Free radicals are created by oxidation. In excess they will accelerate your aging and create havoc with your health! They are simple molecules with an electron missing. In an effort to become ‘whole’ again they seek out other chemical structures in our bodies from where they can steal an electron.

After they ‘acquire’ an electron the chemical structure/tissue from where they ‘stole’ that electron is left seriously damaged! Free radicals in small and controlled quantities are OK and indeed are helpful in everyday metabolism and they take part in normal reactions in the body. The problems start when the production of these free radicals increases and then gets out of control.

Oxidation is unavoidable! So long as we breathe oxygen there will be oxidation in our body and thus the creation of free radicals will always continue!

In an ideal world with no pollution, perfect diet and no stress, the level of free radical activity would be ‘normal’ and this would not be a serious problem and we would live to a ripe old age as the Hunza’s and other isolated groups of people used to.

BUT…that is not the case! Instead, we are subjected to air pollution, second hand smoke, lack of nutrients in our diet, artificial radiation, toxins in food and we are inadvertently exposed to a wide range of toxic chemicals in our daily lives. (Even in our furniture)!

Collectively this is bad news for those of us living in the ‘civilized’ world.

There are three ways to minimize the damage from free radicals:

• Environmentally, through avoiding pollution, radiation etc. Impossible if you live in a ‘civilized’ populated area
• Neutralizing of free radicals by antioxidants
• Increasing the elimination of cells damaged by free radicals

How do antioxidants neutralize free radicals?

In simple terms they voluntarily give one of their electrons to a free radical molecule! Antioxidants can do this without hurting themselves. It is nature’s way of keeping the oxidation process in check. Oxidation is a critical tool for nature. If it did not occur then nothing would degrade or decompose.

But, it must be kept in balance. Three or four decades ago free radicals were not so much of a problem for two reasons.

• Our food was not processed and as such, much more nutritious and contained adequate antioxidants. This is certainly not the case today.
• We were not exposed to the same level of pollution, radiation, toxins in food and chemicals in our everyday environment.

‘Experts’ who suggest that it is possible to get enough antioxidants from diet to control excess free radical activity are just sticking their ‘heads in the sand’ and not facing reality. Today we face a double ‘whammy’…the generation of free radicals at a rate which has never before been experienced by the human race, and the depletion of antioxidants from our food supply.

Examples of antioxidants…

There are literally hundreds of antioxidants, all with varying levels of potency. For example, the common vitamins A, C and E are all antioxidants, but they are quite weak, likewise selenium. They are all necessary but they don’t hold a ‘candle’ to the really potent antioxidant such as L-Glutathione.

The body can produce L-Glutathione (providing your internal systems are functioning OK and it is given the necessary precursors) but if possible it is desirable to supplement with it directly. However, supplementation with L-Glutathione is not effective in most supplements for two reasons. One is that it has to be taken in the special ‘reduced’ form. This is a smaller molecular size, as the ‘normal’ L-Glutathione will not pass through the intestinal walls into the blood stream. This reduced form is a lot more expensive than the normal L-Glutathione and few manufacturers use it.

The second reason is that it must be protected as it passes through the stomach before being released in the upper intestine. This is the only place that L-Glutathione when taken orally can be effective. This means that the supplement must be in the form of an enteric coated tablet and the nutrient released in the upper intestine.

Total Balance uses enteric coating technology AND the special reduced form of L-Glutathione.

Some of the other good antioxidants which whilst not as potent as L-Glutathione are still more potent than the common vitamins:

• Lutein
• Bilberry
• L-Carnosine
• Grape extract
• Green tea extract

All of these, and more are in Total Balance…

Glycation is even more dangerous to your health than free radicals! It is important that you understand what it is, how it is caused and how to protect yourself against it.

In order to appreciate the problems associated with glycation there are some basic biological facts that you need to be aware of.

Firstly, the role that proteins play in your body!

Proteins are valuable biological molecules which are found in almost every part of your body and have a variety of functions. They are present inside the cells making the life of the cell possible. Without them you would not survive as these proteins are needed to carry oxygen and nutrients to the tissues.

Proteins are made up of strings of different amino acids. To function properly they need to be ‘free agents’. In other words they need to remain as singular molecules to move around and perform their tasks.

So far, so good…

However, proteins have ‘enemies’ that they are exposed to every day. These ‘enemies’ are in the form of…glucose molecules, sugars, and similar chemicals known as aldehydes. All these molecules can be referred to loosely as glycating agents.

These ‘enemies’ try to attach themselves to protein molecules. When they do this it is the start of a dangerous situation. Why? Well, when the glycating agent attaches itself to a protein molecule the ‘combined molecule’ is a bit like a particle floating around with a bit of superglue stuck to it.

