Ray D. Strand
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 During periods of particularly high production of free radicals, the defense and repair system can break down and no longer cope with the number of damaged proteins, fats, cell membranes, and DNA structures.
When not properly repaired, damaged proteins can create further problems in cell function. Damaged lipids lead to rigid cell membranes; oxidized cholesterol often leads to hardening of the arteries. And poorly repaired DNA chains lead to cell mutation as implicated in cancer and aging. |
Andreas Moritz
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 In fact, the cell membranes become cellular "garbage cans." The cells cannot rid themselves of all their own waste because the surrounding connective tissue is congested with other waste material (owing to lymphatic blockage). In due time, inefficient waste disposal becomes more pronounced and apparent in the body. The withheld waste gradually cuts off the cells' supply of oxygen, nutrients, and water, and increasingly thickens their membranes. The cell membranes of a newborn baby are very thin, nearly colorless, and transparent. |
Michael T. Murray and Michael R. Lyon
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 Although monounsaturated fats are not as unsaturated as polyunsaturated, they still contribute to healthier cell membranes because they are more fluid than saturated fats. And, because they only have one unsaturated bond, they are more stable and provide better protection against oxidative damage to cell membranes than polyunsaturated oils. |
Andreas Moritz
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| The withheld waste gradually cuts off the cells' supply of oxygen, nutrients, and water, and increasingly thickens their membranes. The cell membranes of a newborn baby are very thin, nearly colorless, and transparent. The average 70-year-old person today has cell membranes that are at least five times as thick as are those found in a baby's body. The membranes' color is generally brown and, in some cases, even black. This cell-degenerative process is what we generally refer to as "aging. |
Bottom Line Health
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| Due to differences in the characteristics of the cardiac cell membranes in men and women, sotalol, which acts on these cell membranes, can increase a woman's risk of ventricular tachycardia, a potentially life-threatening arrhythmia.
Best advice: A woman who needs an antiarrhythmic drug can sometimes be treated using another drug in the same class. If she requires sotalol, she should be advised to stay in a hospital or another type of facility that can provide continuous heart monitoring—and cardiac resuscitation, if necessary. |
Elaine Magee
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 Favorite targets of these molecular assassins include the unsaturated fatty acids on cell membranes. Free radicals begin by causing cell wall damage through the oxidation of LDL cholesterol on the cell membranes. Later, they may wreak havoc by damaging the cell membrane itself (a process called lipid peroxidation). Once inside the cell, free radicals may damage DNA and other parts of the cell that help it function properly. Similar to the DNA damage associated with radiation, free-radical damage has been associated with cancer. |
Bottom Line Health
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| Due to differences in the characteristics of the cardiac cell membranes in men and women, sotalol, which acts on these cell membranes, can increase a woman's risk of ventricular tachycardia, a potentially life-threatening arrhythmia.
Best advice: A woman who needs an antiarrhythmic drug can sometimes be treated using another drug in the same class. If she requires sotalol, she should be advised to stay in a hospital or another type of facility that can provide continuous heart monitoring—and cardiac resuscitation, if necessary. |
Andreas Moritz
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| When the body's cells are unable to remove their daily-generated metabolic waste material fast enough, some of it is deposited in the cell membranes. In fact, the cell membranes become cellular "garbage cans." The cells cannot rid themselves of all their own waste because the surrounding connective tissue is congested with other waste material (owing to lymphatic blockage). In due time, inefficient waste disposal becomes more pronounced and apparent in the body. The withheld waste gradually cuts off the cells' supply of oxygen, nutrients, and water, and increasingly thickens their membranes. |
Mehmet C. Oz., M.D. and Michael F. Roizen, M.D.
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 Phosphatidylserine If you want to About 70 percent of our cell membranes are made from this, and as we age, the level of phosphatidylserine drops, and the membranes become brittle. This supplement seems to strengthen cell membranes and the phospholipid sheathing around nerves, protecting the cables that transfer information from shorting out. Since risks are few, taking 200 milligrams daily is reasonable.
This supplement has a beneficial effect in protecting against Parkinson's disease (a neural disease that can be caused by trauma, as in the case of boxers, or through viruses and genetics). |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews
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 It also supplies material for building cell membranes, especially in nervous tissue. Thus it is necessary in the right proportions for the maintenance of health.
