RADICAL FREEDOM
Will humanity defeat the “epidemic of aging”?
It might seem that everything about the benefits of antioxidants has long been known and said. Yet, for example, scientists only recently identified the effects of oxidative stress, which influences the health of a substantial proportion of humanity. Oxidants are precisely what cause the biological age of a modern person's body to exceed their age on paper so often. Conditions such as impaired brain function, diabetes, osteoporosis and muscle atrophy strike us too early, preventing us from enjoying life after fifty. Researchers consider this same oxidative stress—the process of cells being damaged by oxidation—to be the most dangerous factor in aging. European scientists who recently met in Brussels to map out breakthroughs in biogerontology for the next 15 years developed the Why We Age project. It will be coordinated from Belgium and will focus on combating oxidative stress. As one of Europe's leading gerontologists, Dr. Robert Keller, remarked: “Aging is by no means an essential condition of life; it is a disease.” And any disease, as we know, can be treated.
THE INVISIBLE ENEMY
Oxidative stress posed no threat to humans as long as the air, soil and water around them were clean and they ate food containing few toxins, untreated with preservatives and assorted flavor additives. But the benefits of civilization come at a price. The principal explanation for the aging process was, and remains, the free radical theory put forward by Dr. Denham Harman back in the 1950s. Its premise is that free radicals—molecules with an unpaired electron that react chemically very readily—take the missing electron from the nearest cell, blocking its vital activity and thereby setting its degeneration in motion. The cells' “power stations,” the mitochondria that provide their main source of energy, stop working.
Nature did, however, provide for our protection by creating antioxidants, substances that neutralize free radicals. The body protects itself against free radicals both through the enzymes of its endogenous antioxidant system—superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase—and directly through natural antioxidants. Powerful antioxidants such as vitamins C, E and B8, beta-carotene, coenzyme Q10 and the trace element selenium, for example, have always been abundant in fruit and vegetables. Today, however, there are so few of them that the US Department of Agriculture, in its latest guidance to the nation's citizens, strongly advises eating fruit and vegetables at least nine (!) times a day so that the body receives enough antioxidants. In 2005, incidentally, the recommendation was five times a day. Australia's national heart foundation, meanwhile, recommends eating fruit twice and vegetables five times a day. In effect, this means that modern people do not obtain the necessary daily amount of antioxidants, unwittingly exposing themselves to oxidative stress and accelerating the aging of their own bodies. But who gives it any thought?
“With age, the body loses its ability to produce sufficient antioxidant enzymes, and free radicals increasingly accumulate in cells, destroying them. In other words, our body begins to ‘rust,’ like metal corroding,” says Monika Golková, head of an anti-aging medicine clinic in Prague. An imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants means that the body is operating at the limits of its capacity and is about to “burn out.” Unpleasant surprises can then be expected. These may include inflammation, tumors, cardiovascular problems, arthritis, gout, respiratory diseases, diabetes and much more.
STRESS UNDER CONTROL
There are various ways to check your antioxidant levels. Free radicals, however, are extremely short-lived: they exist for only fractions of a second and occur in living tissues at very low concentrations. Most existing methods cannot confirm with complete certainty that a particular abnormality in an organ's functioning was caused specifically by free radicals. A recent paper by Professor James Rusling of the University of Connecticut nevertheless demonstrates that DNA enzymes in biological samples may serve as indicators of change. These data allow clear conclusions to be drawn about oxidative stress.
Anti-aging medicine clinics now measure free radical levels using FORT (Free Oxygen Radicals Test). This is a fasting blood test whose result is ready in just six minutes. In Europe, the test costs around 150 euros; such tests are not yet performed in Russia. If the test shows a radical level of 160 to 300 units, everything is within the normal range. Levels of 310–400 indicate moderate stress, while more than 500 indicates high stress—a serious warning to rethink your habits and lifestyle. A FORD (Free Oxygen Radicals Defence) test, which measures antioxidant status, is recommended at the same time. Specialists at anti-aging clinics advise having these checks once every two months if there are health problems. Persistent fatigue, for example, is a good reason to take the test.
