Note: Cyanide poisons this so-called “electron transport chain” often times resulting in death.) This process of ATP generation is imperfect.

If the wall of an artery gets injured—a common occurrence when arteries are stretched because of stress and high blood pressure, or scratched by toxic and irritating molecules such as nicotine, trans fats, chlorine, additives, and oxidants—your body patches up fissures with cholesterol plaque, a kind of plaster, in an attempt to prevent the artery from further damage and bleeding. The cholesterol plaque also buys time for the cells in the arterial wall to divide and repair the injured area, covering it with new cells under the plaque. Eventually, once the irritating conditions subside, as happens in nature, the cholesterol plaque will be reabsorbed and the artery will look like new again. This is similar to what happens to an injury in your skin under a scab. New cells are growing and covering the area, so when the scab falls, your skin is as intact as it was before the injury.

Aged garlic extract 600 mg one to three times a day. Aged garlic extract is used to protect the heart and blood vessels, and is reported to help decrease oxidative stress markers, including those related to blood sugar regulation problems. Aged garlic has also been reported to reduce liver enzymes and fatty liver, as well as decrease the formation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), which are implicated in various health problems, such as heart disease, kidney problems, and cancer.

13 Reasons to include Curry Leaves to your Diet Sambar. Upma. Dal. Poha. What do they all have in common? A tempering rich in curry leaves. But curry leaves – or Curry leaves, as they are commonly known in India – do more good than simply seasoning your food. Curry power benefits include weight loss and a drop in cholesterol levels. But there’s lots more that the Curry leaves can do. Here are 13 reasons to chew on those curry leaves that pop up on your plate. To keep anaemia away The humble Curry leaves is a rich source of iron and folic acid. Anaemia crops up when your body is unable to absorb iron and use it. “Folic acid is responsible for iron absorption and as Curry leaves is a rich source of both compounds, it’s the perfect choice if you’re looking to amp up your iron levels,” says Alpa Momaya, a Diet & Wellness consultant with Sunrise nutrition hub. To protect your liver If you are a heavy drinker, eating curry leaves can help quell liver damage. A study published in Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research has revealed that curry leaves contain kaempferol, a potent antioxidant, and can protect the liver from oxidative stress and harmful toxins. To maintain blood sugar levels A study published in the Journal of Plant food for Nutrition has revealed that curry leaves can lower blood sugar levels by affecting the insulin activity. To keep your heart healthy A study published in the Journal of Chinese Medicine showed that “curry leaves can help increase the amount of good cholesterol (HDL) and protect you from heart disease and atherosclerosis,” Momaya says. To aid in digestion Curry leaves have a carminative nature, meaning that they prevent the formation of gas in the gastrointestinal tract and facilitate the expulsion of gas if formed. Ayurveda also suggests that Curry leaves has mild laxative properties and can balance the pitta levels in the body. Momaya’s advice: “A juice of curry leaves with a bit of lime juice or added to buttermilk can be consumed for indigestion.” To control diarrhoea Even though curry leaves have mild laxative properties, research has shown that the carbazole alkaloids in curry leaves can help control diarrhoea. To reduce congestion Curry leaves has long been a home remedy when it comes to dealing with a wet cough, sinusitis or chest congestion. Curry leaves, packed with vitamin C and A and rich in kaempferol, can help loosen up congested mucous. To help you lose weight Curry leaves is known to improve digestion by altering the way your body absorbs fat. This quality is particularly helpful to the obese. To combat the side effects of chemotherapy Curry leaves are said to protect the body from the side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. They also help protect the bone marrow and halt the production of free radicals in the body. To improve your vision Curry leaves is high in vitamin A, which contains carotenoids that can protect the cornea. Eating a diet rich in curry leaves can help improve your vision over time. To prevent skin infections Curry leaves combines potent antioxidant properties with powerful anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and antiprotozoal properties. It is a common home remedy for common skin infections such as acne and fungal infections of the nail. To get better hair Curry leaves has long been used to prevent greying of the hair by our grandmothers. It also helps treat damaged hair, tackle hair fall and dandruff and add bounce to limp hair. To take care of skin Curry leaves can also be used to heal damaged skin. Apply a paste on burns, cuts, bruises, skin irritations and insect bites to ensure quick recovery and clean healing. Add more Curry leaves to your diet and enjoy the benefits of curry leaves.

Beans contain flavonoids and flavonals, which are potent antioxidants. They soak up oxygen radicals and protect your body against oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. Their antioxidant activities are 50 times greater than vitamin E. They are also among the richest food sources of saponins, chemicals that help prevent undesirable genetic mutations.

Flavonoids help regulate cellular activity, which fights off free radicals that cause oxidative stress in our body. In other words, these help our body function at its peak while protecting it against everyday toxins and stressors within our environments.