Antioxidant Supplement - Can It Slow Down Aging?

Antioxidant supplements aid against the Free Radical Theory of Aging. Free radicals, or oxidants, grow in body tissues under normal physiological conditions, and can cause damage to the rest of your body. The toxic oxidants (free radicals) are caused by daily stress-producing activities as well as the natural aging process. These free radicals are formed when oxygen is metabolized or burned. They then travel through cells, disrupting the structure of molecules, causing cellular damage.

The bulk of these oxidants are controlled or neutralized by cellular antioxidants, but some of these toxic oxidants escape and survive to contribute to the aging process. Furthermore, the natural antioxidant defense innate to our bodies becomes less effective as the body ages, as a consequence of accumulated damage negatively affecting the efficiency of the defense-building enzymes. This is where antioxidant supplements come in. An antioxidant supplement is a combination of natural micronutrients that help protect cellular tissue.

Cell damage caused by free radicals is believed to contribute to aging and be the cause of various health problems. Antioxidant supplements are a beneficial line of defense against the aging process.

Antioxidant supplements work to slow the aging process!

An antioxidant supplement, combined with exercise and foods high in vitamins A, C, E, is known to significantly improve your health. New studies have found that by combining natural, energy-boosting components such as acetyl L-carnitine with powerful antioxidants like alpha lipoic acid, they can actually slow the cell aging process.

As we age, toxic oxidants accumulate in the body, causing cellular damage to the mitochondria DNA, lipids and protein. This process results in inefficient cells and a body we recognize as aged -- wrinkled skin and low energy levels. A good antioxidant supplement will help to reduce the level of free radicals in the body while maintaining optimum metabolic activity and increasing energy potential.

It's not as simple as it sounds!

Research has shown that an important factor in aging is the decay of the mitochondria - the organelles within the cell that convert amino acids, fatty acids and sugars, into energy. This research demonstrated that as we age, the efficiency of the mitochondria diminishes, as does their quantity per cell. The effect is a body operating at one-half to one-fourth the energy it had at youth. Deficient energy in the brain and central nervous system affects the activities of all organs throughout the body as well as mental acuity and mood.

To really be beneficial, an antioxidant supplement needs to focuses on the role of the mitochondria and the mechanics of cellular decay. An effective antioxidant supplement must stimulate the synthesis of cardiolipin, a key component of the mitochondria, and in addition, activate the transport of high-energy food-derived products into the mitochondria. This captured energy is used to run the cellular machinery for such activities as muscle contraction and neurotransmission. Cardiolipin is required, along with specific transport enzymes, in any supplement, to maintain the potential and overall integrity of the mitochondrial membrane.

In addition, a good supplement facilitates the entry of fuel (starches and fatty acids) into the mitochondria. It stimulates production of natural antioxidants that protect the cell from age-associated increases in tissue-damaging oxidants.

The free radical theory!

The Free Radical Theory of Aging has received increasing recognition during the last 20 years. A basic rule of the theory is that the fundamental changes associated with the aging process are the cumulative result of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are normal by-products of aerobic life. The theory states the mitochondria are the major source of toxic oxidants, which are capable of reacting with and destroying cell constituents and which accumulate with age. The gradual loss of energy with age is paralleled by a decrease in number of mitochondria per cell, as well as the health and energy-producing efficiency of those remaining mitochondria.