Our body fights a constant battle with time every day, in an attempt to survive and maintain a healthy state.
Normal aging, however, has now been decoded, we know how it happens and knowing the paths followed, we know how we can “save” what is saved.
In the paths that aging follows, but also in the outlets that each of us individually has, we were “guided” by the associate professor of Pathology – Diabetes of the Faculty of Medicine of the Greek Academy of Sciences, Panagiotis Halvatsiotis, talking about “life maintenance” healthy” with our personal commitment.
Sources of antioxidants are physical exercise and their exogenous intake with food.
As Mr. Halvatsiotis explained, each cell in our body is an independent unit that cooperates and coordinates with corresponding cells to complete a predetermined energy assigned to them, such as movement for musculoskeletal cells, higher spiritual functions for the brain and/or reproduction for the genitals. .
Each cell unit, for its energy needs, uses glucose as “fuel” which comes from food and reaches the cells with the blood circulation.
The intracellular “factory” of energy production is the mitochondria, which “burn” glucose and produce the necessary energy, but also heat, so precious that it does not freeze.
However, as all internal combustion engines produce exhaust gases with their operation, so the famous endogenous oxidizing bodies are produced in the mitochondria: oxidizing radicals that have strong aggravating effects, both locally within the mitochondrion, both inside or outside the cell. where they are produced.
These oxidizing molecules, when they leave the cell, usually bind various biomolecules which alter their properties and give them destructive effects on the tissues in which they circulate, thus developing the famous oxidative stress. This in turn promotes inflammatory processes that ultimately lead to a decline in the body’s capabilities, and the intense oxidative load practically predicts the acceleration of the aging process and the development of chronic diseases that in turn bring death closer.
Antioxidants
The body’s defense system against this internal enemy are antioxidant organisms whose production is triggered by circulating levels of oxidants.
Many times, however, they are unable to counteract the high load of oxidizing bodies, resulting in the appearance of diseases.
Other sources of antioxidants are physical exercise and their exogenous intake with food.
Oxidizing agents in the environment
In addition to endogenous oxidants, the organism is also burdened by exogenous oxidants which come from smoking, alcohol, environmental pollutants, forest fires, ultraviolet radiation, recently increased due to climate change, and from foods, especially if rich of foods of animal origin, rich in fat and higher in calories than our daily needs.
On the contrary, foods rich in antioxidants are fruit and vegetables, as long as they are not exposed to high temperatures.
Therefore in our organism there is a constant conflict between the oxidative load and the antioxidants so if the oxidative radicals manage to tip the scales in their favour, we age faster or we are at the genesis and development of various diseases such as cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, diabetes and even neoplasms.
Therefore, the increased prevention of calorie intake with fat-rich animal foods in combination with the reduced physical activity that characterizes obesity, teleologically leads to a combination of increased oxidative load and reduction of the body’s antioxidants. For this reason, obese people represent the most vulnerable population to develop the chronic diseases mentioned above and to die first from coronavirus.
Insulin resistance
If we go back to the cellular level where we use glucose as an energy “fuel”, it enters the cells with the help of insulin which works like the catalytic converter in cars. That is, just as even if the car tank is full of gasoline, it cannot “burn” in the engine if someone has removed the catalytic converter, so insulin-dependent type 1 diabetics end up in a hyperglycemic diabetic coma. The reason is that, even if blood glucose levels are high, due to the complete lack of insulin, the cells do not have the fuel to produce the precious energy and become disorganized.
In an intermediate state, the organism, to reduce the excessive production of endogenous oxidizing bodies, due to the excessive avoidance of foods of unhealthy composition as occurs in obesity, activates a defense mechanism which deactivates insulin to limit heartburn. of the organism. This defense mechanism is the famous insulin resistance that characterizes the obese, but also those suffering from chronic diseases.
Today we therefore know that the presence of insulin resistance, which appears sooner or later based on the genes we have inherited, is the bell that tells us that we are in the last round of the race of our life and warns us to take immediate measures to reverse the phenomenon to maintain our well-being.
13 forms of cancer – 5 neurological diseases
Obesity today, with concomitant insulin resistance, is considered by the World Health Organization to be responsible for meningioma, multiple myeloma, tumors of the esophagus, stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, colon, breast, of the uterus, ovaries, kidneys and thyroid. Modern scientific knowledge also suggests, to delay the progression of neurodegenerative diseases linked to the presence of insulin resistance such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Myotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, the application of therapeutic exercise from the initial stages.
The source of the problem
Perhaps like Hercules instead of cutting off the terrifying and voracious heads of the Lernaean Hydra that make up each of these diseases, i.e. cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, cancer, diabetes, autoimmune, etc. it is best to strike at the heart of the beast at the root of evil by adopting healthy eating habits and engaging in curated daily exercise programs to protect our overall health from all the above-mentioned diseases and delay aging.
How do we keep Ev Zin?
Mr. Halvatsiotis then proposed 4 steps to maintain a “healthy life” by promoting antioxidant activity in our body:
Rule one
Regular exercise maximizes antioxidant production and improves insulin sensitivity even if you don’t lose weight. It could therefore be considered the equivalent of a drug, available free of charge and without side effects. Add 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every day or most days of the week.
Rule two
Adopt a balanced, metabolically healthy diet, rich in fibre, with proteins from cereals and legumes, with low glycemic index carbohydrates, low in fat and a daily plate of colorful fruit and vegetables. Finally, it is recommended to stop using sugar.
Rule three
Lack of sleep disrupts and disorients our hormonal environment, but it also significantly increases insulin resistance. So make sure you get at least seven hours of quality sleep. It is recommended that the sleeping area is “clean” of electronic devices and that you refrain from consuming caffeine (coffee or soft drinks) for at least 10 hours before going to bed.
Rule four
Anxiety, mental tension and depressive syndromes contribute to the development of insulin resistance. Therefore, it is considered necessary to deal with all these burdens of our mental sphere. Here too, physical exercise with the production of endorphins significantly helps to feel inner renewal.