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From our curiosity about berries and love for having them in our diets,
we take it for granted that eating these colorful fruits will afford us
antioxidant protection.
Protection against what ?
And if it's antioxidant protection, oxygen must be involved.
Does a berry -- and do we -- need protection against oxygen, the gas produced
by plants in photosynthesis and required for life by every animal?
Are oxidation reactions normal ?
What purpose do they serve ?
Part I: Protecting Human Health
The Good: Radicals Are Synthesized to Guard Health
Radical oxygen species (ROS) or "free radicals" are a product of normal metabolism. They are produced moment-by-moment throughout life, are short-lived and play a role in nearly all biological processes, some of which are essential for life.
A primary role for ROS is for killing bacteria or viruses circulating in the body. Ever felt that a "cold was coming on", but somehow you warded it off and it never occurred? ROS were at work destroying the virus.
One theory of fever is that ROS -- which generate heat when they are formed -- are produced in excessive numbers to defeat an infection, causing a system-wide increase in body temperature -- fever!
ROS also participate in normal cell-to-cell communications. The most important of these is nitric oxide, abbreviated "NO", strangely a gas that has a rapid life of milliseconds to conduct its communication roles, then is neutralized. Discovery of NO was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine!
Other important oxygen-centered ROS are superoxide and hydroxyl radical.
Isn't that neat? Courtesy of Superberries-England
The Bad: Excessive ROS Can Injure Cells
Free radicals can participate in unwanted side reactions resulting in cell damage. Poor diet, environmental pollutants, irradiation and disease are conditions where ROS exceed the body's ability to control the oxidation reactions.
Many forms of cancer are thought to be the result of reactions between unchecked ROS and DNA, resulting in mutations.
Some of the symptoms of aging such as atherosclerosis are also attributed to ROS. The free radical theory of aging proposes that ROS cause the aging process itself.
ROS in cigarette smoke are known to damage the lungs, promoting emphysema.
ROS may also be involved in Parkinson's disease, senility, deafness, age-related vision loss, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease.
The Solution: In Good Health, ROS Are Balanced
Because free radicals are necessary for life, the body has mechanisms to minimize ROS damage, such as by using enzymes that destroy ROS. Superoxide dismutase is one such enzyme.
Dietary antioxidants also play a key role in these defense mechanisms. These are often the three vitamins, A, C and E, and polyphenol antioxidants from berries and other color-rich plant foods.
How to Load Up on Dietary Antioxidants ?
Practice the Color Code in your selection of berries and other produce for your diet!
Reading
* Heber D. What Color Is Your Diet?, 2001, ReganBooks, New York.
* Joseph JA, Nadeau DA, Underwood A. The Color Code, 2002, Hyperion, New York.
(good used copies can be ordered inexpensively from Amazon.com)
* Linus Pauling Institute Prescription for Health
* Philipp W. Simon,
Plant Pigments for Color and Nutrition, published in HortScience 32(1):12-13. 1997.
* Free radicals and antioxidants in normal physiological functions and human disease.
Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2007;39(1):44-84. Valko M, Leibfritz D, Moncol J, Cronin MT, Mazur M, Telser J. Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak Technical University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
