Antioxidants – Your Defence Against The Silent Killers

Your body is under constant attack. Taking no action leaves the door open to diseases like cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis and arthritis. Taking the right action – a sensible nutritional programme – can help prevent these diseases and increase your life expectancy.

Research indicates that as many as 30-40 per cent of cancers in the West are diet related. In countries where the average diet is high in fruit and vegetables, incidence of many cancers is much lower. Four leading causes of cancer are radiation, toxins, infections and food. These create free radicals in your body: unstable atoms that attack and damage or kill your body’s cells. The stronger your defences against free radicals, the better your health prospects. This is where nutritional therapy can excel.

Tobacco smoke, processed foods, crops grown on nutrient depleted soils, sprayed with toxic chemicals, are rich in free radicals. As are roads and streets polluted by vehicle exhaust fumes. Avoid these where possible. Even tap water is polluted with chemicals like chlorine (bleach), added to kill bacteria. Nitrites used to preserve bacon, ham, and canned meats, and Nitrates that seep into the water system from farmland, can combine in your body with other chemicals to form deadly cancer-causing nitrosamines. But they can’t combine in the presence of adequate amounts of Vitamin C.

Antioxidants protect your body. They neutralise free radicals, rendering them harmless. Antioxidants include vitamins, minerals and enzymes, as well as other beneficial plant chemicals that occur naturally in fruits and vegetables.

Some antioxidants are more effective in different parts of your body. So you gain maximum protection by eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Preferably organic. Otherwise you create more free radicals, instead of neutralising them.

Other than Vitamin D produced by sunshine on your skin, your body cannot make vitamins or minerals. It can make some enzymes – providing your food contains adequate amounts of trace minerals.

Modern farming practices over the past 60 years have stripped 80% of the minerals from agricultural soils. So you have little chance of getting all the minerals you need from everyday food. Even Organic farming, although good, has to be given time to replace the lost nutrients in the soil back to its maximum. Taking the right nutritional supplements, in tandem with your diet, is one way of helping your body to get its correct amount of vitamins and minerals.

Free radicals in tobacco smoke rob your body of 25mg of Vitamin C for each cigarette smoked. The RDA for Vitamin C is only 60mg, so 3 cigarettes burn up more than one day’s RDA. But then the RDA for Vitamin C is so low. Even so, many people fail to even reach that 60mg a day.

The mineral selenium protects against cancer. Before 1970 Britain imported wheat from Canada, where the soil is rich in selenium. When the source of the UK’s wheat supply changed, cancer incidence increased by 10% between 1979 and 1989. Evidence of how important vitamins and minerals are to your life!

Take gentle exercise - like walking for an hour about three times a week. Excessive exercise creates more free radicals in your body. So using up more antioxidants. Relaxation or meditation help strengthen your immune system. As does a positive mental attitude. Try to avoid worry and stress.

Drink at least 8 glasses of water daily – preferably filtered to remove the dangerous. chlorine, fluoride, nitrates and nitrite. Your diet should be low fat and high fibre, with plenty of fruits and vegetables. (Organic where possible).

Include plenty of colourful foods; especially red, orange and yellow, like tomatoes and carrots. Green leafy vegetables like broccoli, sprouts and cabbage are equally as important. (Broccoli and sprouts contain isothiocyanate, a chemical which may cause cancer cells to commit suicide - even those that are chemo resistant). Ideally these should be either raw or juiced, so preserving valuable nutrients.

Grains are also beneficial. These can be oats, rye and wild rice. Include also nuts and pulses, soy beans and or soy products.

And let’s not forget pre/probiotics or live yoghurt. All reinforced with the anti-oxidant vitamins B Complex, C, D, E, and K, plus minerals selenium, zinc, manganese and copper to aid your production of protective enzymes.

Cheap vitamin/mineral supplements available in retail outlets can be a waste of your money. These are designed to compete on price with similar products. Some manufacturers cut corners by using cheap, ineffective ingredients that are difficult to absorb. You need correctly balanced bioavailable supplements, suppliers of which we would be happy to recommend.

Many herbs and spices are also beneficial. For example, Turmeric – an ingredient in curries - contains curcumin, a known anti-cancer spice.

Omega 3 oils from oily fish like salmon, tuna, pilchards, herring and mackerel is beneficial against both cancer and heart/circulatory problems. Reinforced with copper and iron, its cancer killing power increases.

There are a number of natural anti-cancer programmes. Some more effective than others. Always remember, you are biologically unique. There is no one else exactly like you. So what works for one, may not work for another. (A major reason why medical drugs side effects can be deadly for some, but not for others).

If you decide to try a natural anti-cancer programme, be wary. Some programmes are very expensive. You do not want to spend your life savings on a programme that may not work for you.

I hope this helps you live a healthier life.

David Futers. SNHS.Dip Adv (Nutri) NCHM. +44 (0)1507 327949.
email: davefuters-cardiocare@yahoo.co.uk .

Please Note:

Advice given in an article such as this can only be very general. As mentioned above, you are unique. You have your own individual strengths and weaknesses, that are different to those of anyone else. I offer personalised nutritional advice tailored to fit your exact needs, via the mail. Your completed Medical In Confidence Questionnaire can highlight weaknesses in your body, often before symptoms become obvious. Weaknesses that can be strengthened with the right nutritional support, often preventing the onset of a life-threatening disease. For a questionnaire, please contact :- Mr David Futers. SNHS Dip Adv (Nutri). NCHM. +44 (0)1507 327949.
email: davefuters-cardiocare@yahoo.co.uk leaving your name and address.
 

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