|
lukeboots
fresh futuristic

Registered: 02/04/04
Posts: 19,728
Loc: Grand Ole Operating Syste...
|
what the fuck is a free radical
#7281717 - 08/10/07 02:57 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
|
|
besides a catchy name for non-jailed hippies?
be precise please. i really want to know. all i can figure out is that they're bad - even though free, radical things should always be awesome. does science lend any support to the idea of free radicals? is it a natural-foods-buyer scam? do antioxidants in pills actually help in the same way that ones found in my fresh foods and teas help?
that's enough questions for now =]
--------------------
funky ass music: Planet of Dinosaurs // Rich Whiskey
|
Veritas

Registered: 04/15/05
Posts: 11,089
|
Re: what the fuck is a free radical [Re: lukeboots]
#7281726 - 08/10/07 03:01 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
|
|
Here's a decent article in Wiki:
Wiki Free Radical Article
Yes, science does believe that there is substance to this theory. Supplements may or may not be as effective as whole foods and teas...I tend to go for nutritious whole foods rather than paying big bucks for supplements, but that's just my opinion.
|
lukeboots
fresh futuristic

Registered: 02/04/04
Posts: 19,728
Loc: Grand Ole Operating Syste...
|
Re: what the fuck is a free radical [Re: Veritas]
#7281745 - 08/10/07 03:06 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
|
|
thanks veritas =]
I'm gonna go read that article.
I try to eat natural whole foods as well, but I did buy a month supply of "advanced antioxidants" for $13 at the health food store a few days ago. I cut / smashed my face up pretty good about a month ago, and started drinking yerba mate tea on a recommendation. the bloody scabbed up areas of my face cleared away completely in about four days. I was amazed! so that's my success story - now I just gotta figure out how to best utilize my new secret weapon against injuries =]
--------------------
funky ass music: Planet of Dinosaurs // Rich Whiskey
|
browndustin
dustybuddy

Registered: 10/03/03
Posts: 2,957
Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
|
Re: what the fuck is a free radical [Re: lukeboots]
#7283035 - 08/10/07 10:02 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
|
|
I take mainly health supplements now. Aside from protein powder, AAS (anabolics) and caffeine from time to time, my supplement shelf is full of goodies like NAC, sesamin, hawthorne berries, saw palmetto berries, pilocosanol, fish oils, garlic, turmeric, dandelion root, multivitamins and spare vitamins, etc.
I think NAC is probably one of the best, no-bullshit antioxidants out there. N-Acetyl-Cysteine. Great for people who abuse their livers too. I take at least a gram a day and my liver values never elevate, even when I drink (which is rare) and when I'm taking methylated anabolics. Blood work is always consistent. And although you can't really "feel" whether you're being protected from antioxidants, my continually excellent blood work is reasurring enough.
As far as skin completion is concerned, apple cider vinegar, B vitamins, vitamin E and sesamin (sesame lignans which may promote fat loss, but certainly aid in maintaining a healthy cholesterol profile!) are all great. I have pretty good skin for the most part, but do have to deal with break outs from stress, triggers like sugar, etc, but the abovementioned really helped! That, and showering twice a day and moisturizing with cheap, non comedogenic lotions.
I only shower twice because I get covered in rock dust, mud, swamp water and really gross shit at work, plus I get sweaty after the gym. Once-a-day showers and changing your bed sheets are clutch when it comes to clear skin. Oh! And a little bit of sun tanning too. Just 10-20 minutes a couple of times a week really does the trick. Use sun screen if you're not sexy brown like me lol
-------------------- When the stress burns my brain it's like acid raindrops maryjane is the only thing that makes the pain stop
|
MushmanTheManic
Stranger

Registered: 04/21/05
Posts: 4,587
|
Re: what the fuck is a free radical [Re: lukeboots]
#7283380 - 08/10/07 11:57 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
|
|
They really isn't any evidence that supplementing with antioxidants is beneficial to most health individuals. The whole antioxidant craze got started because of research that indicated some diseases were caused by vitamin deficiency and could be cured by taking vitamin supplements. That does not mean, though, that a normal health individual will benefit from taking antioxidants. It only helps if you have a deficiency due to a very poor diet or other problems.
There has been some research showing that normal individuals that take antioxidant supplements actually increase their risk of cancer and other diseases. This is because antioxidants really are free radicals too. (Free radicals need other free radicals (aka antioxidants) to bond onto, otherwise they'll fly around until they attach onto something important like a piece of DNA or a cell wall.) So, taking megadoses of pure antioxidants is not good. If antioxidants have nothing to bond to, they act as free radicals themselves.
Eating foods high in antioxidants does not have the same effect as taking supplements. Generally, the vitamins in food are bound to other molecules - which means they are not free radicals. Once digested, your body pulls the vitamin apart from the molecule and puts it to good use.
|
browndustin
dustybuddy

Registered: 10/03/03
Posts: 2,957
Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
|
|
We had the same discussion in a more esoteric forum at bb.com. Really great thread, I'm going to see if I can find it. It goes with the same notion regarding phytonutrients and discusses absorption through whole foods vs isolated forms and other things.
I do feel strongly about NAC, however. At least as far as decreasing liver enzymes and protecting hepatoxicity from methylated androgens for example.
Fuck, I'm stoned right now. I'll come back to this thought later and if I find that thread too. Too nice tonight to be on the computer
-------------------- When the stress burns my brain it's like acid raindrops maryjane is the only thing that makes the pain stop
|
|