What can such a check achieve? One European anti-aging clinic gave Itogi the following example. A 40-year-old actress and popular television presenter began suffering from headaches. She tried to control them with pills, but had to take more and more medication without the pain going away. She turned to the clinic and underwent an examination. A special diet emphasizing antioxidants was proposed, and she was advised to take an extended vacation or, better still, change her field of work. Treatment to cleanse the body, a change of surroundings, physical activity about five times greater than usual and a vegetable-based diet brought the patient's oxidative stress down to a minimum in just two months. Another two to three months were needed to consolidate the improvement. After six months, she returned to the work she loved, full of energy.
BACK TO NATURE
According to American Professor Charles Benbrook, the most effective way to make up an antioxidant shortfall is through proper nutrition. His research demonstrates that fruit and vegetables grown, harvested and processed organically—that is, without chemicals, hormones or antibiotics—contain 30 percent more antioxidants than conventional produce. “We compared 15 quality indicators. Organic fruit and vegetables proved to be ahead of conventional produce on 13 of them. Organic processing also uses lower pressure and temperatures, helping to preserve antioxidants in juices,” Professor Benbrook states.
The latest research has also shown that taking antioxidants in the form of pharmaceutical vitamins and minerals does not replace natural vitamins. A recent meeting of the American association of scientists researching cancer reached the consensus that the role of pharmacologically produced antioxidants should not be overestimated. Nor is the situation with dietary supplements in cases of oxidative stress entirely straightforward. Professor Eduardo Marbán, director of the Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, maintains that high doses of antioxidants in supplements, such as vitamins C and E, may exacerbate genetic abnormalities in cells and predisposition to cancer: “One multivitamin tablet a day is fine. But people think the more, the better. If there are too many antioxidants in the body, cells may mutate.”
Americans meanwhile continue to spend around 9 billion dollars a year on vitamins, firmly believing that they will protect them from everything. Alan Kristal of the cancer research center in Seattle observes that “people use many vitamin supplements rather than a single individual vitamin, so it is difficult to say what actually helps.” For example, there is scientific evidence that small doses of beta-carotene are a good way to prevent lung cancer in smokers. Animal experiments showed that rats given tomato paste containing the powerful antioxidant lycopene were less susceptible to prostate cancer than those whose diet did not include tomatoes. The latest research by scientists at Tulane University in New Orleans demonstrated that thymoquinone, a powerful antioxidant obtained from black cumin, can also suppress aggressive cancer cells in prostate cancer.
THE MIDLIFE CRISIS
A lack of antioxidants is directly linked to the body's decline. Chinese scientists Si-Jin Meng and Long-Jiang Yu found that oxidative stress plays an important role in muscle atrophy. Because sarcopenia—the loss of muscle mass and strength—affects almost half the world's population after the age of 65, the researchers sought to analyze why this happens. First, IGF-1, an insulin-like factor, was discovered and found to protect against sarcopenia. Subsequent research showed that the lower the calorie content of the diet and the richer it was in antioxidants, the better body mass and muscle strength were maintained with age.
Professor Christiaan Leeuwenburgh of the University of Florida College of Medicine told Itogi about an intriguing experiment. He and his colleagues managed to demonstrate that taking antioxidants to relieve stress and slow aging is effective only in middle age, not later. Professor Leeuwenburgh studied the effects of antioxidant supplements on “middle-aged rats,” corresponding to human ages of 50–65, and on older rats, equivalent to ages 65–80. Antioxidants were given for six weeks, after which he measured the animals' muscle strength. Strength in the “middle-aged” group had increased by 12 percent, while no change occurred in the older rats. Scientists are now working to determine the best age at which to start taking antioxidant supplements. As Professor Silvana Andreescu of Clarkson University in New York State told Itogi, the biochemists' and biologists' research has a very specific aim: understanding the mechanism that protects cells and tissues from oxidative stress. “One of the most promising directions is the development of artificial, synthetic antioxidants—a new era in treating various diseases and delaying aging. Nanomixtures can capture and neutralize free radicals. These mixtures are nontoxic, can reach the brain through the bloodstream, and are extremely effective when free radicals need to be neutralized in very small amounts.”
Scientists are already investigating the molecular and cellular mechanisms of the antioxidant effects of nanomixtures, their side effects and the optimum dosage of the “nanopowder.” In the future, these mixtures may become a principal direction in anti-aging therapy. Government programs for antioxidant prevention in middle-aged people are already being discussed in Europe. In Russia, nothing has yet been heard about this.