Antioxidants 101

May 26, 2008 - The latest buzz around the health industry today is antioxidants. Research has shown that antioxidants provide a wide range of benefits when it comes to the sustainability of your health. These helpful compounds help with cholesterol and blood pressure stabilization. They aid in the break up of plaque in the blood vessels ultimately supporting the body’s circulatory system and enhancing blood flow. They are a great source for enhanced energy levels and they improve nutrient uptake at the cellular level which leads to many health benefits including healthy aging.

What are antioxidants and how do they work?

We know that antioxidants are good for us. But what are antioxidants and why are they so good for us? To truly understand the answer to this question, we must first understand how antioxidants work.

As we all know, we need oxygen to live. But oxygen has one major downside in comparison to the many benefits it gives us. Oxygen initiates a process in our body called “oxidation”. Under normal circumstances, our cells are made up of molecules that have a full set of electrons, which are responsible for keeping them stable. Think of these molecules as three legs on a three-legged stool. The stool is stable with all three legs, but as soon as one of those legs is missing, the stool falls and loses its functionality. When oxygen comes in contact with these molecules, they lose an electron (or they get “oxidized”), which converts them to an unstable type of molecule known as a free radical.

Because of their instability, free radicals are always scavenging the body looking for other molecules to attach to and steal their electrons for their own stability. During this scavenger hunt, free radicals will attack proteins, fats, and even DNA to look for these electrons. Once they find those electrons and steal them, the molecules they attack get their structure changed, which ultimately affects their function. Eventually, those structures cannot perform their function as efficiently as they would have before they were attacked by roaming free radicals.

The answer to keeping these free radicals from attacking our body are antioxidants. Antioxidants immobilize free radicals by donating one of their electrons to replace the ones lost during the oxidation process. The body produces antioxidants naturally, but with the ever-changing environment we have reached a point where our body cannot sustain enough antioxidant production naturally to help with the growing free radical intake. Supplementing with antioxidants will aid in efficient free radical neutralization.

Foods ranking high in Antioxidants include: cranberries, blueberries, blackberries, beans, artichokes, russet potatoes, pecans, walnuts and hazelnuts. There are many other foods that contain antioxidants as well, especially fruits and vegetables.


Ben Hoss and Karen Lopez founded SequenceXO, a company dedicated to helping individuals find pure relaxation, beautiful skin, and vitality with healthy nutritional solutions.
SequenceXO products containing Antioxidants include:

• Fusion, with Acai berry, pomegranate, grape seed extract and green tea for immune support, enhanced circulation, and detoxification for healthier looking skin
• Radiance, which is sweetened with fructooligosaccharides also known as (FOS) or sweet fiber. FOS is extracted from fruits and vegetables and known to contribute to our dietary fiber intake.

Source:

• By Ben Hoss and Karen Lopez, Sequence XO Co-Founders
• http://sheerbalance.com/article.php?id=298665725
  

Healthy Halloween treats your kids will surely love

Growing up, Halloween was always one of my favorite holidays. I loved everything about it: the costumes, the candy, the trick-or-treating, the parties, etc. I remember how my friends and I would all rummage through our 'loot' at the end of a big trick-or-treat run to see what we got. Each of us hoped for different goodies and had different favorites. Some of us downed the candy in one sitting and some of us would squirrel it away, wanting it to last as long as possible. If one of us ate a bit too much at the end of the evening, stomach aches would ensue and major sugar crashes would cause us to crawl into bed feeling exhausted, not to mention, a tad ill.

In today's day in age, moms are often looking for healthier options for their kids and for their neighborhood trick-or-treaters. Healthier options don't necessarily mean you have to abolish all of the worst offenders, but some treats do rate better than others in the healthy category. In essence, there are really two ways to approach making Halloween a bit healthier: 1) Quality control , providing healthier treats or 2) Quantity control , providing less-healthier treats in smaller servings. Here are some ideas for both approaches:

Quality Control Options (E.g, Healthier Treats):

1. Dark Chocolate Covered Nuts: Nuts offer fiber, vitamins and minerals . Further, they provide you with healthy fats and proteins , making the treat a more well-balanced snack . This will also help diminish the possibility of sugar crashes. Lastly, dark chocolate is always preferred to milk chocolate, as it offers antioxidants and has less fillers than milk-chocolate.
2. Dried Fruit / Raisins: Regular fruit seems like a great choice. For safety concerns, however, dried fruit is a better option because it often comes pre-packaged or wrapped. Dried fruit is naturally sweet, and provides fiber and other important nutrients. The sugar content in dried fruit tends to be high though, so if you can find packets of trail mix, which contain nuts and seeds with the dried fruit, that would be an even better option.
3. Clif-Bars: Clif-Bars makes healthy, nutrition bars for kids (Clif Kid ZBar). They even have a new flavor called 'Spooky Smores'...just in time for Halloween. They are organic, made with whole oats and are low in fat. Lastly, they don't contain any high fructose corn syrup .
4. Money: Granted, these are not 'tasty', but giving Silver Dollars or 50 Cent pieces can bring a smile to any child's face.
5. Granola Bars: Not all granola bars are created equal. Some are higher in sugar and contain high fructose corn syrup . Kashi TLC bars is a healthy, lower-sugar option.
6. Sugar-Free Gum: Sugar-free gum containing Xylitol, a natural sweetener, is beneficial to children's teeth by warding off tooth decay. Further, xylitol won't create the crazy sugar highs of gums packed with sugar.
7. Mini-Bags of Microwavable Popcorn: Popcorn is a low-calorie, high-fiber snack that most kids enjoy. Aim to get unsweetened and non-buttered varieties to eliminate extra fat and sugar.