If that bit of ‘glue’ comes into contact with another protein then that combined molecule may then attach itself to that ‘free agent’ protein in a process referred to as ‘cross linking’. Cross linking is BAD…with a capital ‘B’

The reason why this cross linking is so bad is because now instead of having two good proteins to help the overall health of your body and prevent premature aging, you now have what is referred to by bio-chemists as a ‘grotesque’ molecule known as an AGE which is short for Advanced Glycation End-products.

These AGEs are real troublemakers!

They move around the body binding to cells and causing them to produce a number of poisonous chemicals plus other toxic by-products. AGEs also increase the formation of amyloid beta which is a toxic material found in the brains of older people and abundant in Alzheimers and dementia patients.

As well, AGEs stimulate the production of free radicals which in turn can create more aldehydes which in turn stimulates more glycation…and so, a vicious cycle can continue to accelerate UNLESS you are aware of it and do all that you can to slow down this process which causes aging and degenerative disease!

This process also contributes to heart disease by thickening artery walls. PLUS it will make you look old before your time because the skin proteins and collagen clump together, then collapse…result…wrinkles! How can you protect yourself against Glycation and the formation of AGEs? There are three actions that you can take:

• Try to minimize your intake of glycating foods…simple carbohydrates and sugars.
• By inactivating the aldehydes (glue) before they attach themselves to the protein.
• By preventing the protein which has already got ‘glue’ on it from sticking to another protein.

The first action is self explanatory. The next two are fortunately possible thanks to recent scientific discoveries using a dipeptide known as Carnosine.

This is how Carnosine works:

It has two unique abilities.

• One, is that it has an ability to attach to glycating ‘agents’ and neutralize them.
• The other is that it has the ability to put a protective shield around a protein molecule which already has a glycating agent attached to it. By providing that shield it prevents that protein molecule from ‘cross-linking’ with another protein molecule and forming an AGE.

No other natural substance has yet been discovered that can perform this task, other than Carnosine. Vitamins such as C and E although helpful for free radicals do nothing to help prevent glycation! The same applies to other antioxidants. You may be asking yourself why consumers in general are not being made more aware of glycation? The answer to this is that Carnosine is a very expensive nutrient and as yet still not common in supplements.

We have been using it in our anti aging Total Balance product for eight years. In fact, we were one of the first supplement companies in the world to begin using it for this purpose.

How much do you need?

Like so many nutrients there is no real evidence to support the premise ‘more is better’. The generally accepted effective dose rate is 50 – 150mgs per day. We use 150mgs in a daily dose of Total Balance anti aging supplement. As with most nutrients carnosine works better when taken in synergy with a wide range of other nutrients.

Also, for maximum benefits the carnosine should be incorporated in an enteric coated tablet such as Total Balance so it is released in the upper intestine. This is because carnosine is a di-peptide consisting of two amino acids and the hydrochloric acid in our stomach splits the structure of the carnosine thus reducing its effectiveness.

If you wish to do all you can to protect yourself against glycation and the damage it can cause then you should supplement with Carnosine every day. (In the correct form) Remember that it takes time to build up the protection and to undo damage which has already occurred in your body. Because it works best in combination with other nutrients it is best not to take Carnosine on its own.

"Without methylation you would die in just a few days!"

If your body's methylation is not working at an optimal level it will translate into many different health problems and will accelerate your aging process.

What is methylation?

In simple terms it is a process in which certain chemicals called ‘methyl groups’ are added to various constituents of proteins, DNA and other molecules. These are needed to keep them in good ‘working’ condition. For example, if the antidepressant, ‘feel-good’ brain chemical serotonin is not methylated it will become inactive which in turns leads to depression! This is just one of the many ‘chemicals’ in the body that need to be methylated and if they are not, can lead to serious health consequences.

Probably the most important methylation process is when it is applied to homocysteine! Homocysteine is a by product of an important amino acid, methionine and is what remains when methionine is used to methylate your proteins and DNA. Homocysteine needs to be methylated to convert it back to methionine. If this process does not happen your body is in for some serious trauma.

Homocysteine is implicated in:

• Heart disease and stroke by encouraging the clumping together of platelets
• Higher levels of oxidized LDL cholesterol from reacting with iron and copper ions to produce free radicals
• Dementia and Alzheimer’s
• Liver Disease
• Depression
• Aging in general, in that homocysteine is believed to accelerate the destruction of telomeres

But the above is only part of the methylation ‘story’.

Methylation of certain parts of your DNA can switch off unnecessary genes and prevent abnormal DNA division. This means that these abnormalities are not passed on to future generations of cells…a most important component in successful aging.

As we age the methylation processes in our bodies start getting ‘tired’ and become less efficient with a resulting build up of homocysteine, DNA damage and the development of other flow on effects such as depression.

Therefore, if you don’t take steps to ensure balanced methylation then any hope of a long life free of degenerative diseases is only a remote possibility.

