[nutritionfacts.org]

"it is in these fireworks inside the mitochondria, where the oxygen we breathe may get a hold of an electron we ate that was pumped with energy by plants (thanks to photosynthesis) and transform that oxygen molecule into what’s called superoxide, which can damage our delicate cellular machinery—oxidize our cellular machinery. Basically we're rusting—that's what rust is, right? The oxidation of metal. And scientifically, aging has been considered the slow oxidation of our bodies. Like those brown age spots on the back of people’s hands? That's just oxidized fat under the skin. Oxidant stress is why we get wrinkles, that's why we lose some of our memory, that's why our organ systems break down as we get older."

"Here’s the catch, though: Many antioxidants can’t penetrate through the mitochondrial membrane into the mitochondria. So they can protect the rest of the cell, protect our DNA, but they can’t get access inside the powerplants of our cells and so may be helpless to slow down the aging process. That’s why our bodies, have an enzyme called superoxide dismutase. It’s a detoxifying enzyme within our mitochondria that neutralizes superoxide, and turns it back into oxygen.

Because of it’s “bomb-defusing” role, it’s considered a tumor suppressor gene staving off cancer, considered neuroprotective in our brain, staving off dementia. In fact the reason women live longer than men, may be because they have superior enzymatic activity of this superoxide dismutase.
This Mitochondrial Theory of Aging has enjoyed such universal acceptance within the scientific community, that there was even a paper published last year asking whether there was anything more to aging at all?
OK, bottomline: how do we boost the activity of this anti-aging, anti-cancer, anti-Alzheimers enzyme? Become a woman. Or become a vegetarian. Last year researchers compared this enzyme’s activity in omnivores versus vegetarians. This is your superoxide dismutase enzyme activity if you’re over 85. When you’re younger, this enzyme may work a little better, but when one eats vegetarian it works a lot better.

Eating vegetarian appears to boost this anti-aging enzyme’s activity 300%! A three-fold increase in the expression of the superoxide dismutase gene in the vegetarian group compared to the omnivore control group. We had no idea. No wonder vegetarians live longer; no wonder they have less cancer and cardiovascular disease—we had just never tested them for this enzyme before.
A higher enzyme expression, at the genetic level. Thus, a better defense against superoxide radicals might be expected as a consequence of a vegetarian diet. So maybe that’s why lower rates of cancer and chronic cardiovascular disease compared to omnivores. Yes, they eat more phytonutrients, but the higher protection against chronic disease in vegetarians may also be explained by what are called epigenetic changes. You think you’re just born with genes and stuck with them? No, we now know that what we eat can turn on and off gene expression. And in this case, eating vegetarian seems to significantly boost the activity of one of the most important workhorse enzymes in the body."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/13/2014 02:10AM by Panchito.

<< OK, bottomline: how do we boost the activity of this anti-aging, anti-cancer, anti-Alzheimers enzyme? Become a woman. Or become a vegetarian>>

so what does being a woman have to do with superoxide dismutase
do women have more of it or something?

la_veronique Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> so what does being a woman have to do with
> superoxide dismutase
> do women have more of it or something?

I don't know but my guess would be that women don't seem to need, or use, as much zinc as men do which might allow for more available free zinc to be used making SOD.

google the benefits of the supplement glisodin and you'll read about the effect of SOD (SuperOxide Dismutase). wikipedia says that the enzyme sod is also found in spinach but supposedly destroyed by gastric acid.

example:

[www.amazon.com]

"At birth, each and every one of us is equipped with three primary endogenous enzymatic antioxidants; SOD (Superoxide Dismutase), Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) and Catalase. These natural, primary antioxidants are our first line of defense against oxidation and cell damage. While all three are vital, SOD has been of particular importance to researchers. Countless attempts to reproduce an SOD supplement have been unsuccessful, essentially because SOD has not able to withstand the gastric acid denaturing that naturally occurs when it is administered orally.Until now, that is. GliSODin from NOW is the answer to a puzzle that has plagued researchers for decades. As the first truly effective oral SOD supplement ever introduced to the public, GliSODin has taken antioxidant protection, immune support and anti-aging prevention to levels that were previously unimaginable. By cleverly devising a stabilized wheat gliadin protein delivery method, researchers have been able to by-pass the gastric acids that have previously rendered SOD useless.The primary function of GliSODin from NOW is to scour the body for superoxide radicals and reduce them to less reactive ions that can be easily swept away; a process known as dismutation. In addition, GliSODin reduces the oxidation capacity of healthy cells, protects mitochondrial activity and safeguards DNA structure. But even more important than merely delivering SOD, GliSODin has been shown to stimulate the bodys natural production of all three enzymatic antioxidants. This is revolutionary because for the first time in history, you will now have the ability to enhance your bodys primary defense mechanisms. "



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2014 12:30AM by Panchito.

SOD supplements have been for sale for decades. Do they actually work? Never did anything discernible for me when I took them in the 80's.

I think that the trick to get SOD pass the gastric acid was found very recent. It was found by chemically combining wheat grass with cantaloupe (SOD), thus creating glisodin. So I very much doubt it worked a decade ago (no glisodin back then). Many people swear by it saying that their while color hairs changed to brownish (cosmetic). But it seems that the biggest effect is on restoring nerves/brain. There are too many links on google.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2014 03:32PM by Panchito.

Panchito Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think that the trick to get SOD pass the gastric
> acid was found very recent. It was found by
> chemically combining wheat grass with cantaloupe
> (SOD), thus creating glisodin. So I very much
> doubt it worked a decade ago (no glisodin back
> then). Many people swear by it saying that their
> while color hairs changed to brownish (cosmetic).
> But it seems that the biggest effect is on
> restoring nerves/brain. There are too many links
> on google.

Hmm. I don't know about that. The ones I bought back then were double enteric coated so I'm pretty sure they made it through into the small intestine even back then. In fact, as I recall from that time, it was found that a lot of the double enteric coated probiotics were found to not work simply because they were bypassing the stomach acid.

hmm. from what I read, evrybody says that they noticed it. maybe you were not absorbing it or something. Who knows. You did not try the mentioned glisodin, which is the only one that works I think.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/15/2014 06:12PM by Panchito.