Every day your body is attacked by chemical compounds, toxins, and harmful substances called "free radicals." Find out how herbal and vitamin antioxidants can help you cleanse your body of harmful substances and provide you the ability to live a longer and healthier life.

The human body derives its energy from the utilization of nutrients and oxygen as fuel. It also utilizes oxygen to help the immune system destroy foreign substances and combat disease. The byproducts of this and other metabolic processes can lead to the development of molecular agents that react with body tissues in a process called oxidation. While this process is a natural consequence of the energy generation system, its byproducts called free radicals can damage healthy cells. Antioxidants work in several ways: First, they may reduce the energy of the free radical. Second, they may stop the free radical from forming in the first place. And finally antioxidants interrupt the oxidizing chain reaction to minimize the damage caused by free radicals.

Many members of the medical and scientific communities believe that free radicals are major factors leading to more than sixty different health problems including aging, cancer, and atherosclerosis. Reducing exposure to free radicals and increasing intake of antioxidant nutrients has the potential to reduce the risk of health conditions caused by free radicals.

Amino acids play a key role in the body. Almost 20 different amino acids combine in the body to build protein. Muscles, tendons, organs, glands, hair and nails are all composed of protein. The greatest portion of the body's weight, after water, is protein. The body can produce about half of the needed amino acids. The remaining amino acids are called essential because they must be gotten from without the body. The body does not store excess amino acids so they must be obtained daily through the diet or supplements. If any one of the essential amino acids is not present in the diet or in the body, the body will begin breaking down muscle and other protein sources to obtain it.

To fully understand the vital necessity of amino acids consider the impact and usage of just a few of them:

Tryptophan - Tryptophan is a natural relaxant and may help treat insomnia. In addition, tryptophan helps treat migraine headaches and can reduce the risk of artery and heart spasms. A popular supplement form of tryptophan is 5 HTP.

Lysine - Lysine, sometimes called L-lysine, aids in the proper absorption of calcium. Studies have also demonstrated lysine's effectiveness in treating symptoms of Herpes which manifests itself as cold sores among other symptoms. A deficiency in lysine may result in fatigue, lack of concentration, irritability, and retarded growth.

Many doctors and scientists once thought that you don't need to supplement with vitamins if you eat right. Victor Herbert, the outspoken Harvard nutrition scientist, was quoted in a famous 1992 Time magazine cover story about nutrition as saying that vitamins just gave one expensive urine. years later, in 1996, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published regulations requiring the addition of folic acid to enriched breads, cereals, flours, corn meals, pastas, rice, and other grain products. This was in response to the realization that thousands of babies were being born with spina bifida because their mothers were not getting enough folate in their diet. Spina bifida is a neural tube defect that occurs in the first month of pregnancy when the spinal column doesn't close completely. Since many Americans eat flour products, and don't eat enough leafy green vegetables, this strategy has saved thousands of lives.

While overall improvement in dietary habits can be key to the promotion of heath and disease prevention, scientists and health care professionals increasingly recognize that nutritional supplements also play an important role. The evidence is now clear that in order to maintain proper health the human body requires at least 40 essential micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, and other biochemicals), and that diet alone is very often inadequate to provide these nutrients. It has been estimated that every year there are 14 million cases of preventable heart disease, 1.2 million preventable cases of cancer, more than half a million preventable strokes and thousands of babies born with neural tube defects that could have been prevented by a simple vitamin.

Research has shown that not everyone ages at the same rate. Discover what causes aging and find out the secrets to living a healthier, longer, and more youthful life. While aging is inevitable, you can slow down your rate of aging. Find out how anti aging supplements may help you turn back the clock.

Aging Theories and Anti Aging Supplements

While there is a myriad of theories on aging, there are two basic theories that are commonly accepted by many medical professionals: Oxidation Reactions and Sub-optimal Hormone Levels.

The Oxidation Reaction Theory of Aging

An oxidation reaction occurs when life essential oxygen combusts and produces by-products referred to as oxygen free radicals. When an oxidation reaction occurs in metals such as iron, rusting occurs. When this process occurs in people, it is called aging.

Free radicals are incomplete molecules that have lost an electron. When an oxygen molecule loses an electron, it is called singlet oxygen because only one of its electrons is remaining. Oxygen in this state is highly unstable. To restore balance, the free radical either tries to steal an electron away from, or donate its remaining electron to a nearby molecule. In doing so, the radical creates molecular mayhem that damages, disrupts, and destroys nearby cells. If DNA is involved, the problem intensifies and cell mutations may occur (a theory for the common cause of cancer). Over time, free radical damage builds in the body, thus causing aging.

Scientists studying young adults in New Zealand have revealed that smoking cannabis (marijuana), independent of tobacco, is a potential risk factor for gum disease. Heavy marijuana use has been found to contribute to gum disease, apart from the known effects that tobacco smoke was already known to have