I was doing my routine online diagnosis of how people are to grips with some of the most valuable information on the internet about stress, suicidal awareness, positive attitude, work-life balance and stress reliever. I came across a handful of people who were having back and forth exchanges about oxidative stress. To my surprise, they mostly had some little or incomplete information about oxidative stress. I resorted to documenting research about oxidative stress that hopefully will cross paths with most of online in the near future.
What is oxidative stress?
We’ve all at one point had a rough day, sour deals, lost love, and felt like giving up. Our bodies respond to environmental stimuli by reacting to different outcomes with massive emotions. However, sometimes our bodies are struck still with some imbalances of radicals and some antioxidants. As such, oxidative stress is the imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants in the body which can cause cell and tissue damage. Oxidative stress is a natural part of the aging process. Long-term oxidative stress appears to play a role in the development of a number of chronic diseases, according to a significant body of scientific research. Cancer, diabetes, and heart disease are examples of such illnesses. At this point you must be wondering what are these free radicals and antioxidants that are within our bodies? What causes the imbalance? Is there a cure? Well scientific research has not been entirely conclusive about all the risk factors because every day the human body interacts with a new environment or correlated risk factors.
Oxidative stress risk factors
Oxidative stress can be momentarily induced by the body’s natural immunological response. Mild inflammation is caused by this form of oxidative stress, which goes away once the immune system battles an infection or heals an injury. Oxidative stress and excessive free radical generation are caused by a number of reasons. The main reasons are:
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- Diet
- Lifestyle
- Environmental factors such as pollution and radiation
Now, where do these free radicals come from? The answer is simple yet so technical. Our body cells have mitochondria, which is referred to as the powerhouse of the cell. Mitochondria creates carbon dioxide, water, and ATP by combining oxygen and glucose. This metabolic activity creates free radicals as a byproduct. Some of the most common free radicals as a result of this reaction include superoxide, hydroxyl, and nitric oxide radical in different amounts. Lastly, antioxidants are neutralizing substances that remove these radicals by donating electrons for the reaction. They include vitamins A, C, and E.
Joining the dots to conclude, the imbalance results from having less of the antioxidants in the body to neutralize the radicals produced by the reaction by the powerhouse of the human cell.