Cholesterol first acquired its bad rap as an instigator of heart disease all the way back in 1913. That's when a Russian scientist named Nikolai Anitschkow fed a group of rabbits a very high-cholesterol diet as an experiment. When Anitschkow examined the rabbits' blood vessels, he found them to be hardened and clogged with plaque, a condition known as atherosclerosis. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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 Also an excellent source of vitamin E. cell membranes. Also, eggs contain lutein, a nutrient that protects the eyes. And in one Chinese study, six eggs a week lowered the risk of breast cancer by 44 percent. I have seen eggs worsen the symptoms of gallbladder disease, though; eggs should be avoided in those patients.
5. Oatmeal: One of the healthiest carbohydrates. It contains manganese, selenium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, copper, and protein and is an excellent source of soluble fiber, which helps stabilize blood sugar and is an excellent choice for those with diabetes. |
| Let's start with the cell membranes. Omega-3 s are incorporated into cells, making their membranes more fluid so they can communicate with one another. This means, for example, that feel-good neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine can get in and out of the cell more easily, translating to better mood. In fact, omega-3 s are currently being studied for their positive effect on depression.
They're also being studied for their impact on behavior, feeling, and thinking. |
| It's incorporated into our cell membranes. It's used as an energy source. It cushions and protects our organs. It makes certain critical vitamins—like vitamins A and D—available to us. Some fats—like sterols—serve as the basic molecule for important hormones like the sex hormones. And fats are the precursors for a whole group of important compounds in the body known as prostaglandins that are vitally important for human health.
Coconut's Medium-Chain Fatty Acids Are Easier to Metabolize
What we know as "fats" and "oils" are mostly made up of smaller compounds called fatty acids. |
| Since our cell membranes and brain cells are largely composed of fats, preventing free radical damage to fats is a significant benefit. Cholesterol is also a kind of fat, and in fact, is only a real danger to us when it gets oxidized (or damaged by free radicals) in the body. So anything helping to prevent this oxidation would be a very good thing. In actuality, prunes have the highest oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) of any food tested, which means that the compounds in prunes, working as a group, deliver more of a protective antioxidant punch than any other food tested. |
| Here's why it makes sense: Fats in the diet are incorporated into cell membranes. Omega-3s are soft and fluid and give the cells enough "give" to allow them to communicate with each other, facilitating the movement of feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin in and out of the cells, and helping to support memory and thinking as well. Omega-3s truly are "brain food," and walnuts are rich in them. |
| Choline is essential for cardiovascular and brain function and for the health of your cell membranes. It's an essential part of a phospholipid called phosphatidylcholine (the popular supplement lecithin is about 10 to 20 percent phosphatidylcholine). Without adequate phosphatidylcholine, both fat and cholesterol accumulate in the liver. Have you picked up on the paradox yet? People avoid egg yolks because they're afraid of the cholesterol, but the choline in the egg yolk actually helps prevent the accumulation of cholesterol and fat in the liver! |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews
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| A highly reactive compound that damages cell membranes and other cell components, contributing to degenerative diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, premature aging, cataracts, and arthritis. Free radicals are found in air pollution, tobacco smoke, some foods, and pesticides. Some are produced by ultraviolet radiation; they are also manufactured during normal body processes. Chemically, free radicals have single, unshared electrons that are responsible for their high reactivity.
French paradox. |
J. Douglas Bremner
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 It plays a role in methylation reactions, including gene expression, maintenance of cell membranes, and neurotransmitter synthesis. Administration of SAMe has been shown to increase levels of serotonin in the brain. Uncontrolled studies have shown efficacy for SAMe in the treatment of depression, but inadequate controlled studies with long-term follow-up have been performed to recommend usage of this supplement for depression. See Chapter 15.
COENZYME Q10
Coenzyme Q10 is an enzyme occurring naturally in the body that is involved in energy transfer in the mitochondria. |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews
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| Vitamin E
Protects the fatty areas of the body such as cell membranes, from oxidation; scavenges free radicals.
Beta-carotene and other carotenoids
Scavenges singlet oxygen molecules (often resulting from sunlight exposure); prevents the oxidation of fats.
Minerals
Components of various antioxidant enzymes (e.g., superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase) that mop up oxygen fragments.
Coenzyme
Qio
Scavenges free radicals, especially in the blood; may recycle vitamin E. |
| Free radicals can oxidize the fats and proteins that compose cell membranes. This free radical damage can lead to cell membrane instability, affect the ability of the cell to access food and oxygen and dispose of its waste products, and affect the cells' survival and reproduction.
2. Free radicals can damage the mitochondria of cells. Mitochondria are the "powerhouses" of cells where energy is actually generated. Obviously, when mitochondria are damaged, they are less effective in producing energy.
