Your Body Can Produce Antioxidants!
As inflammatory conditions increase, and more and more people are searching high and low for the best treatments to combat aging, prevent cancer and multiple diseases that are all influenced by oxidation of cells, the nutraceutical companies are capitalising more and more as they design and create more nutrient supplements to meet the demand of this globally growing market.
However what many people don’t know is, there is an amazing factory called ‘the human body’ that is able to employ its own billions of cells and genetic coding to produce its very own anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds needed to prevent/manage disease when supplied with the right raw materials.
Prolonged oxidative stress can be caused by exposure to our environmental chemicals, alcohol, drugs, smoking, heavy metals, pollution, consuming a processed diet, consuming trans fats (usually found in deep fried foods), and even emotional stress itself can all contribute to the oxidative stress burden on the body, creating inflammation, which when becomes chronic, causes inevitable disease.
Some of the common health issues we see today that are caused by oxidative stress and can be prevented include:
Liver disease (inflammation, fatty liver, reduced hormone clearance)
Gastrointestinal inflammation (IBS, IBD)
Heart disease
Arthritis
Autoimmune disease
Hypothyroidism
Diabetic neuropathy
Depression / Anxiety (Brain inflammation)
Brain fog
Alzheimer’s
And so many more (see article Inflammation is the root cause of most disease)
So how can our own body fight against oxidative stress and inflammation?
Recent research has identified certain processes to be very effective at stimulating our body’s natural mechanisms for creating antioxidants through an amazing process called NRF2 activation. NRF2 (nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2) is a transcription factor that activates over 500 genes in the body called sirtuins.
NRF2 activation can be achieved through exercise, calorie restriction (including fasting) and ingestion of natural food compounds that are NRF2 activators. These natural food compounds are what we will focus on below.
What are the tools needed to produce this process in the body?
Common NRF2 activators include curcumin (from turmeric spice – probably the best studied and most potent NRF2 activator), along with resveratrol (from grapes), quercetin (from onions) and sulforaphane (from broccoli) followed by antioxidants found in green tea and other sources.
Along with these amazing NRF2 activator food compounds, there are some all-important compounds already made in the body we call “Bioactives” and some selective nutrients that work as co-factors with the NRF2 activators to enhance our body’s production of antioxidants and extinguish the flame of inflammation.
The simple equation our body follows to create these powerful antioxidants is:
Bioactives (found in the body) : Superoxide dismutase (SOD) + Catalase (CAT) + Glutathione Peroxidase (GPX)
Nutrient co-factors: Selenium copper, manganese, iron and zinc (from consuming a mineral rich diet, or Ionic mineral supplementation when diet or digestion is compromised)
Bioactives in body + Nutrients (from diet)+ NRF2 activators = Mitigation of oxidative stress and inflammation!!
Albeit, this is not an exhaustive explanation of the NRF2 pathway, what I want people to take away from this article is the importance of including a variety of wholefood fruit and vegetables to your diet, especially trying to add the above listed foods into your meals daily and onto your shopping list, for the health and healing benefits they can create in your body, and not just simply rely on the use of synthetic supplementation all the time.
Although I will be the first to say that supplementation is warranted in some cases to be used therapeutically, isn’t it empowering to know that our body has been designed with its own amazing formula’s for healing when we simply provide it with the right tools and environment?
In love and health,
Deena x
For more information on any of the foods, nutrients or anything discussed above, contact me through the contact page.
For those who want to dig a little deeper into the fascinating area of NRF2 pathway, I have included some insightful links below. Happy reading :)