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What are free radicals?
Free radicals are oxygen-containing molecules that are highly reactive and unstable. They’re formed when molecules or atoms gain or lose electrons. These unpaired electrons don’t like being alone, so they search the body for an electron to pair with. This is what can sometimes cause the damage that free radicals are often associated with.
Free radicals can be thought of as the waste product from various chemical reactions that occur naturally in your body. The body makes free radicals while breaking down nutrients to give us the energy we need to function. Perhaps think of them as the smoke created by fire.
Free radicals can also be made after exposure to toxins in the environment such as tobacco smoke, ultraviolet light, air pollutants, and industrial chemicals.
What is the purpose of a free radical?
The body can uses free radicals for good. The immune system, for example, takes advantage of free radicals’ cell-damaging qualities and uses them to destroy viruses, bacteria, and damaged body cells in an oxidative burst. Free radicals are crucial to many other bodily functions — including cell growth and death, stress responses, and metabolism.
When does the free radical trouble start?
When free radicals accumulate, they may cause 'oxidative stress'. Oxidative stress is caused when there’s an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants. Oxidative stress means that free radicals are triggering chain reactions in your body where proteins, lipids, and DNA are being altered. These alterations can increase your risk for a number of diseases.
While oxidation is a normal and essential process, excessive oxidative stress, which can be brought on by poor diet, environmental pollution, chemical toxins, alcohol, even exercise, can be harmful.
The antioxidant counter balance
The good news is that our body naturally has defense mechanisms in place. These defense mechanisms include antioxidants which stabilise free radicals and can be acquired through a nutritious and balanced diet.
Antioxidants are very generous and can give up an electron without making themselves unstable. This then stabilizes the free radical and makes it stop its potentially damaging search. Think of antioxidants as the body’s donation center for free electrons.
Antioxidants can be acquired through a nutritious and balanced diet. Many of the plant chemicals in our foods are antioxidants. The power of antioxidants to fight free radicals is one reason why a diet rich in vegetables and fruits has been linked with a lower risk of many diseases.
So why might I need a supplement such as CDQZ?
Sometimes when our body is under attack from viruses such as flu, coronavirus and SARS our immune system needs an extra boost.
Vitamin C helps protect cells from oxidative stress, the reduction of tiredness, fatigue and increases iron absorption.
Vitamin D3 contributes to the maintenance of normal bones, muscle function and to normal blood calcium levels.
Zinc controls immune system messaging within the cells and is also an antioxidant and is anti-inflammatory. For zinc to work effectively in the body to boost immune system function, zinc has to be pushed into the cells which would require an ionophore.
An ionophore is a substance that transports particles across the cell wall barrier into the centre of the cell. The centre of the cell is where zinc needs to be to have the immune system effect. An all-natural zinc ionophore is quercetin.
Quercetin is one of the most abundant antioxidants found in our diet and itself has strong anti-viral properties which play an important role in helping your body combat free radical damage. Quercetin is a pigment that belongs to a group of plant compounds called flavonoids which are present in fruit, vegetables, grains, tea and wine.
The major benefit of taking quercetin with zinc is that the quercetin will push the zinc into the centre of the cell where the zinc can stop the virus from reproducing.
People take our CDQZ Food Supplement for several reasons, including to:
- boost immunity
- fight inflammation
- combat allergies
- aid exercise performance
- maintain general health
So if you are feeling run down or feel you need to give your immune system a helping hand you could find that CDQZ is the answer.
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