Oxidative stress symptoms

Oxidative stress symptoms occur when you have too many free radicals in your body. What are free radicals. Unlike most times, in this case, free isn't a good thing. Electrons love to travel as couples. They flow through the body as though it were a singles bar, looking for another electron to complete the couple. Free radicals are those molecules with the odd numbered electrons.

The problem occurs when the odd electron decides to use one of the electrons in our cell's outer membrane. It takes its mate and leaves the chemical composition of the cell membrane different. The unstable cell now tries to steal an electron from its neighbor to stabilize, starting a chain reaction.  If it doesn't have the opportunity, it changes the cells outer membrane. Now instead of a semi-permeable membrane that allows food to enter and waste to leave, the cell coat becomes hard. The loss of one of its electrons creates that problem. Eventually, the cell dies from lack of nutrition or the build up of unreleased toxic waste.  If enough cells die before they reproduce, you have aging, disease or death.

Our body needs oxygen in order to maintain life but too much of a good thing can be toxic. The metabolic process uses oxygen to burn food for energy. However, these controlled processes also create free radicals. When you combine the normal production of free radicals with the additional pressures from environmental issues, you have oxidative stress.                                                                        

Scientists now believe that any number of conditions can come from oxidative stress. It can cause tissue injury, similar to that which occurs in cancer and other conditions, hyperoxia that leads to more free radicals, plaque formation, cardiovascular disease, stroke, irradiation, diseases such as Huntington's, Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, heart attack and aging, the biggest killer.

In other words, if there's a change in your cells from healthy to unhealthy, it probably occurred because of oxidative stress. To make matters worse, many of the things we do to stay healthy actually increase the risk of oxidative stress. Do you exercise regularly and tax that body a bit? Boom! You increase oxidative stress. However, the key is to recognize the symptoms that it causes. If you train daily and still feel exhausted, perhaps even more tired than before, you probably exacerbated oxidative stress.

It's not all doom and gloom. You'll not be damned if you do and damned if you don't if you take a few precautions. Eat healthy. Inundate your body with foods high in antioxidants and you'll help relieve many of the symptoms of oxidative stress. Cut out that junk food and fill your body to the brim with juices and foods that help fight the free radicals. An antioxidant is nothing more than a cellular bodyguard that volunteers to take the bullet for the cell. It offers its electron so the free radical doesn't steal from your own body's supply of electrons. By consuming foods high in antioxidants, you're protecting your body from the effects of oxidative stress and reducing the chance of oxidative stress symptoms.