How To Slow Aging & Prevent Disease

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Posted on: 29th Apr 2014

Did you realize that aging, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease,
Parkinson's disease, Type II diabetes, cataracts and arthritis are all
caused or worsened by the same health-wrecking "monster?"

This creature is inside ALL of us and it isn't always a bad guy...but
when it's allowed to get out of control for a long enough period of time
it will begin to unleash its wrath.

Then your health can begin to crumble and/or you start looking old.

This mysterious monster I'm referring to is free radicals.

Now, most people have heard of free radicals and have an idea that they're
"not good," but aren't really sure exactly what they are.

So I'll give you a quick crash course on free radicals, then most importantly,
tell you how to help keep yours under control so YOU can stay healthy and NOT
age before your time!

What exactly is a free radical?

A brief but simple biology lesson is needed for this:

Your body is made up of cells. Each cell is made up of smaller units called
molecules, and each molecule

Atoms have a nucleus (the center), protons (positively charged particles in
the nucleus) and electrons (negatively charged particles surrounding the atoms).
The number of protons in an atom determines the number of electrons the atom needs.

Electrons "orbit" around the atom in one or more shells--like the rings around
Saturn.

Atoms are always striving to fill their rings with the proper number of electrons.
Sometimes atoms will "share" an electron to get the right number - these are called
bonded atoms.

Free radicals are created when a bonded atom splits away from its partner atom and
ends up short one electron. The free radical is VERY unstable and "attacks" other
atoms to "steal" the needed electron.

When an "attacked" atom has one of its electrons stolen, its cell can be harmed or
destroyed.

This process is called oxidation and it's similar to what happens when your car
gets rusty or an apple turns brown.

Or, the atom "robbed" of its electron can itself become a free radical and in turn
attack another atom. A chain reaction can result with atoms frantically attacking
each other to get their missing electron...with LOTS of inflammation being created
as a result.

Now you know exactly what free radicals are...but there's more.

Free radicals--the good and the bad

When people hear about the electron-stealing chaos I descrembed above, they
automatically think that ALL free radicals are bad.

That's not 100% accurate.

Free radicals are actually a natural part of your metabolism. Your cells need to
burn oxygen to keep you alive and during this process, they create free radicals.

Believe it or not, free radicals do help you by destroying viruses and bacteria,
controlling blood flow through your arteries, keeping your brain sharp and even
killing cancer cells!

The real danger is when free radicals get out of control--that's when they become a
health-destroying monster, lighting fires of inflammation, encouraging disease and
killing your cells (so you begin looking OLD).

What makes this worse is that we can also get bombarded with free radicals from the
environment--from eating foods with trans-fats, from chemicals and pollutants, and
ESPECIALLY from cigarette smoke.

Take a good look at someone you know that's smoked for a long time. I'd be willing
to bet dollars to donuts they look older than their years. That's free radicals in
action, destroying their cells.

Who 'ya gonna call? Free radical busters!

Thankfully, there are some very effective ways to "calm down" free radicals and get
them under control so they can't take their health toll on YOU.

Here are four free radical "busters" that can help stop 'em dead in their tracks:

1) Stop Smoking

Every time you puff on a cigarette, you put out the welcome mat for countless free
radicals to flood your body and make you look old (among other things).

There is a huge variety of stop smoking programs and aids out there. Pick one and put
that deadly habit behind you for good.

No more excuses.

2) Avoid Trans-fats At All Cost

Trans-fats are basically poison to your body. They spur the formation of free radicals
and basically make your arteries resemble French fries.

What makes them extremely dangerous is that they're not from Nature, so you don't have
the enzymes to break them down. That means they're VERY tough for your body to eliminate
and have free reign inside of you.

Plus once you ingest them, they reproduce by the billions, causing what chemists have
called a "free radical cascade."

Trans-fats are found in processed foods, fast food and baked goods of ALL kinds.

The good news is they're easy to spot--any time you see a food label that says hydrogenated
or partially hydrogenated oil or shortening, avoid it like the plague. It's loaded with
trans-fats.

3) Get Antioxidants From Your Food or Supplements

Simply put, antioxidants are vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that occur naturally
in foods.

Antioxidants help to control free radicals by surrounding and engulfing them. At this
point the antioxidant itself becomes a free radical; however, it is a weak one that is far
less likely to do harm to your body.

Plus the engulfed free radical can be turned back into an antioxidant with the help of
another antioxidant--so it gets "recycled" back into a good guy.

The best-known antioxidants are Vitamins C and E, lipoic acid and Coenzyme Q10.

Here the quick lowdown on each:

1. Vitamin C

Food sources: Citrus fruit, tomatoes, red peppers, broccoli, cranberries, cabbage, potatoes,
guava, strawberries, kiwi.

