Did You Know? Your Cells Can Produce Super Anti-Oxidant Enzymes
According to Dr Joe McCord, who has been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine four times, our cells have the ability to produce super anti-oxidant enzymes that can each eliminate up to "one million free radicals per second, every second, 24 hours a day", without being depleted! This makes all other plant based anti-oxidant products pale in comparison - because one molecule of a plant derived anti-oxidant only eliminates one free radical molecule and they are both eliminated in the process.
Everything that eats has to go to the bathroom, including our body cells, and every cell that lives on oxygen has the byproduct of free radicals. Our cells have a gene that can be "switched on" again so they can produce the same levels of super anti-oxidant enzymes as a healthy 20 year old, which is the same levels as found at birth!
The single most important factor in this understanding and slowing down of aging, is in the area of free radicals. Free radicals are reactive molecules found in the body. They are produced by cells every time food is metabolized, by the immune system to fight infection, and by various types of toxins that one can be exposed to in day to day life. Free radicals are unstable and their goal is to become stable by acquiring an electron. This results in a deleterious chain reaction. As one free radical becomes stable, another free radical is formed. This can be a real problem and eventually lead to accelerated aging and disease when the electrons grabbed, to stabilize free radicals come from cell membranes, mitochondria, DNA, and so on...
Substances called antioxidants, neutralize free radicals by donating their own electrons. Antioxidants normally come from our diet, but if our diet does not provide the body with specific vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients we will have difficulty quenching free radicals and we will experience oxidative stress. In other words, free radicals start outnumbering the antioxidants and start doing damage to the body.
Just as oxidation causes an apple to turn brown when exposed to air and metal to rust, oxidation causes the body to age. And poor dietary choices aren't the only contributing factors of oxidative stress. The following is a list of factors that impact levels of free radicals and the ability to deactivate their destructiveness:
* pollution,
* drugs,
* radiation,
* stress,
* trauma,
* injury,
* burns,
* and infection by viruses and bacteria.
There are many antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, and E, minerals like selenium and zinc, but the most powerful antioxidant of all is glutathione. An endogenous or intracellular antioxidant, it is found in every cell of the body. Other antioxidants are exogenous, meaning they come from outside sources, ie the food we eat. Glutathione, however, is manufactured within the cell using specific building blocks or precursors from food. The reason the glutathion is the key cellular antioxidant is that when other antioxidants become imbalanced after the loss of one of their electrons, glutathione neutralizes the danger and recharges the antioxidants by donating an electron. These spent antioxidants can once again go about their job protecting the body.
Results of a new peer-reviewed study published online in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine clearly demonstrates that the synergistic impact of the active ingredients used in the formulation of Protandim(R) dramatically increases the body's production of glutathione, a key antioxidant and anti-aging factor, as well as increases important antioxidant enzymes
Dr. Joe McCord, a co-author of the study, commented, "The results of this study may change how we view aging and the factors that impact healthy aging. Notably, glutathione, which is of particular interest to many disease researchers, was increased more than 300 percent with Protandim. Glutathione plays a key role in the immune system and when glutathione levels drop, a person's ability to fight disease also decreases. In addition to the findings on glutathione, the study also shows that Protandim delivers an antioxidant benefit to the body that exceeds those provided by vitamins E and C."
McCord added, "Contrary to popular belief, our bodies don't actually rely upon the intake of vitamins, such as C and E, to maintain proper antioxidant balance; rather we utilize a complex network of antioxidant enzymes to maintain health and protect against oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is damaging to our bodies in that it is a major contributor to aging, weakened immune function, and over 200 diseases. In fact, the use of direct antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, as an effective way to reduce oxidative stress has been largely discredited in the past few years. Under some circumstances, vitamins such as C and E can actually promote oxidative stress rather than relieve it. Protandim(R) reduces oxidative stress by enhancing the body's entire network of antioxidant enzymes."
The study was conducted by scientists at the University of Colorado Denver and Ochsner Medical Center and illustrates that all five of Protandim's active ingredients contribute synergistically to the composition's activity, allowing it to work at low, pharmacologically attainable doses of each. Even low doses of Protandim were shown to induce human cells to increase their production of many antioxidant enzymes, and other anti-aging factors.