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*** This is the article found on page 15 of USANA Magazine ***
"Reprinted with the permission of USANA, Inc., Salt Lake City,
Utah"
What are free radicals and what do antioxidants do?
By John H. McDonald, Ph.D., Senior Scientist
This is a major question because it touches on the most important
medical discovery since Watson & Crick gave us the structure for
DNA. The discovery I'm talking about is what scientists have
found to be the single cause for aging as well as for some sixty
chronic degenerative diseases including stroke, arthritis,
cancer, cataracts, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, varicose
veins, rheumatism, stress, phlebitis, hemorrhoids, and senility.
These degenerative diseases are caused by much the same process
that causes oil to go rancid and apples to turn brown after being
cut and exposed to air. The bad actor in these diseases is our
friend "oxygen," however, it's oxygen in the form of a free
radical -- when one of the electrons in the molecule is lost.
This turns oxygen into a crazed chemical that cannot rest until
it gets an electron back. The only way it can replace the
missing electron is to take it from another molecule. Now if
that other molecule happens to be part of one of your healthy
cells, then the cell will be damaged -- leading to its death or
worse -- inducing it to grow uncontrollably and form a tumor.
Control free radicals and reduce disease
Now that we understand the cause of these degenerative diseases,
it is a simple matter to control them by controlling the free
radicals.
In the past it has been hard to see what stroke, heart disease,
colon cancer and breast cancer had in common, but now we know
that all these diseases have the same underlying cause -- free
radicals. They are made in the body by normal metabolism, but
other sources of free radicals that can make us sick are air
pollution, pesticides, smoke, alcohol and even the chlorinated
water we drink. Since the body naturally makes free radicals it
also has natural protection from their harmful effects --
"antioxidants." The body naturally makes a series of antioxidant
enzymes with fun names like: superoxide dismutase (S.O.D.),
glutathione peroxidase and catalase. These antioxidants
contribute an electron to the voracious free radical. However,
these natural enzymes are not enough to overcome today's
continuous onslaught of natural and environmental free radicals.
Nutritional antioxidants to the rescue!
So what is a body to do? Yes, the good news is that we do not
need to be at the mercy of the free radicals. We can get
antioxidants in our diets of fruit and vegetables -- at least 5
servings of each per day. RIGHT! How many of us actually get
five servings of each every day? Not many, and even if you did,
there is no way you would get enough of the antioxidants needed.
Supplementation is the answer but researchers at the National
Cancer Institute found that "regular" multiple vitamin
supplements do not contain enough antioxidant vitamins to confer
a beneficial effect. You need to supplement your nutrition with
the best antioxidants available that give the broadest spectrum
of free radical protection.
USANA is on the forefront of antioxidant research
In September, 1994, Dr. Myron Wentz and Dr. Preobrazhensky
presented a scientific paper at an international symposium on the
"Therapeutic Potential of Biological Antioxidants." The paper
was entitled "An Immunochemical Approach for Evaluation of
Lipoprotein Oxidation and Therapeutic Potential of Antioxidants"
and shared with other scientists how we at USANA measure the
antioxidant potential of our raw materials before we put them
into our products. Dr. Wentz is continuing to lead USANA to the
forefront in nutritional research and to publish the results for
the scientific community.
The evidence for the beneficial effects of antioxidants is
mounting each day
Studies supported by the American Heart Association, involving
90,000 women, indicating that those who took vitamin E for more
than two years cut their risk of heart disease almost in half
compared to those who took no vitamin E.
Another study involved 45,720 middle-aged and elderly men. Those
who had taken vitamin E for more than two years had a 26%
reduction in the risk of heart attack.
The Harvard study shows that taking vitamin E for more than two
years can cut the risk of heart attack almost in half. The
Journal of the National Cancer Institute reported similar results
for a study of 29,584 people in China, aged 40-69.
The people in the Chinese study were poor and their diets were as
poor as they were. These people had esophageal and stomach
cancer rates that are the highest in the world (over 100 times
higher than in the United States). The study found that those
who took a daily dose of vitamin E, beta carotene and selenium
had 9% fewer deaths.
There is another study in China in which 3,318 people
participated. This group already showed signs of cancer. They
were given a daily dose of 14 vitamins and 12 minerals for a
period of six years. The results were astounding. There was an
8% reduction in cancer deaths and a whopping 38% reduction in
stroke and heart attack.
Start a new health habit for life!
If people truly understood the damage free radicals caused, and
would take appropriate action, health costs in the United States
could fall by 33%. (Take note Hillary & Bill.) For example, the
cost of cataract surgery in this country alone is hundreds of
millions of dollars per year. This surgery is the result of
years of free radical damage to the lens of the eye. Free
radicals cause the normal molecules in the lens to cross link and
retard the passage of light through the lens.
Can the progress of cataract formation be prevented or slowed
down? The clear answer (pun intended) is yes. Adding the USANA
Essentials to your diet gives you the optimum amounts of
antioxidant vitamins C, E and A (beta carotene), antioxidant
minerals selenium and magnesium, and kruciferous plant extracts
to improve your prospects of avoiding chronic degenerative
diseases.
In the cell cultures that Dr. Wentz has grown over the last 20
years, he found that human cells could survive indefinitely if
carefully given the right nutrients and an environment protected
from toxins. The USANA Essentials were designed with this
purpose in mind.
So, start a new health habit for the rest of your life: Give your
body the nutrients it needs daily and protect it from toxins and
free radicals.
USANA is the answer!