Vitamin C can't be produced by the human body and therefore must be obtained through food or
supplementation. It's a key antioxidant--take a look at its impressive resume:

    Cancer prevention by protecting DNA from free radical damage
    Strengthens immune function, thereby helping to reduce the length and severity of colds
    Protects sperm from free radical damage
    Fights the development of wrinkles by enhancing the production of collagen in the skin cells
    Works with Vitamin E to prevent atherosclerosis and heart disease
    Cataract prevention

2. Vitamin E

Food sources: Wheat germ oil, sunflower seeds, vegetable oils, turnip greens, nuts, nut butters,
rice bran oil, barley and avocado.

Like Vitamin C, Vitamin E is also a key antioxidant and cannot be produced by the human body. It too must be obtained through food or supplements.

Here are some of the ways it enhances your health:

    Keeps your skin youthful by protecting against damage from UV radiation and ozone
    Relieves symptoms of arthritis and inflammatory conditions
    Reduces the risk of prostate cancer and can stop the growth of breast cancer cells
    Decreases the risk of heart disease
    Enhances immune function
    Cataract prevention

3. Lipoic acid (also known as alpha lipoic acid)

Food sources: Potatoes, spinach and red meat, but it's mainly synthesized by your body.

Lipoic acid is very versatile and able to track down free radicals wherever they lurk. It's
is also the only antioxidant that can recycle other antioxidants. It helps your cells produce
ATP, which is your body's main form of energy.

Lipoic acid also helps in these ways:

    Protects against stroke, heart disease and cataracts
    Strengthens memory and prevents aging of the brain
    Prevents and relieves complications of diabetes
    Shuts down genes that can accelerate aging and cause cancer
    Treats liver diseases such as hepatitis C

4. Coenzyme Q10 (also known as CoQ10)

Food sources: Oily fish (such as salmon and tuna), organ meats (such as liver), and whole grains.
CoQ10 is also synthesized by your body.

CoQ10 is a key antioxidant involved in the Krebs cycle, which is how your body produces energy.
It also recycles Vitamin E and offers protection against UV radiation-the leading cause of skin
aging and skin cancer.

CoQ10 supplementation is wise for people taking statin drugs, since statins inhibit the synthesis
of CoQ10 in your body.

Here are some other ways CoQ10 helps you:

    Helps prevent and treat heart disease
    Rejuvenates brain cells and may aid in the prevention of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases
    Treats gum disease

GET THEM AND USE THEM

Now, it's one thing to take in antioxidants, but you also have to make sure that your body is
actually absorbing and using those nutrients...and that, my friend, depends on your digestion.

You can eat all the antioxidant-loaded foods on the planet or swallow a boatload of supplements, but if your digestion isn't efficient, you're doing nothing but wasting money and fooling yourself.

Oh, and giving free radicals the green light to destroy your cells too.

But alas, the Great Taste No Pain health system can help make sure YOUR digestion is what it needs to be.

Great Taste No Pain teaches you how to put together meals (many of which feature the
antioxidant-rich foods I mentioned above) that are far easier for your system to break down.

Better digestion = better nutrient absorption = fewer dangerous free radicals inside of YOU.

And by the way, better digestion can also mean more regular bowel movements, and less gas, bloating, constipation and acid reflux.

Now rest assured that eating and absorbing your antioxidants is not only a good idea, but it
also tastes terrific! The Great Taste No Pain recipe book is loaded with delicious ways to
enjoy natural food sources of antioxidants (and many other key nutrients).

4) Take advantage of the power of phytochemicals

One of the most exciting developments of current nutrition research and natural medicine is in the area of phytochemicals.

Phytochemicals are neither a vitamin nor a mineral, but they're compounds of plants that have been shown to produce a wide variety of positive health effects on your body.

Here are some phytochemicals that have impressive antioxidant power:

Carotenes: Found in dark-colored vegetables such as carrots, squash, spinach, kale, tomatoes and sweet potatoes plus fruits such as cantaloupe, apricots and citrus fruits.

Coumarins: They're in carrots, celery, fennel, beets and citrus fruits.

Flavonoids: Sources are dark fruits like berries and cherries. Also in tomatoes, peppers and
greens.

Lignans: These are found in flaxseed and flaxseed oil, whole grains, nuts and seeds.

Polyphenols: This is everyone's favorite--sources of polyphenols include green tea, dark chocolate and red wine!

And of course, Great Taste No Pain can help you here too, by giving you delicious ideas for
enjoying the sources of many phytochemicals.

Free radicals are all around us and their health-destroying capabilities have caused a multitude of suffering for millions.

But that doesn't have to include YOU.

Because now that you know about the free radical "busters" you can help keep that monster at bay, lessen your chances of a serious disease and help look younger in the process!

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