Quantity Control Options (E.g, Less Healthy Treats in Smaller Servings):

1. 100 Calorie Packs: Nabisco has cornered the 100 Calorie Pack market, offering everything from Oreos to Teddy Grahms in small 100 calorie packages. Although the products are not the best for you, giving them in portion controlled packages helps to keep kids from going hog wild on eating more than they should.
2. Hot Chocolate: Hot chocolate is both seasonally appropriate and slightly labor intensive. If a child wants to enjoy some cocoa (in the traditional way of course), they will need to be patient while the water is boiled, the package is opened and the contents are poured and stirred.
3. Bite Size/Miniature Candies: If you are going for chocolate, always aim to get dark chocolate varieties (they have antioxidants and less fillers, as mentioned above). Hershey's has their Special Dark brand, which appeals to both dark chocolate and milk chocolate lovers. Varieties to consider: Miniature Peppermint Paddies (which are low in fat), Special Dark Miniatures (which now come in their own bag of Special Dark Varieties) and Special Dark Chocolate Kisses.

Which option will you choose at Halloween? Do you have any favorite healthy treats you would like to share?

Source:

• by Brett Blumenthal - Sheer Balance

Oral sex linked to cancer: You must read this!

What you may have considered safer sex could be putting you at risk for cancer. Startling new information about the prevalence of throat tonsil cancers in people in their 30's and 40's is connecting the dots between oral sex, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and oral cancer.

This article and accompanying video explains why scientists are saying there is "absolutely" a connection between oral sex and cancer in people who are young, otherwise healthy, fit, nonsmokers who do not drink excessively. Recent findings derived from a longitudinal study are cited:

Johns Hopkins researchers reported in a study published in February in the Journal of Clinical Oncology that between 1973 and 2004 the incidence of HPV-related oral cancers among people in their 40s nearly doubled. Today more than 34,000 people have oral cancer and 39 percent of those cases are related to HPV, according to data from the American Cancer Society.

We know that HPV can be treated without leading to tumors. However, scientists also now know that the virus is passed by direct contact and doesn't stray from the location where it is transmitted. While HPV does not get into the bloodstream, higher-risk strains of the virus contain proteins that make it impossible for healthy cells to repair themselves.

Scientists are now investigating the possibility that HPV can be passed through saliva in simple acts of sharing a spoon or drink and how sexual orientation may or may not be a factor in this formula.

In the meantime, we are being warned by the medical community about the upped risks of oral sex. Although men are 35% more likely to contract HPV-derived oral cancers, this is a significant health concern for women and girls.

It's no shock that researchers say the number one risk factor is a high number of sexual partners. It only takes an intimate moment with one infected partner to be exposed to HPV. And clearly, the more partners you have, the more opportunities there are for exposure.

It's this quote that brought this story home for me, said bluntly by a woman who is in remission from HPV-related oral cancer that was diagnosed when she was 38 years old:

"People think the face of oral cancer is a 70-year-old man who's been chewing tobacco and drinking whiskey all his life," she said. "But the face of oral cancer now is -- it's me, a young woman, healthy, nonsmoking, fit."

This is most of us, right?

The report comes at a critical time: Studies show more teens believe oral sex is safer than vaginal sex and last year's news was flooded with stories of teenagers actively engaging in oral sex with multiple partners and in group settings. The HPV vaccine Gardasil, intended to protect young women from HPV-related cervical cancer, has been discussed from message boards to national media outlets as parents and doctors have debated whether it is worth the pain and cost.

This means women not only need to be vigilant in their own sexual behaviors to protect theirselves from HPV and the possibility of throat and tonsil cancers, they also need to better educate young women about why oral sex they are engaging in early and often could have dire consequences later in life. I think women also need to be activists in supporting the development of an HPV vaccine for boys and more research about how this virus is raiding women's entire bodies.

As for womens, they could all probably get caught up in worrying about how their college years might lead to oral cancer today. Instead of that, I propose we start talking more honestly about how we can have fun, delight in the deliciousness of bodies, sex and intimacy and still keep ourselves healthy and safe. Or at least healthier and safer.

We have this information, so now what are we going to do with it?

Are you shocked and horrified that oral sex could lead to cancer?

Is it realistic that people will use condoms and dental dams to protect themselves against HPV and possibly, oral cancer?


Source:

• by Jessica Ashley, Shine staff