Oxidative stress and antioxidants: what you want to know.

New York is one of the world's biggest energy consumers. Countless amounts of energy are consumed there every day. But imagine if a power plant in New York broke down. Half of New York would be in chaos.

Let's say your body works the same way as New York. Our bodies also contain power plants, called mitochondria. These supply your body with energy. The moment a large number of your mitochondria are 'broken', our body also goes haywire. For example, at that moment, there are too few antioxidants or too many free radicals, which can cause a myriad of diseases.

Mitochondria: The Basics

Okay. Before we dive into the truly technical stuff, let's first look at the basics through a few questions.

What do these power plants do and why are they so important?

Mitochondria are known as the powerhouses of the cell. They supply your body with energy. The generally known formula for energy production in mitochondria is as follows:

Glucose (sugar) + O₂ (oxygen) = energy (in the form of ATP) + CO₂ (carbon dioxide) + H₂O (water).

I personally find the term 'powerhouses of the cell' a bit too simplistic. Mitochondria do much more than that. For a very long time, it was thought that the CO₂ and H₂O produced by the mitochondrion were merely 'waste products'. Nowadays, there is increasing evidence that both substances have more functions than previously thought.

But for now, the term 'powerhouse of the cell' is sufficient.

Our mitochondria can also start to function less efficiently. At that point, you speak of 'mitochondrial swelling'. You don't want that. A large number of chronic complaints can be caused by mitochondrial dysfunction.

Mitochondria: How do they break down?

This image above looks very complicated, of course, but fortunately we can simplify it. This is a cross-section of the mitochondrion.

Inside the mitochondrion is the electron transport chain, as it is called with a difficult word. Basically, these are complexes I through IV (see numbers in the image).

The purpose of this chain is to pump protons (the H⁺'s in the image) across complexes I through IV, so that our body can convert them into energy (in the form of ATP).

For protons to be pumped properly, there must be enough electrons in the complexes. You can see electrons as a kind of gatekeepers that allow protons to pass through, so that energy can ultimately be generated.

But how do mitochondria break down then?

I'll explain below! Electrons always like to travel in groups. The moment an electron stays in one place for too long on its journey in the electron transport chain, it can lose its group and then react with oxygen. This can make the electron unstable and form a free radical, which can damage the mitochondrion. These free radicals can then 'steal' electrons again and form even more free radicals. This creates a vicious cycle.

Free radicals are not always bad. They can also help fight viruses and bacteria. However, when there is an excess of free radicals, mitochondria break down and oxidative stress occurs, which can lead to a large number of complaints.

An excessive amount of free radicals can arise from two things:

1. The body is exposed to too many toxic stressors.

2. The body can no longer neutralize the excess free radicals present.

The moment one of these two things happens, complaints can arise. In principle, a large number of 'natural' healing methods are also based on this principle.

Toxic stressors: These are what we need to watch out for

Toxic stressors, or toxins, can come from many different sources, such as pollution in the air we breathe, chemicals in food and water, smoking, alcohol, medications, heavy metals, and psychological stress. All these toxins promote the production of free radicals, so we prefer to avoid them.

Below are some tips to ensure you keep the number of toxins as low as possible.

• Place a HEPA air filter in your home/bedroom
• Create a diet of whole foods consisting of the following
  • Grass-fed meat
  • Wild fish
  • Cheeses and milk
  • Organic fruit and (fermented) vegetables
• Stop smoking.
• Stop/reduce alcohol and medication use.
• Avoid heavy metals.
• Avoid harmful E-numbers.

Antioxidants: the saviors in need

Antioxidants can counteract this process of oxidative stress. Antioxidants donate an electron to a free radical without becoming unstable and aggressive themselves. This neutralizes the free radical and stops the chain reaction. Antioxidants that the body produces itself are called endogenous antioxidants, while antioxidants from food and supplements are exogenous.

Sources of antioxidants

Do you want to optimally protect your body? Then eat plenty of natural, unprocessed foods. Herbs, berries, vegetables, nuts, and fruits are rich sources of antioxidants.

Many supplements often also contain a large amount of antioxidants and can therefore be beneficial for health in that area.

But why do many supplements contain antioxidants?

Some substances need a fatty substance to be absorbed into the body. Take vitamin D as an example. This substance will always be seen in supplement form in combination with an oil. Unfortunately, oil, due to its unsaturated fatty acids, is susceptible to oxidation. Therefore, an antioxidant is added to keep the oil 'fresh'.

That is also why rosemary extract has been added to our vitamin D3K2 supplement. Rosemary extract is an antioxidant and thus protects the extra virgin olive oil in our vitamin D3K2 supplement against oxidation.

With omega-3 supplements, an antioxidant should also always be added, as there are also unsaturated fatty acids that can oxidize. We are fortunate that our omega-3 supplement contains a natural antioxidant, namely astaxanthin (which gives the supplement its red color). Because so much of this substance is present in our supplement, the fatty acids can hardly oxidize.

Summary

Our mitochondria are the powerhouses of our cells. These mitochondria produce free radicals that can damage our mitochondria. An excess of free radicals can be caused by a high influx of toxins.

Antioxidants are there to neutralize these free radicals. These are produced by our body (endogenous), but can also be obtained from the outside world through, for example, food and supplements (exogenous).

Below is a list of how you can maintain the balance between free radicals and antioxidants as well as possible:

• Place a HEPA air filter in your home/bedroom
• Stop smoking.
• Stop/reduce alcohol and medication use.
• Avoid heavy metals.
• Avoid harmful E-numbers.