Antioxidants are Important for the Brain
From your first breath to your last and for each microsecond in between , there are battles being fought in every organ in you . There are easily millions of these conflicts going on at the same time and they have oxyradicals on one hand and antioxidants on the other . These batttles have an effect on how long you live , your vulnerability to many different medical conditions and also the quality of your life and health as a senior .
The brain is highly vulnerable to oxidative stress because although it only represents two percent of the mass of your body , about 20% of the oxygen you take in is used in your brain. Free or Oxy-radicals unstable oxygen molecules are created by by a variety of processes , but a major source is a natural and inevitable by-product of oxygen metabolization . Since twenty percent of your oxygen intake is used by your brain, it stands to reason that your brain will be subjected to many free radicals.
Within your brain is a major presence of Lipids. Lipids include fats, waxes, sterols and a seletion of fat soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K. Lipids act as signaling molecules and are uses for energy storage and are also structural components of your cell membranes. Lipid peroxidation is free radical damage to Lipids and a reason for the importance of Antioxidant supplements .
The best defense from Lipid peroxidation in the brain is from antioxidants and in particular a small subset called the antioxidant network or network antioxidants , made up of Vitamins E, C CoEnzymeQ10, Lipolic acid and Glutathione . Network Antioxidants work together to clean up free radicals from you brain and they are uniquely capable of repairing each other . Among Network Antioxidants, the most powerful is Glutathione laso known as The Master Antioxidant. It is naturally manufactured in your body and are present in each and every cell.
Sadly , your brain maintains lower levels of Glutathione than do other organs and as you grow older , the total supply is lowered even more since our ability to produce Glutathione declines by around ten percent with every decade after our 20′s . But the brain absolutely requires Glutathione to be healthy. For example, consider the role that Antioxidants play in connection with Alzheimer’s Disease also known as senile dementia.
There is a strong link between Alzheimer’s and aluminum . In a study conducted in 2009 on laboratory rats , two same sized groups were purposely fed aluminum toxins, but one of those groups was also supplied with free radical scavengers. Group one experienced a dramatic increase in lipid peroxidation and developed oxidative stress that’s the result of unchecked free radical damage. Reduced glutathione and other network antioxidants were also measured . For the rats that were provided with the toxins along with the free radical scavengers, none of these changes were measured .
With the brain’s vulnerability to the formation of lipid peroxides a plentiful store of antioxidants ( especially Network Antioxidants and most vitally , Glutathione) is key to having a healthy and functioning brain. While oral glutathione supplements are not considered to be effective, you can take a glutathione precursor like MAXONE .
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