Tina: December 2008 Archives
ENERGY and NATURE
The concept that a material universe rules the world is found to be incomplete. We do not live in a universe based on matter, but actually a universe based on energy, because atoms are not made out of tiny particles but they're made out of force fields of energy. Therefore, nothing happens in life without an exchange of energy. Communication or acquisition of information of any kind occurs only with an energy transfer. There are no exceptions. This is a rule of Nature. Radio, TV, telephones or every cell in our bodies all communicate energetically.
The concept that a material universe rules the world is found to be incomplete. We do not live in a universe based on matter, but actually a universe based on energy, because atoms are not made out of tiny particles but they're made out of force fields of energy. Therefore, nothing happens in life without an exchange of energy. Communication or acquisition of information of any kind occurs only with an energy transfer. There are no exceptions. This is a rule of Nature. Radio, TV, telephones or every cell in our bodies all communicate energetically.
Without energy metabolism, life itself could not exist. When we work with our energy, we work with our optimal existence. When someone dies they run out of energy. Unfortunately, the metabolic process to make energy constantly creates free radicals. And one of the most effective ways to counteract the aging process is by supporting the body's antioxidant defense system that fights against free radical damage.
DEFENSE
Each cell in our bodies is armed with a defense system of antioxidants. The outer layer contains carotenoids that have extra electrons to neutralize free radicals, along with vitamin C and vitamin E that have a limited amount of electrons (less than 50) to scavenge free radicals. Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) has hundreds of electrons, catalase has about 10,000, SOD has about 100,000 and glutathione has millions of electrons to knock out free radicals. So one can easily see how glutathione is Nature's most powerful antioxidant, and is produced in your body and not from a berry, or a fruit. It is found in every plant, animal and micro-organism. As the master antioxidant, glutathione is in every cell of our body and is considered one of the most vital components to our health within the antioxidant system.
Each cell in our bodies is armed with a defense system of antioxidants. The outer layer contains carotenoids that have extra electrons to neutralize free radicals, along with vitamin C and vitamin E that have a limited amount of electrons (less than 50) to scavenge free radicals. Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) has hundreds of electrons, catalase has about 10,000, SOD has about 100,000 and glutathione has millions of electrons to knock out free radicals. So one can easily see how glutathione is Nature's most powerful antioxidant, and is produced in your body and not from a berry, or a fruit. It is found in every plant, animal and micro-organism. As the master antioxidant, glutathione is in every cell of our body and is considered one of the most vital components to our health within the antioxidant system.
Along with SOD and catalase, glutathione helps improve mental function, improve concentration, increase energy, extend endurance while exercising, and improve heart and lung function as well as reducing the chances of developing cancer. Glutathione alone can neutralize virtually any type of free radical and is the body's main method of controlling oxidative stress. Over seventy-thousand medical articles have been written on it. The more glutathione a cell has, the better it can perform its functions.
ENERGY PRODUCTION
Glutathione is the single most important ingredient used in the energy production process that takes place in every cell in the body. It helps maximize the amount of ATP (the energy for all life) produced in the mitochondria. Without glutathione, oxygen based life would be impossible and the way we most efficiently make energy would cause our destruction. Why? Because every cell in our body would die prematurely from its own waste product.
Glutathione is the single most important ingredient used in the energy production process that takes place in every cell in the body. It helps maximize the amount of ATP (the energy for all life) produced in the mitochondria. Without glutathione, oxygen based life would be impossible and the way we most efficiently make energy would cause our destruction. Why? Because every cell in our body would die prematurely from its own waste product.
ENERGY COMMUNICATION
From a hormonal perspective energy production starts with the two most important hormones that deliver messages about energy and therefore impacts metabolism and aging. They are insulin and leptin.
From a hormonal perspective energy production starts with the two most important hormones that deliver messages about energy and therefore impacts metabolism and aging. They are insulin and leptin.
Lower levels of insulin and leptin equal longevity. High blood sugar levels and excess protein send insulin and leptin levels soaring; causing insulin resistance for diabetes and leptin resistance for obesity. Both accelerate the aging process and set the stage for chronic degenerative disease.