As with everything related to successful aging, methylation must be balanced. Too much can be as bad as too little. Fortunately your body will balance your methylation processes providing that you give it the ‘fuel’ to perform the task.

What is the fuel?

There are three groups of compounds that are helpful in methylation with varying levels of efficacy. They are the B Vitamins, B6, B12 and folic acid, Tri-Methyl-Glycine TMG, (also known as Betaine), and SAMe.

The B Vitamins are important but more in the capacity of co-factors rather than being a solution for methylation in their own right. This is because as we get older these vitamins tend to become a bit ‘sluggish’ and as such progressively less effective.

By far the most effective methylating agent is SAMe which stands for S-Adenosyl-Methionine and is a natural chemical found in all living cells. It is formed in the body by combining the amino acid methionine and ATP (adenosine triphosphate).

The science confirming the effectiveness of SAMe as the best methylating agent is indisputable. It can be taken as a supplement but it is not readily available for two reasons. One, is that it MUST be taken in enteric coated form because SAMe is particularly susceptible to stomach acids and two that it is very expensive. We use it in our Neuro-Natural anti aging supplements and in our Total Balance both of which are enteric coated. 

Total Balance anti aging products also contain other effective methylating agents in the form of:

• B vitamins and folic acid
• Methionine and ATP
• Tri-Methyl-Glycine (TMG/Betaine)

As well as your body having to deal with free radicals, glycation and methylation it also has to fight against chronic inflammation! This is an ongoing battle which is being waged every second of the day. As with the other three concerns… (free radicals, glycation and methylation), the cause of inflammation cannot be narrowed down to one thing only. All four issues are interrelated!

If it is not controlled, inflammation will wreak havoc in your body. In fact, some scientists believe that chronic inflammation is the cause of most age related damage. This is because excessive inflammation causes toxic chemicals which eat away body tissues, thus leading to heart disease, dementia, arthritis and diabetes, just to mention a few.

For example, let’s take MDA (malondialdehyde). MDA is a dangerous chemical byproduct formed in your body as a result of the action of free radicals on the fatty membranes of your cells. It is a major factor in the production of AGEs from glycation. This same chemical, MDA, is also implicated in inflammation. This perhaps helps show you how nothing works in isolation!

Cut the supply line!

Using the example of MDA… If you reduce the free radicals in your body through the use of antioxidants then you will reduce the oxidation of your cell membranes which will in turn reduce the formation of MDA which in turn will reduce glycation and thus the formation of AGEs…and this will help reduce inflammation. In other words...cut the supply line.

However, it is not possible to control all the free radicals so no matter how many antioxidants you take MDA is still going to form…and will continue to attempt to produce AGEs which in turn can contribute to inflammation. So, this is why it is so important to take Carnosine in addition to antioxidants in order to minimize the formation of AGEs.

But…not all AGEs can be avoided and by extension not all inflammation can be avoided either, so you have to ensure that you address inflammation in ADDITION to the above mentioned three concerns!

If you don’t, your ‘anti-aging’ or ‘wellness’ program can never be successful.

To demonstrate this further…a component of inflammation is excitotoxicity. If allowed to ‘continue’ the result is the death of brain cells leading to strokes and dementia. Excitotoxicity occurs when brain cells get overexcited due to excess glutamate in the diet. MSG and other flavor enhancers are the culprits here and should be kept to a minimum in your diet.

Fortunately Carnosine can protect against excessive excitotoxicity.  Another seriously dangerous chemical associated with chronic inflammation is tumour necrosis factor (TNF). TNF actively promotes the degeneration of your brain and nerves! It is activated by a combination of free radicals and AGEs.

Some Doctors and marketers on the internet promote Omega 3 fish oil as the answer to inflammation. There is no doubt that the anti-inflammatory component of Omega 3 fish oils are certainly very helpful in reducing the impact of inflammation…but, it is only dealing with one component of the much broader picture of inflammation.

Take TNF as another example. To keep this chemical as low as possible you need to also be taking nutrients that will help, such as a calorie restriction mimics. This is another subject on its own but the best known natural calorie restriction mimics is resveratrol.

Key nutrients that can work in synergy with Omega 3 fish oil to reduce inflammation and the damage from it are:

• Flavanoids
• Alpha lipoic acid
• Carnosine
• Turmeric
• Glutathione
• Resveratrol

(all of these are present in Total Balance)

Just addressing free radicals with antioxidants or inflammation with fish oils will NOT achieve what you want. It is only PART of the equation. It takes more that one nutrient to get a result in just one part of this very complex equation. Each part has to be addressed from multiple angles, and EVERY part of the equation also needs to be dealt with.

There is a reason why we have 75-85 nutrients in our Total Balance range! Each nutrient is there for a reason and has been carefully integrated. The individual components of each nutrient have also been studied and sometimes the component of that nutrient other than the common active ingredient in it, is what is wanted for a specific function.