Antioxidants - your weapon against oxidative stress

Plant foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains contain many components that are beneficial to human health. Research supports that some of these foods, as part of an overall healthful diet, have the potential to delay the onset of many age-related diseases. These observations have led to continuing research aimed at identifying specific bioactive components in foods, such as antioxidants, which may be responsible for improving and maintaining health.

Antioxidants are present in foods as vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, and polyphenols, among others. Many antioxidants are often identified in food by their distinctive colors—the deep red of cherries and of tomatoes; the orange of carrots; the yellow of corn, mangos, and saffron; and the blue-purple of blueberries, blackberries, and grapes. The most well-known components of food with antioxidant activities are vitamins A, C, and E; β-carotene; the mineral selenium; and more recently, the compound lycopene.

Health Effects

The research continues to grow regarding the knowledge of antioxidants as healthful components of food. Oxidation, or the loss of an electron, can sometimes produce reactive substances known as free radicals that can cause oxidative stress or damage to the cells. Antioxidants, by their very nature, are capable of stabilizing free radicals before they can react and cause harm, in much the same way that a buffer stabilizes an acid to maintain a normal pH. Because oxidation is a naturally occurring process within the body, a balance with antioxidants must exist to maintain health.

Alkaline ionized water is a powerful natural antioxidant. This water is electrically charged and has a higher pH than normal tap or bottled water. A water ionizer treats tap water to form alkaline ionized water that shields the body from oxidative stress. In today's society most of our bodies have become overly acidic causing a greater risk of disease and illness. Alkaline ionized water helps to neutralize this excess acidity to establish an alkaline internal environment. An environment that nature intended for the body.

Learn more about alkaline ionized water at www.ChansonWater.com

What does Coke do to you?

* In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don't immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.

* 20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat.

* 40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.

* 45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.

Anything put u off?

Toxins and Their Potentially Dangerous Impact

Everyone carries a toxic burden.

Chances are that we have multiple types of toxins in our body.

Where do these toxins come from? The food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breath for starters. We also absorb toxins through our skin. We come into contact with so many hundreds of chemicals daily that it's a wonder that we don't carry more body toxins.

Scientists are discovering that many environmental chemicals are making their way into our bodies, and that they may have dramatic impacts on health. Some chemicals are directly toxic to living tissues, others are carcinogenic, and some, such as plasticizers and farm chemicals, lead to disruptions in hormonal balance or disrupt the nervous system. Multiple estrogen mimics exist in our environment; these tend to increase ovarian and breast cancer. Other compunds are known to disrupt thyroid functions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) describes these toxins as Persistent Bioaccumulative and Toxic pollutants (PBTs) and attributes to them a wide range of health problems, including cancers, neurological, and hormonal problems.

While many toxins have been studied to determine their safety, we should recognize the shortfall of studies when assessing risk. Most studies are not performed on humans (for obvious reasons), but humans respond differently to a toxin than a test animal (or a culture of cells). Consider that chocolate is toxic to dogs, but not to humans. One animal's poison is another's cake topping.

Scientists are also beginning to understand that certain toxins cause harm in amounts previously thought to be too small to be harmful. The real unknown about environmental chemicals is that we have no idea what happens when these compounds join together in a living being. While "substance X" has been studied for toxicity and "substance Y" may have also been studied, no one knows what happens when you take in both at the same time. Nor do we have any idea what happens when one is exposed to substances X, Y, and Z in tandem.

Toxicity studies also don’t consider the impact these chemicals may have on children, who get a larger dose (because of their lower body weight) when exposed to the same chemicals as adults.

Reducing exposure to environmental chemicals and ridding ourselves of chemicals is no easy task, but one that can happen with clean air, clean water preferably alkaline ionized water, and a sensible diet.

Reverse Osmosis Vs Alkaline Ionized Water

www.ChansonAlkalineWater.com

How Much Nutrient Supplementation is Enough?

Although there is little doubt that antioxidants are a necessary component for good health, no one knows if supplements should be taken and, if so, how much. Antioxidants supplements were once thought to be harmless but increasingly we are becoming aware of interactions and potential toxicity. It is interesting to note that, in the normal concentrations found in the body, vitamin C and beta-carotene are antioxidants; but at higher concentrations they are pro-oxidants and, thus, harmful.

Also, very little is known about the long term consequences of megadoses of antioxidants through supplementation in the form of pills. The body's finely tuned mechanisms are carefully balanced to withstand a variety of insults. Taking chemicals without a complete understanding of all of their effects may disrupt this balance.

