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| Radiation |
| Hydrogen peroxide |
| If the genetic material is damaged by free radicals and isn't totally repaired, the damaged DNA is replicated in new cells. Fortunately, our cells have orderly systems for battling free radicals and repairing dangerous molecular by-products. These free radical fighters are sometimes referred to as antioxidants. I personally feel the term antioxidant (which means ''against oxygen'') is a misnomer. Some authorities say that the so-called antioxidant nutrients may even have negative effects in the body because they inhibit the mutation and removal of cancer and/or potential cancer cells. However, this can happen only if we try to manipulate nature by refining nutrients and by making them artificially. For instance, carrots and dark green leafy vegetables in their natural state are loaded with hundreds of different carotenoids and other phytonutrients that are protective against cell damage. Problems occur only when we try to outsmart nature. I call the specialized supplements that I recommend to my patients "cell-protective agents," not antioxidants. |
| Oxygen is obviously a requirement for human life, but it can also cause tissue damage, cellular damage, and even death, depending on its mixture and its reaction to other elements. The air we breathe is only 20 percent oxygen, most of the balance being nitrogen. If you were forced to breathe 100 percent oxygen for a prolonged period of time, it would cause enough lung damage to eventually kill you. |
| Why is oxygen dangerous? Because it is converted to hydrogen peroxide by tissues in the body. To back up a bit, let's look at the oxygen cycle that supplies the air we breathe. Plants take their energy source from the sun. As a by-product of this process, oxygen is released and becomes the air we breathe. After our cells have utilized oxygen, it is then converted into hydrogen peroxide, a free radical capable of causing extensive damage at the cellular level if it is not converted to water, the next step in this process. The trace mineral selenium is crucial at this juncture. |
| Understanding this process clearly illustrates the damage that free radicals can do; even more important, it demonstrates that cell-protective agents can be any agents that aid in the conversion of hydrogen peroxide to water, that inactivate free radicals, or that repair any damage caused by free radicals. |
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