Antioxidants have become popular, especially in recent years. Both physicians, health professionals and all people have good or bad knowledge or awareness about antioxidants. It is undeniable that the recent pandemic played an important role in this. Because the question of how to increase my immunity is asked by everyone. On the other hand, everyone who talks about this mostly gives hearsay advice, such as do this, use this, drink this, without knowing whether it is right or wrong. So, what is the truth, in general? Let's examine it in outline:
We need energy to live. The body can find this energy by breaking down the food it eats or stores through chemical reactions. The name of these chemical reactions is "oxidation". You can also think of oxidation as burning because they both occur with oxygen. As a result, the body becomes a place of fire. When we think that it is necessary to keep the body temperature at 36.5-37 degrees, we can think that energy is always needed and fire will always exist. In other words, our body is under a constant oxidative stress. Moreover, when the need for energy increases, the amount of chemical reaction also increases in parallel. To give examples of these:
-Bacterial, viral, all kinds of microbial infections
-Germ-free inflammation situations (such as swelling in the joints)
-Drug use
-Environmental pollution, Radiation, Air Pollution, Poor Quality Water
-Heavy metals
-Cigarettes
-Chemical fertilizer
-Fried Foods
-Stress, Anxiety, Depression
Energy is provided from substances destroyed by oxidation, but free radicals are also formed. Oxygen is separated into two separate atoms in the body that do not have paired electrons. Electrons want to be in pairs, so these atoms, also called free radicals, rummage through the body to find atoms with which they can pair their electrons. This damages cells, proteins and DNA.
FREE RADICAL DANGER!
Once free radicals are formed, a chain reaction can begin. The first free radical captures an electron from a molecule, thus disrupting the structure of the molecule and turning it into a free radical. This molecule captures electrons from another molecule, disrupting its structure and turning that molecule into a free radical. transforms. This domino effect can eventually damage the cell by disrupting the structure of the entire cell.
The chain reaction caused by free radicals can lead to the breakdown of cell membranes, which can affect the mechanism that controls what substance can enter and exit the cell. The chain reaction can cause the structure of fats to change, and these fats can accumulate in the veins and cause vascular occlusion. Damaged molecules can cause mutation and tumor growth. Gradual damage can change DNA codes. Thus, THE DOORS OF CHRONIC DISEASES AND CANCER OPEN. Vascular occlusion, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and many other diseases are linked to free radicals. It is also linked to aging, defined as the gradual accumulation of free radical damage.
So why do our bodies produce free radicals if they are so harmful?
Free radicals are necessary for life. The body's ability to convert air and food into chemical energy depends on chain reactions of free radicals. Free radicals are also an important part of the immune system, they travel through the vessels and attack foreign invaders.
Let there be free radicals, but let them not harm us!
This is where Antioxidants come into play. What needs to be done is to give the free radicals the missing electron. In this way, we prevent ourselves from getting chronic diseases and even cancer.
I mentioned the decrease in the content of food items in my previous article. We can better understand the increase in chronic diseases in recent years and the reason why cancer appears more frequently. Because we cannot get enough antioxidants and we need to get them from outside as supplements. Although information is given about such and such a food being an antioxidant, etc., unfortunately, this is not valid today.
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