The safest bet is to increase the intake of such nutrients naturally through fruits, vegetables and alkaline ionized water.

www.ChansonAlkalineWater.com

It's The Radicals, Man

Free radicals are atoms or groups of atoms with an odd (unpaired) number of electrons and can be formed when oxygen interacts with certain molecules. Once formed these highly reactive radicals can start a chain reaction, like dominoes. Their chief danger comes from the damage they can do when they react with important cellular components such as DNA, or the cell membrane. Cells may function poorly or die if this occurs. To prevent free radical damage the body has a defense system of antioxidants.

Antioxidants are molecules which can safely interact with free radicals and terminate the chain reaction before vital molecules are damaged. Although there are several enzyme systems within the body that scavenge free radicals, the principle micronutrient (vitamin) antioxidants are vitamin E, beta-carotene, and vitamin C. Additionally, selenium, a trace metal that is required for proper function of one of the body's antioxidant enzyme systems, is sometimes included in this category. The body cannot manufacture these micronutrients so they must be supplied in the diet.

Vitamin E : d-alpha tocopherol. A fat soluble vitamin present in nuts, seeds, vegetable and fish oils, whole grains (esp. wheat germ), fortified cereals, and apricots. Current recommended daily allowance (RDA) is 15 IU per day for men and 12 IU per day for women.

Vitamin C : Ascorbic acid is a water soluble vitamin present in citrus fruits and juices, green peppers, cabbage, spinach, broccoli, kale, cantaloupe, kiwi, and strawberries. The RDA is 60 mg per day. Intake above 2000 mg may be associated with adverse side effects in some individuals.

Beta-carotene is a precursor to vitamin A (retinol) and is present in liver, egg yolk, milk, butter, spinach, carrots, squash, broccoli, yams, tomato, cantaloupe, peaches, and grains. Because beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A by the body there is no set requirement. Instead the RDA is expressed as retinol equivalents (RE), to clarify the relationship. (NOTE: Vitamin A has no antioxidant properties and can be quite toxic when taken in excess.)

Alkaline ionized water is a power natural anti-oxidant. It helps relieve oxidative stress and is upto six times more hydrating than normal tap or bottled water. For more information on alkaline ionized water and how it is obtained, visit www.ChansonAlkalineWater.com

Dealing with Toxins

How to lose weight and reclaim our health and vitality lost to toxins?

Detox.

You must detoxify your body in order to lose weight. Here are ten tips to help you start detoxing today without drastically changing your lifestyle:

1. Eat organic fruits and vegetables.
Conventional fruits and vegetables are full of chemicals that harm your body. Organic food is grown without the use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers. The sooner you stop polluting your body, the sooner you will start to look and feel healthier.

2. Eat kosher meat.
When you eat a burger the growth hormones that were given to the cow are then passed on to you thus making you grow and gain weight! Organic meat is produced without giving the animal antibiotics or growth hormones. Only buy certified organic meat and only eat free-range chicken. Your body will thank you.

3. Do a juice fast.
The juice fast essentially means you drink juice throughout the day, every day. Your juice must be fresh and organic. This can be done for 3 days, 10 days or 30 days. It depends on your level of discipline, your size and your health goals. If you have never done a juice fast before then you will start seeing results right away!

4. Add apple cider vinegar to your diet:
You can use it as salad dressing or drink it with water. Apple Cider Vinegar helps detoxify your liver. Take 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar mixed in water before every meal to aid in weight-loss.

5. Add coconut oil when you cook:
Virgin coconut oil can be added to your everyday meals as a substitute for your cooking oil. It improves digestion, promotes weight-loss and helps keep skin and hair looking young and healthy.

6. Drink green tea:
EGCG, an antioxidant contained in green tea, helps the body burn fat. Antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, E, and the polyphenols found in green tea also help your body reduce the time that toxins stay in your system.

7. Dry-brush before you shower.
Go to your local health food store and buy a dry brush. Then brush your skin before every shower. This removes dead skin cells and toxins helping you lose weight and have glowing skin.

8. Get a shower filter.
Your tap water can contain pesticides, toxic bacteria, viruses and traces of human and animal waste. Every time you take a shower or drink out of the tap you are ingesting dangerous toxic chemicals. Filtering your water also improves your hair and skin! Chanson's Spa Filter is a great pick.

9. Add fiber to your diet.
Fiber keeps your meal moving along your gastrointestinal tract and helps flush your body of metabolic waste. Fiber also keeps your energy levels high, and slows your rate of carbohydrate digestion, which helps you maintain your blood sugar levels.

10. Consume Alkaline Ionized Water:
Alkaline Water washes away toxins from the body. Because of its high pH and electically charged nature, the water is great for not only weightloss but also for an overall healthier body and mind. Chanson Alkaline Water is a trusted name in the water ionization industry. Chanson's Water Ionizers can be easily installed in your kitchen to turn your tap water into healthy alkaline ionized water.