Forever young?

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Forever young?
Published: 26/07/2011 at 12:00 AM
Bangkok Post: Newspaper section: Life
 
Birth, ageing, sickness and death are only natural and unavoidable, but we might not be exactly looking forward to ageing and dying. As for birth, there isn't much we can do about our own birth as that was way in the past.

Anti-oxidant and free radicals play an important role in the ageing process, which sometimes leads to death. Since people like to avoid ageing (which they can't - the best is only delaying it) there are many products in the market, such as tea, coffee, supplementary pills and even skincare products, which claim to contain anti-oxidants. If they really worked, we would have seen 100-year-old grannies walking around looking like 30-year-olds, or mothers and daughters looking the same age. Or we might even live 200 years! That would be rather scary, wouldn't it?

If you don't think that's weird, think of your great grandfather living with laptops, internet and mobile phones. He would have been amazed to see his great grandchildren on a computer screen even if he was in another country. And if he heard the news about space travel, all the zeros in the price would have shocked him. Things used to cost so much less in his days! Knowing these facts, do you really want to live for 200 or live only close to 80 or 90 years but be strong and healthy?

Anti-oxidants and free radicals are actually a delicate matter and depend on the person. When we breathe in oxygen, it reacts to the foods that we've consumed, such as sugar, protein or fatty acids to create energy. The chemical reaction inside the cells that combines foods and oxygen to create energy is called metabolism. When oxygen combines with glucose in the cells, it generates not only energy but also free radicals. Other factors that aggravate free radicals include UV rays, heat, smoking and some toxins in the environment.

Anti-oxidants, as the name suggests, try to prevent oxidation so that free radicals do not damage your cells too much. If free radicals are fire, anti-oxidants are the firefighters.

The most well-known anti-oxidants that we hear are vitamin B, vitamin E, beta-carotene and selenium, which are abundant in vegetables. Polyphenol is another anti-oxidant commonly found in vegetables, fruits, teas, coffee, chocolate and wine. Fish oil, CoQ10 and ALA are also well known anti-oxidants.

The fire-firefighter relationship can be good or bad. Free radicals cause bad cholesterol to collect on the walls of our blood vessels, which in turn causes them to harden. Hardened blood vessels are a natural part of the ageing process, although it cannot be seen like wrinkles and blemishes on the skin.

The body has its own firefighters - white blood cells. Our white blood cells help destroy bacteria or viruses that will damage the body, reduce inflammation and alleviate pain. They also help the body grow.

The firefighters aren't always the good guys. There are reports that say too many of these "firefighters" can make the fire spread even more. Beta-carotene can increase the chance of lung cancer in smokers and those who inhale the smoke, more than those who do not get extra beta-carotene. Another report says that too much vitamin B can cause more free radicals. Recently, a study found that too much vitamin B and vitamin E can even cause heart diseases. For these reasons, cancer patients are not recommended to take vitamin C or anti-oxidants during chemotherapy or treatment by conventional oncologists.

Just because the studies do not say anti-oxidants and vitamins can prevent diseases, it doesn't mean we have to stop eating food that naturally has these nutrients. Anti-oxidants are of the right level in naturally found food while supplementary pills might offer a higher dose. Our ancestors were programmed to eat fruits and vegetables before they learned to hunt animals and eat their fat.

Studies have definitely shown that eating fruits and vegetables can reduce chances of chronic diseases and many type of cancers. You should also avoid direct sunlight and smoking if you do not want cancer.

Most importantly, do everything with a clear conscience. A patient of mine complained about the expenses of balloon angioplasty of the coronary artery, which saved her life, but later she paid even more to fight her wrinkles and was even proud of it!

So I learned that people are more scared of ageing than dying.
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