Oxidants, antioxidants, and the degenerative diseases of aging
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TLDR
It is argued that this damage to DNA, protein, and lipid is a major contributor to aging and to degenerative diseases of aging such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, immune-system decline, brain dysfunction, and cataracts.Abstract:
Metabolism, like other aspects of life, involves tradeoffs. Oxidant by-products of normal metabolism cause extensive damage to DNA, protein, and lipid. We argue that this damage (the same as that produced by radiation) is a major contributor to aging and to degenerative diseases of aging such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, immune-system decline, brain dysfunction, and cataracts. Antioxidant defenses against this damage include ascorbate, tocopherol, and carotenoids. Dietary fruits and vegetables are the principal source of ascorbate and carotenoids and are one source of tocopherol. Low dietary intake of fruits and vegetables doubles the risk of most types of cancer as compared to high intake and also markedly increases the risk of heart disease and cataracts. Since only 9% of Americans eat the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, the opportunity for improving health by improving diet is great.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Free Radicals in the Physiological Control of Cell Function
TL;DR: There is growing evidence that aging involves, in addition, progressive changes in free radical-mediated regulatory processes that result in altered gene expression.
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Biological effects of essential oils - A review
TL;DR: Findings suggest that, at least in part, the encountered beneficial effects of essential oils are due to prooxidant effects on the cellular level.
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ROS Function in Redox Signaling and Oxidative Stress
TL;DR: It is argued that redox biology, rather than oxidative stress, underlies physiological and pathological conditions.
Journal ArticleDOI
The Free Radical Theory of Aging Matures
Kenneth B. Beckman,Bruce N. Ames +1 more
TL;DR: The status of the free radical theory of aging is reviewed, by categorizing the literature in terms of the various types of experiments that have been performed, which include phenomenological measurements of age-associated oxidative stress, interspecies comparisons, dietary restriction, and the ongoing elucidation of the role of active oxygen in biology.
References
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Book
Free radicals in biology and medicine
TL;DR: 1. Oxygen is a toxic gas - an introduction to oxygen toxicity and reactive species, and the chemistry of free radicals and related 'reactive species'
Book
Molecular biology of free radical scavenging systems
TL;DR: Cell's enzymatic and nonenzymatic defenses against oxidative stress caused by active oxygen species and free radicals are examined.
Book
Micronutrients in health and in disease prevention
TL;DR: The current and recent research on the link between dietary micronutrients and critical health issues, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, immunity, birth defects, cataracts, and other acute and chronic illnesses, is summarized.