3. |
Ray D. Strand
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| The body uses fats for the production of healthy cell membranes as well as certain hormones called prostaglandins. The two most important essential fatty acids are omega-3 fatty acids, called alpha-linoleic acid, and omega-6 fatty acids, called just linoleic acid. Our bodies turn omega-3 fatty acids into prostaglandins that are primarily anti-inflammatories. Omega-6 fatty acids become prostaglandins that are primarily inflammatories.
The generally accepted optimal ratio of dietary intake of omega-6 fatty acids and omega-3 fatty acids is 4:1. |
| In fact it is essential for building good cell membranes, other cell parts, and many different hormones that our bodies need. We could not live without it. In fact if we don't get enough from our diet, our bodies will actually make this form of cholesterol.
Problems begin to occur only when free radicals change or oxidize native LDL cholesterol. It is this modified LDL cholesterol that is truly "bad." In a 1989 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. |
| Damaged lipids lead to rigid cell membranes; oxidized cholesterol often leads to hardening of the arteries. And poorly repaired DNA chains lead to cell mutation as implicated in cancer and aging.
Simply stated, when we overwork our built-in antioxidant defense and repair systems, significant damage occurs to the body and eventually may lead to any one of a number of chronic degenerative diseases. |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews
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| A pore in cell membranes, through which cells communicate with one another by transferring substances.
Gastrointestinal tract. The digestive system, including the stomach and the intestines.
Gingivitis. Inflammation of the dental gums, the beginning stage of periodontal disease.
Glucose. A particular sugar that occurs widely in nature. The term is often used to refer to the sugar commonly found in the blood, in which case it is a synonym for blood sugar.
Glycogen. A carbohydrate polymer composed of glucose units. It is the main form in which carbohydrate is stored in the body. |
Dr. Sharon Moalem
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 But if you don't have enough G6PD to maintain cellular integrity, when the primaquine puts stress on your red blood cells, some of the cells can't take it—the free radicals cause the cell membranes to burst, destroying them. And that loss of red blood cells spells anemia—specifically, hemolytic anemia, which is anemia that is caused by the early breakdown of red blood cells. The person undergoing the hemolytic crisis will experience severe weakness and fatigue; there may be signs of jaundice. Untreated, hemolytic anemia can lead to kidney failure, heart failure, and death. |
Thomson Healthcare, Inc.
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 Iron is able to catalyze reactions that produce free radical metabolites, which may damage cell membranes, cause chromosomal mutations, or oxidize low-density lipoproteins (LDL) into more atherogenic particles (Sempos et al 1996; Minotti 1993; Imlay et al 1988). Animal studies have confirmed that atherosclerotic plaques contain a high concentration of iron, and rats given large amounts of iron have increased LDL lipid peroxidation. In human studies, atherosclerosis has been associated with increased iron levels (Meyers 2000). |
| SAMe increases the fluidity of cell membranes by increasing the conversion of phosphatidyletha-nolamine (PtdEth) to phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho) and thereby could alter the functioning of receptors and ion channels. The stimulation of phospholipid methylation by beta-adrenergic agonists is regulated by SAMe, suggesting a possible common path whereby amines and SAMe interact in depression (Bressa, 1994; Kagan et al, 1990). Studies following the time course of changes in SAMe and melatonin in the rat pineal gland suggest an association between the concentration of SAMe and melatonin synthesis. |
| It decreases calcium-induced hemoglobin binding to red cell membranes and antagonizes the echinocyte-promoting effect of calcium. Thus, it can be used as an anti-sickling agent (Gupta & Choubey, 1987).
Cell-Protective Effects: Zinc exerts a protective effect in maintaining the integrity of both cellular and organelle membranes. Zinc deficiency can cause increased membrane peroxidation and subsequent membrane damage and abnormalities of cellular transport with decreased enzyme activity (Gupta & Choubey, 1987). |
Michael T. Murray and Michael R. Lyon
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| And, because they only have one unsaturated bond, they are more stable and provide better protection against oxidative damage to cell membranes than polyunsaturated oils.
While olive oil and canola oil are by far the most popular monounsaturated fats in use, macadamia nut oil is superior to cook with because of lower levels of polyunsaturated oil (3 percent for macadamia nut oil versus 8 percent for olive and 23 percent for canola). |
| Without the right type of fats in cell membranes, cells simply do not function properly. Considerable evidence indicates that cell membrane dysfunction is a critical factor in the development of insulin resistance, obesity and diabetes. So it is critical to effective long-term weight management that you eat the right types of fats.
The type of dietary fat profile linked to insulin resistance is an abundance of saturated fat and trans fatty acids along with a relative insufficiency of monounsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids. |
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