The significant marker consistent with all longevity studies and increased life span is low insulin levels. Insulin lowers blood glucose levels for the purposes of storage (turn sugar into fat) and production of energy not energy regulation. True regulation is an upward direction of blood sugar and is a function of hormones like glucagon, epinephrine, cortisol and hGH.
Getting fat is the price we pay as the body is preventing us from becoming diabetic. After insulin resistance occurs in the liver, in the muscles and ultimately in the fat; the sugar has no place to go but build in the blood and the result is diabetes.
THE SOLUTION
The best diet is one that emphasizes good fats, avoids blood sugar spikes (with fibrous carbs and limited lean protein), coupled with targeted supplements that enhance insulin and leptin sensitivity in an orchestrated fashion.
The best diet is one that emphasizes good fats, avoids blood sugar spikes (with fibrous carbs and limited lean protein), coupled with targeted supplements that enhance insulin and leptin sensitivity in an orchestrated fashion.
As mentioned earlier, the two most important hormones that deliver messages about energy and therefore impact metabolism and aging are insulin and leptin. Without the energy regulation they orchestrate, life itself could not exist. However, the energy process constantly creates free radicals from the byproduct of metabolism, liver detoxification, digestion and assimilation of the fats we eat.
In humans, the highest concentration of glutathione is found in the liver. The body's washing machine. Glutathione serves as the detergent as well as being a key component for delivering toxins to the liver for detoxification. Then the next highest concentration is found in the spleen supporting immune function and the largest quantity is found in the largest organ of the body, the skin.
SYNERGISTIC ANTIOXIDANT ENZYMES
Also found prevalent in the skin is SOD; found in both the dermis and the epidermis, and is key to the production of healthy fibroblasts (skin-building cells).
Also found prevalent in the skin is SOD; found in both the dermis and the epidermis, and is key to the production of healthy fibroblasts (skin-building cells).
Studies have shown that SOD acts as both an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory in the body, neutralizing the free radicals that can lead to wrinkles and precancerous cell changes. Researchers are currently studying the potential of superoxide dismutase (SOD) as an anti-aging treatment, since it is now known that SOD levels drop while free radical levels increase as we age.
Catalase is another antioxidant enzyme that, like SOD and glutathione peroxidase, is produced naturally within the body. It helps the body to convert hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen as well as using hydrogen peroxide to break down potentially harmful toxins in the body like alcohol, phenol, and formaldehyde.
Catalase works closely with SOD to prevent free radical damage to the body. SOD converts the dangerous superoxide radical to hydrogen peroxide, which catalase converts to harmless water and oxygen. Catalases are some of the most efficient enzymes found in the cells. Each catalase molecule can convert millions of hydrogen peroxide molecules every second. (Hydrogen peroxide is a naturally occurring but destructive waste product of all oxygen-dependent organisms. It is produced in the human body when fatty acids are converted to energy, and when white blood cells attack and kill bacteria.)
IN SUMMARY
In summary the need to protect our cells from oxidative stress requires antioxidant enzymes that naturally occur in the body like SOD, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase to minimize this oxidative stress and thus protecting cell membranes, essential proteins, and DNA from damage. Over the past 60 years, numerous studies have demonstrated superoxide and other free radicals contribute to accelerated aging. Intracellular oxidative stress is believed to be the root cause of most of the diseases of aging. Glutathione and its companion enzymes reduce free radical damage at the intracellular level.
In summary the need to protect our cells from oxidative stress requires antioxidant enzymes that naturally occur in the body like SOD, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase to minimize this oxidative stress and thus protecting cell membranes, essential proteins, and DNA from damage. Over the past 60 years, numerous studies have demonstrated superoxide and other free radicals contribute to accelerated aging. Intracellular oxidative stress is believed to be the root cause of most of the diseases of aging. Glutathione and its companion enzymes reduce free radical damage at the intracellular level.
If we are not treating aging then we are treating symptoms. So when you look at chronic degenerative disease you are looking at symptoms of aging. Looking at how we make energy and handle our metabolic debris is a lesson in Nature. Many of the secrets to health and rejuvenation are found in the body. All we need to do is observe and learn from them and support the body in its miraculous ability to rejuvenate and repair itself. Instead of looking for ways to improve and change Nature, not realizing that's who we are, we are God's eloquent design that we so arrogantly believe we can alter.
