g Caregiver Stress YOURSELF WHOLE AGAIN to a trusted doctor or psychiatrist can help take the burden off your shoulders.
The Free Radical 411 HOW TO MINIMIZE AGE-INDUCING ATOMS
If you’ve ever picked up a health magazine while waiting at the doctor’s office, then you’re probably familiar with the term “free radicals” — at least enough to know that they get a bad rap from doctors and beauticians alike. But what are they, exactly? According to Live Science, free radicals are atoms with unpaired electrons that have split off from oxygen molecules in the body and started to “scavenge” for other electrons to pair with. That wouldn’t be problematic, except that these atoms tend to damage cells, lipids, proteins, and even DNA along the way, and that destruction has serious consequences. As Live Science puts it, “Free radicals are associated with human disease, including cancer, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and many others. They
It’s possible you’re trying to do too much at once. Make sure you’re setting realistic goals both at work and at home. Break your larger tasks into smaller ones you can easily
achieve, giving you a sense of purpose throughout the day. You should start tracking and knowing your limits so that you can decline
offers for jobs that are too draining. Nothing is worth destroying your life over, although that can be hard to realize when you have another person who depends on you. Remind yourself why you do what you do and make sure to devote energy to yourself so you can keep caring for those who need you.
also may have a link to aging, which has been defined as a gradual accumulation of free- radical damage.” Unfortunately, it’s impossible to entirely avoid free radicals and the havoc they wreak. The process that forms free radicals, called oxidative stress, can be kick-started by a variety of different substances found
S U D O KU
in food, water, medicine, and even the air we breathe, according to the Huntington’s Outreach Project for Education at Stanford University. Unsurprisingly, these substances are things already considered unhealthy, like alcohol, exposure to X-rays, ozone, fried food, chemical pesticides, air pollutants, and tobacco smoke.
That said, there is one molecule that is stable enough to stand up to and reduce free radicals: the antioxidant. According to a study published by Pharmacognosy Reviews, antioxidants can “donate an electron to a rampaging free radical and neutralize it, thus reducing its ability to damage.” Synthetic antioxidants exist but can sometimes have harmful side effects, so scientists advise protecting yourself by avoiding free radical triggers like alcohol,
processed foods, and red meat, and ingesting natural antioxidants in the form of berries, stone fruits, olives, onions, garlic, and green and black teas. Herbs and spices like cinnamon, basil, turmeric, and fenugreek can ratchet up your antioxidant levels too. While it can’t guarantee immortality, the right diet can certainly help you stave off aging and disease, so why not start today?
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