WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ANTIOXIDANTS & THEIR POWER OF PREVENTION
This article originally appeared in the Spring 1996 issue of Optimum Nutrition Magazine.
DURING THE LAST
DECADE MORE AND MORE RESEARCH HAS CONFIRMED THAT MANY OF THE 20TH
CENTURY’S MOST COMMON DISEASES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH DEFICIENCY OF
ANTIOXIDANT NUTRIENTS, AND HELPED BY THEIR SUPPLEMENTATION. A NEW
MEDICAL MODEL IS EMERGING, THAT CONSIDERS THE PRESENCE O ANYONE OF
THESE I DISEASES A SIGN OF PROBABLE ANTIOXIDANT DEFICIENCY, IN THE SAME
WAY THAT SCURVY IS A SIGN OF VITAMIN C DEFICIENCY. IN THE FUTURE WE MAY
BE TESTED FOR BLOOD LEVELS OF ANTIOXIDANT NUTRIENTS, ALONGSIDE BLOOD
SUGAR, CHOLESTEROL AND BLOOD PRESSURE. CAPABLE OF PREDICTING YOUR
BIOLOGICAL AGE, AND EXPECTED LIFESPAN, YOUR ANTIOXIDANT NUTRIENT STATUS
MAY PROVE TO YOUR MOST VITAL STATISTIC. MEDICAL RESEARCHER, DR EMANUEL
CHERASKIN, BRINGS US UP TO DATE WITH THE ROLE OF ANTIOXIDANTS IN HEALTH
AND DISEASE.
The medical literature is replete with
information which suggests that a common denominator in the ageing
process and the diseases associated with ageing is ‘oxidative damage’.
This has put the spotlight on the use of antioxidants, nutrients that
help protect the body from this damage, in the prevention and treatment
of disease. So far, over a hundred antioxidant nutrients have been
discovered and hundreds, if not thousands of research papers have
extolled their benefits. The main players are vitamins A, C and E, plus
beta-carotene, the precursor of vitamin A found in fruits and
vegetables. Their presence in your diet, and levels in your blood may
prove the best marker yet of your power to prevent death and disease.
Here, we show you how to test your Antioxidant Profile, and what steps
you need to take to boost your power of prevention.
ANTIOXIDANT?
Oxygen
is our most important nutrient, needed by every cell every second of
every day. Without it we cannot release the energy in food which drives
all body processes. Oxygen is chemically reactive and highly dangerous.
In normal biochemical reactions oxygen can become unstable and capable
of ‘oxidising’ neighbouring molecules. This can lead to cellular
damage, triggering cancer, inflammation, arterial damage and ageing.
Known as ‘free oxidising radicals’ this equivalent of ‘nuclear waste’
must be disarmed to remove the danger. Free radicals are made in all
combustion processes including smoking, exhaust fumes, radiation, fried
or barbecued food and normal body processes. Chemicals capable of
disarming free radicals are called ‘antioxidants’. Some are known
essential nutrients, like vitamins A & beta-carotene, C and E.
Others are not essential as such, like bioflavonoids, anthocyanidins,
pycnogenol and over 100 other recently identified protectors found in
common foods.
The balance between your intake of antioxidants
and exposure to free radicals may literally be the balance between life
and death. You can tip the scales in your favour by simple changes to
diet and antioxidant supplementation.
Your Personal ANTIOXIDANT Profile
TEST YOUR POWER OF PREVENTION
Symptom Analysis- Do
you frequently suffer from infections (coughs, colds)?
- Do you find it hard to shift an infection?
- Do you have a recurrent infection (cystitis, thrush, earaches etc.)?
- Do you bruise easily?
- Have you ever suffered from any of the conditions listed overleaf?
- Have your parents collectively suffered from two or more of these conditions?
- Do you easily get exhausted on physical exertion?
- Does your skin take a long time to heal?
- Do you suffer from acne, dry skin or excessive wrinkles for your age?
- Are you overweight?
Add up your score out of 10. 1 for each ‘yes’.
Lifestyle Analysis
- Have you smoked for more than 5 years of your life, less than 5 years ago?
- Do
you smoke now?
Do you smoke more than 10
cigarettes a day?
- Do you spend time most days in a smoky atmosphere?
- Do you have an alcoholic drink each day?
- Do you live in a polluted city, or by a busy road?
- Do you spend more than two hours in traffic each day?
- Are you quite often exposed to strong sunlight?
- Do you consider yourself unfit?
- Do you exercise excessively and get easily ‘burnt out’?
Add up your score out of 10. 1 for each ‘yes’.
Diet Analysis- Do you eat fried food most days?
- Do you eat less than two servings of vegetables each day?
- Do you eat less than two pieces of fresh fruit a day?
- Do you rarely eat nuts, seeds or wholegrains each day?
- Do you eat smoked, barbecued food or grill cheese on your food?
- Do you supplement less than 500mg of vitamin C each day?
- Do you supplement less than 100iu of vitamin E each day?
- Do you supplement less than I 0,000iu of vitamin A or beta-carotene each day?
- Add up your score out of 10. 1 for each ‘yes’.
