Free Radicals are highly reactive molecules that are produced by our organism. They are the cause of most pathologies and of ageing of living beings.
Free radicals are composed of oxygen which combines with other elements, therefore, paradoxically the oxygen which is necessary to life also becomes the most important source of production of free radicals.
- When we breathe, we introduce oxygen and 95% of this oxygen is used by the cells to produce energy; whilst the remaining part produces free radicals. This is a normal physiological process, and a healthy person is equipped to face the presence of these free radicals by defending himself with an own anti-radical system that is called antioxidant system.
- This antioxidant system contains enzymatic and non-enzymatic mechanisms. The first contains superoxidedismutase, catalase and reduced glutathione. In the non-enzymatic we have, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, carotenoids, polyphenols, anthocyanines etc. Therefore, our organism responds to the formation of free radicals with it own antioxidant system.
- If the quantity of free radicals produced is superior to the physiological process, our antioxidant system is no longer able to neutralize this excess, and so free radicals attack the cells, provoking damage which can be more or less serious. And we find ourselves in oxidative stress.
For an example: if a piece of metal is adequately protected, by paint for example, it is not attacked by the oxygen in air. However, if there is no protection, the oxygen interacts with the atoms of the metal and the piece, in time, rusts until it disintegrates. Something like this also happens to our organism.
Therefore, what are the damages created by free radicals?
They are damages at a cellular level and therefore cannot be seen immediately, but they will be revealed with time.
Oxidative stress means ageing of the cell and therefore of the tissues with everything that this implicates regarding efficiency. Early ageing of the skin is one of the most well known signs.
Cellular damage begins at the membrane level with an alteration of the changes between the inside and the outside of the cell; on the inside the formation of ATP, which is the battery, the source of the cell's energy, is altered, and it can reach an alteration of the DNA with mutagenic effects and therefore tumors.
- An excess of free radicals is always damaging and must be fought.
But when does an excessive production of free radicals occur?
What are the conditions that cause oxidative stress?
One can have oxidative stress in normal health conditions or in pathologies.
- Normal health conditions: there is an increase of free radicals, for example, doing sport or by straining the muscles. In fact, if a person is seated, he consumes a certain quantity of oxygen with a "normal" production of free radicals. If the same person runs, does some kind of sport, or is under pressure, the consumption of oxygen can increase up to twenty times more and therefore there is also an increase in the production of free radicals proportionally. These high values can also be seen in persons undergoing psycho-physical stress, those exposed to environmental pollution, tobacco smoke, sun radiations, in persons who do not follow a balanced diet, in those who drink too many alcoholics. Other interesting cases are women treated pharmacologically with the contraceptive pill or with oestrogenes during menopause. Nearly always in these cases, an increase of free radicals has been reported with values much higher than the border line.
- Pathological conditions: nearly all pathologies present anomalous free radical values. Therefore, the list becomes very long. For example remember the allergenic pathologies, the phlogistic ones, for example, rheumatic arthritis; then Alzheimer, the constriction of the carotis, hypertension, diabetes etc. etc. In these pathologies, the right therapy for each pathology does not make free radicals go back to the norm. Free radicals are therefore an independent risk and they need specific treatment with anti-free radicals, this means with antioxidants.
Antioxidants: antioxidants are present in nature especially in fruit and vegetables. Therefore, a diet consisting of these is useful. Though, when free radicals reach too high a level it is advisable to integrate it with an adequate pool made up of vitamin and non vitamin antioxidants.
How to intervene.
It is now ascertained that free radicals are a risk factor and that it is necessary to keep them at a normal level, otherwise you have cellular damage.
In order to do this it is necessary to know free radical values that are present in our organism. And this, until now has been the negative limit, difficulty in measuring oxidative stress.
- The only method for measuring free radicals until now was the ESR (Electron Spin Resonance); this method however is only used by research centers because it is very costly and takes some hours before having the result. It is therefore not used for routine measuring in the medical field.
- But recently, a revolutionary method has been made available to the medical class, the FRAS, Free Radical Analytical System, which allows measurement of the level of free radicals in blood in a few minutes and at a low cost. FRAS consists of a photometer, a mini-centrifuge and of a reagent called d-ROMs test Diacron. This is how it works: free radicals in the blood oxidate the lipids; the oxidated lipids are proportional to the free radicals; a drop of blood, coming into contact with the reagent, colours, and its intensity is proportional to the quantity of oxidated lipids and therefore to the free radicals; the photometer measures the intensity of the colour transforming it into a value. This value is the value of oxidative stress which is measured in Carr units. One Carr unit corresponds to a concentration of hydrogen peroxide of 0,08mg%. Normal oxidative stress values are 250 U.Carr; from 250 to 300 U. Carr values should be considered as border line, over 300 U.Carr we find the beginning of oxidative stress which can be light, strong, very strong; over 400 U. Carr there is a very strong oxidative stress.
- With FRAS you can therefore know oxidative stress values, measure them, find the right therapeutic treatment and consequently modulate the right posology for each case, according to the conditions and necessities of the patient. In Italy, the length of life is about 75 years. If a person keeps his free radical values at a normal level, the length of life could reach 120 years. The importance of measuring free radicals can be clearly seen by this.