Oxidative stress occurs when there is an unhealthy imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in your body. Your body’s cells produce free radicals during normal metabolic processes, but they also produce antioxidants to neutralize these free radicals. When you’re overproducing free radicals or your body is not producing enough antioxidants to neutralize these free radicals, your body will find itself under oxidative stress, and that can be harmful to cell health. In today’s blog, we’re going to take a closer look at oxidative stress and share some tips for reducing oxidative stress in the body.
Understanding Oxidative Stress
We touched on the basics of oxidative stress a bit in the introduction, but we want to dive a little deeper into the topic. Inside the cells in your body are a structure called the mitochondria, which as we’ve talked about at length on this blog, is the powerhouse of the cell. The mitochondria work to create energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Inside the cell, the mitochondria combine oxygen and glucose to produce carbon dioxide, water and ATP. Free radicals are a byproduct of this metabolic process. These free radicals are molecules with one or more unpaired electrons.
These free radicals can be neutralized by antioxidants. These antioxidants remove free radicals donating an electron, which effectively neutralizes the radical. Your cells naturally produce antioxidants, but you also get antioxidants from your diet. Vitamin A and vitamin C are some common examples of antioxidants that can be obtained from your diet.
It’s also important to realize that not all oxidative stress is harmful to your body. Exercise leads to temporary oxidative stress in your muscles, but these free radicals aid in tissue growth and in turn stimulate antioxidant production. Problems develop when your body is exposed to long-term oxidative stress. Long-term oxidative stress has been connected to cell damage and health conditions like chronic pain and cancer.
How To Prevent And Treat Oxidative Stress
Preventing and neutralizing oxidative stress really just comes down to living a healthy lifestyle. One of the best ways to ensure your body has enough antioxidants to combat free radical production is by consuming a healthy diet. Eating a range of healthy foods will give your body access to vitamins, minerals and nutrients that are rich in antioxidants that your body cannot produce on its own.
Other helpful ways to manage oxidative stress include:
- Working towards a healthy weight
- Getting regular exercise
- Avoiding smoking
- Limiting exposure to harmful chemicals
- Finding healthy ways to manage daily stress
Helping neutralize these free radicals is also something that we do at HyperCharge Clinic. A number of our rejuvenation techniques like Class IV Laser Therapy and Whole Body Photobiomodulation work by targeting your body on a cellular level to improve mitochondria function, ATP production and free radical neutralization. If your doctor believes that your pain condition or health issue is tied to oxidative stress imbalance, and you have been unable to manage this imbalance on your own, consider reaching out to the team at HyperCharge Clinic. Let us help you get back to a healthy oxidative state so that you can live life with less pain and more energy.
For more information, or for help with a different physical issue, reach out to the team at HyperCharge Clinic today at (763) 717-8745.