Our bodies use an enormous amount of antioxidant nutrients such as vitamin C in citrus, vitamin E in unrefined oils, lycopenes in tomatoes, carotenoids in yellow and orange foods, and Co enzyme Q10 to initiate many enzymatic reactions in the body. There are other not so familiar nutrients that are just as important as the ones we know about. One such nutrient is Alpha Lipoic Acid, also referred to as ALA. It’s one of the fatty acids that contains a sulphur ingredient. A very important function of Alpha Lipoic Acid is to revive other antioxidants e.g. glutathione. Alpha Lipoic Acid’s therapeutic effects includes preventing the damaging effects of prolonged exposure to stress which triggers free radical oxidative damage, a common factor in many of the chronic, degenerative, non-communicable preventable and reversible disease conditions.
Alpha Lipoic Acid is a major player in diabetes. It helps with diabetic neuropathy and retinopathy, a condition of the eyes caused by excessive sugar affecting the nerves that feed the eyes. Alpha Lipoic Acid is approved for use up to 600mg daily, orally or intravenously. For the diabetic who takes insulin, while using Alpha Lipoic Acid, their insulin doses will have to be adjusted. Alpha Lipoic Acid reduces the need for insulin in type II diabetics. Good food sources of Alpha Lipoic Acid include spinach, broccoli, brewer’s yeast and organ meats.
Here are some of the benefits of Alpha Lipoic Acid in treating such conditions as:
? HIV infections. It regenerates the anti-HIV antioxidant glutathione so that the virus cannot replicate itself.
? It helps protect against mercury poisoning.
? It benefits the sufferer of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases.
? When combined with milk thistle and selenium, it treats hepatitis C and other viral infections.
? In the case of Amanita poisoning, a highly toxic mushroom that causes liver damage, Alpha Lipoic Acid helps.
Other important nutrients also include Bioflavonoids also referred to as Vitamin P. This group of nutrients include Flavones, flavonoids, Isoflavones, hesperidin, Anthocyanin, catechins, myrecetin, rutin and quercetin. These are found mainly in blue, green, orange and red coloured fruits and vegetables. The orange, yellow and green foods get their colouring from the carotenoids, carotene and chlorophyll compounds they contain, respectively. These particular Bioflavonoids have a mild sedative action and have been used medically in anti-inflammatory and anti-allergy preparations. The Bioflavonoids rutin and coumarin have been used to treat schizophrenics who did not respond to tranquilizer treatments. Bioflavonoids helped these patients recover within a few days of supplementing with Bioflavonoids. The only tranquilizer these patients received was fluphenazine decanoate.
Flavonoids such as the Phenols, in red wine, also have antioxidant properties and has helped lower LDL cholesterol levels and prevent the clumping/clotting of the platelet blood cells. Several studies have shown that people who consume less Flavonoids were more likely to die from coronary heart disease. Consuming organic soy rich in Isoflavones protects the prostate and inhibits the growth cancers. Research has shown that, Seventh-Day Adventist males, who consume organic soy products rich in Isoflavones, have a much lower incidence of prostate cancer. Japanese men who also consumed more soy tofu than their American male counterparts also have a lower mortality rate from prostate cancer.
Other nutrients just as important are the Omega Essential Fatty Acids. Like many vitamins, amino acids and minerals, these essential fatty acids play an important role in maintaining our health and well-being. There are three classes of these Essential Fatty Acids i.e. the Omega 3s, 6s and 9s. The body manufactures Omega 9s but that’s not to say it’s any less important than the Essential Fatty Acids Omega 3 and 6.
Most unprocessed/unrefined vegetable oils contain Omega 6s e.g. Linoleic Acid but only those oils that have not been processed or refined. Fish oils contain the Omega 3s essential fatty acids – EPA & DHA. There is yet another essential fatty acid that vegetarians who do not consume fish would benefit from i.e. Lenolenic Acid. This Omega 3 is found in flaxseed/linseed, walnuts and green leafy vegetables. The best sources of the Omega 3 essential fats are the deep sea, cold water fishes such as tuna, sardines, mackerel, salmon and trout. Omega 3 essential fats are converted to EPA, DHA and another substance called Prostaglandins, a hormone-like chemical produced in the body that initiates a wide variety of reactions e.g. growth, development and maintenance of the integrity of the cell membranes.
About 70 years ago Essential Fatty Acids begin to disappear from our diet. These are very delicate substances with a tendency to spoil very easily. When we began processing oil, their essential fatty acids were deliberately targeted & destroyed. Should any omega remain in the finished processed oil these were deliberately destroyed to prevent spoilage of the oil. The God given natural ingredient, vitamin E, that prevents spoilage of the oil is also removed or destroyed, only to be replaced by such artificial chemical additives as BHT and/or BHA.
Omega 3, 6 and 9 must be balanced because all are important for maintaining optimum health. Many of the preventable, reversible, chronic, non-communicable degenerative disease conditions we face today are a result of the missing Essential Fatty Acids from our diet. Deficiencies in the Omegas cause a wide range of central nervous system and mental disorders e.g. attention deficit hyperactive disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and depression, to name a few. Supplementing with one or more of the omegas benefits the sufferer of mental disorders.
To contact Dr. Stan Horne:
1-264-582-7045
1-784-531-1150
Email: naturopathyplus@yahoo.co.uk