YOUR TOTAL SCORE 0-10
This is an IDEAL score, indicating that your health, diet and lifestyle
are consistent with a high level of antioxidant protection. Keep up the
good work!
11-15 This is a REASONABLE score, although you can increase your power of prevention by converting ‘yes’ answers into ‘no’.
16-20
This is a POOR score, indicating much room for improvement. See a
nutritionist to upgrade your diet and lifestyle for increased
antioxidant protection
20 +
This is a BAD score, putting you in the high-risk group for rapid
ageing. See a nutritionist and ask for an Antioxidant Profile blood
test. You’ll need to make changes to your diet and lifestyle, plus
supplement antioxidants to slow down the ageing process.
ANTIOXIDANT Profile The
best way to determine your antioxidant status is to have a biochemical
Antioxidant Profile. This blood test measures the levels of
beta-carotene, C and E in your blood and how well antioxidant enzyme
systems are functioning. In all, nine measures of antioxidant status
are measured, giving a comprehensive indication of your antioxidant
status. Look out for a new, less expensive and extensive ‘TRAP’ test
(total reactive antioxidant potential). This will indicative if there’s
an antioxidant problem but doesn’t define which nutrients are missing.
The
Antioxidant Profile is available on referral from doctors to Bio Lab,
The Stone House, 30 Weymouth Street, London WIN 3FF Tel:017I-636
5959. Ask your doctor to refer you.
ANTIOXIDANTS IN HEALTH & DISEASE: THE BIG PICTURE
ALZHEIMERS Elderly
people with Alzheimer's disease have lower blood vitamin A levels, half
the vitamin E levels and less than half the beta-carotene levels of
elderly people who donts.
CANCER People
with lung cancer have much lower blood vitamin A levels. Those with low
dietary intake of vitamin A have double the risk of lung cancer than
those with the highest vitamin A intake. Similarly, a high intake of
beta-carotene from raw fruits and vegetables reduce the risk of lung
cancer in nonsmoking men and women. Supplementing beta-carotene (30mg
per day) resulted in 71% of patients with oral pre-cancer (leukoplakia)
improving, while patients given 200,000iu of vitamin A a day resulted
in 57% of patients having complete remission.
CATARACTS People
with low blood vitamin C levels have 11 times the risk of developing
cataracts compared to those with high blood vitamin C levels.
Similarly, those with low vitamin E blood levels had almost double the
risk. People consuming 400ius of vitamin E a day have half the risk of
cataracts.
HEART DISEASE AND HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE The
higher one’s vitamin A levels (63 to 83mp) and vitamin levels (0.7 to
0.9.ig%) in the blood; the lower one’s risk. In the case of
vitamin C; the lower one’s blood pressure. Nurses who consume 15 to
20mg per day of beta-carotene had 40% lower risk of stroke and 22%
lower risk of a heart attack compared to those consuming 6mg per day.
Those with high dietary intakes of beta-carotene halve their risk of
death from cardiovascular disease. Supplementing 1600mg of vitamin E
more than halved symptoms of heart disease. Supplementing 1000mg of
vitamin C reduces blood pressure.
INFERTILITY Supplementing
20 infertile men with 1000mg of vitamin C produced conception in all
their couples within two months. Not so for those on placebo.
MACULAR DEGENERATION People
with macular (eye lens) degeneration have lower blood vitamin E and
vitamin C levels. Those with high beta-carotene levels have half the
risk.
MENTAL ILLNESS The manic/depressive state of 24 people was vastly improved within hours of supplementing 3 grammes of vitamin C daily.
IMMUNITY AND INFECTIONS Supplementing
800ius of vitamin E daily increases blood levels and immune response.
Supplementing 180mg of beta-carotene daily increases immune response
and T-cell count. Supplementing vitamin A (450mg per day) reduced the
incidence of respiratory tract infections on pre-school children.
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS Supplementing 1000ius of vitamin E reduced pain and stiffness in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
ANTIOXIDANTS & SUPPLEMENTSVITAMIN
A The Suggested Optimal Nutrient Allowance per day for vitamin A and
beta-carotene is 800 to 1000mcg RE (retinol equivalent) for children
and 800-2000mcg RE for adults. We recommend supplementing between
2000mcg (6600iu) and 3000mcg (10,000iu) per day of retinol and the same
again for beta-carotene.
VITAMIN C The Suggested Optimal
Nutrient Allowance per day is 150mg for children and 400 to 1000mg for
adults. We recommend supplementing between 1000 and 3,000mg per day.
VITAMIN
E The Suggested Optimal Nutrient Allowance per day is 70mg for children
and 90-800mg for adults. We recommend supplementing between 400 and 800
mg per day (roughly equivalent to 400 to 800ius).
Many other
diseases not listed here, including colds, diabetes, HIV infection,
measles, periodontal disease and chronic fatigue syndrome.
FOODThe
best all-round antioxidant foods have the highest * rating. Foods are
listed in order of their * rating. Make sure these foods form a large
part of your diet.
| Rich source of | A | C | E |
| Sweet potato | *** | * | *** |
| Carrots | *** | *** | |
| Watercress | *** | *** | |
| Peas | * | ** | ** |
| Broccoli | ** | *** | |
| Cauliflower | | * | *** |
| Lemons | * | *** | |
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