#153 Oxidative Stress and Antioxidants: Protect Your Cells and DNA

03/30/23 • 42 min

In today’s episode I am going to be talking about oxidative stress. I am really looking forward to diving into this topic with all of you so that you can become experts in understanding your body and why oxidative stress and antioxidants are so important to your health.

What is Oxidative Stress?

As you may know, in my book Master Your Stress Reset Your Health, I talk about all the things we can do to help our bodies recover from stress. Not just stress coming from the external world or emotional stress but also the stress caused inside our bodies (due to toxins exposure for example) which cause imbalances in our systems and even in our cells. And these imbalances increase what I refer to as our internal stress or oxidative stress.

Our bodies naturally have oxidation happening 24/7 in our cells, and again it’s not about avoiding this process but trying to balance it with the opposite or anti-oxidation, so we get our bodies back in balance.

Human bodies run on biochemistry. We have chemical reactions from different substances happening inside our cells constantly. So, what can happen is that in some metabolic processes in our bodies there could be imbalances if we are stressed, and these imbalances create free radicals or unstable molecules that are made during cell metabolism. Free radicals can build up in cells and cause damage to other molecules, such as DNA, lipids, and proteins and this damage may increase the risk of cancer and other diseases. Antioxidants can help stabilize these unstable molecules and get rid of the free radicals and avoid the damage.

How Does Oxidative Stress and Antioxidants Work in Our Bodies:

When we are exposed to stress, even emotional stress or physical trauma, there is a signal sent to our cells that we are in need of more antioxidants to counter act this stress. In science this is referred to as mitochondrial hormesis, which is the body’s response and protective mechanism. It starts increasing mitochondrial function, antioxidants production and detoxification. However, when we are under more stress and toxin exposure, and the mitochondria are too overwhelmed, they can’t create this protective mechanism, and this is why we start feeling worse and worse over time.

Also, when we are exposed to a virus (cold and flu viruses, c*vd virus, HPV and EBV), and there’s an infection, our bodies create more oxidative stress to help kill the virus as a way to protect us. And sometimes these infections leave us with post infection inflammation in our bodies and so we need to help our bodies reduce this post virus effects with antioxidants. Be sure to check out my Immune Support PLUS product as an example supplement containing antioxidants for during and after infections.

So, it’s about balance, it’s about noticing if our bodies need help recovering and that’s where antioxidants can help. As a naturopathic doctor this is what I do, I help people learn how to be as healthy as they can be and in balance, so that when something comes along, we are ready to respond and recover faster.

It’s also important to know that the main organ for helping us manage toxins is the liver. Toxins in our environment, food, air, bodies are all processed through the liver. The way the liver detoxifies is with antioxidants! To some degree, we are genetically unique even down to how our liver handles toxins, so it’s our job to understand and support our bodies in the best way possible.

Where Can We Find Antioxidants:

There are antioxidants (which I like to call cell protectors because they are the ones protecting our cells and DNA from the damage of oxidative stress) that are produced by the human body, like glutathione, but there are others that we need to get from an external source (food or a supplement) like Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin A, Zinc, Selenium and Beta-Carotene. All these nutrients are required by our bodies in their detoxification and metabolic processes.

When it comes to diet, we can find the best source of antioxidants in colorful fruits and vegetables. Think of greens like asparagus, broccoli, spinach and avocados, which are rich in glutathione for example. And reds or blues like strawberries and blueberries are rich in vitamin C. The antioxidants often give the food a color, and this is why they are emphasized in our diet. Also, plants that are made into beverages, like green tea, or spices like curcumin are full of antioxidants.

The key here is to know how to consume just enough fruits and vegetables for our bodies to be able to digest and get the necessary antioxidants while not overfeeding our gut bacteria. So, it’s about learning how much you can consume at one time without overwhelming your digestion. The more nutrient dense your food, the better, and at the same time you might still need more antioxidants, which is when taking a supplement would be beneficial. If you are following a detoxific...

What is Oxidative Stress?

How Does Oxidative Stress and Antioxidants Work in Our Bodies:

Where Can We Find Antioxidants:

Previous Episode

#152 Dance and Movement to Heal: Transforming Your Life with Jenny Cohen

In today’s episode I interview Jenny Cohen. Jenny is an Outside In Recovery Coach, breast cancer survivor, competitive dancer, yoga instructor, and author.

Today we talk about how dance and movement can be healing for our bodies. I’m excited to talk with Jenny because I also love to dance and have found it to be so healing for me. She also shares about her healing journey and what she discovered about herself, and wrote in her book, along the way.

Definitely tune in to this episode if you have been dealing with a stress-filled busy life, infertility, cancer or risk of cancer, and/or a desire to heal from within.

Jenny is also a multifaceted and award-winning artist known for her award-winning autobiographical fusion performances about universal themes and life challenges. She offers instruction in yoga, Acting for Dancers, Aaliyah Jenny Transcultural Fusion, Rachel Brice's Datura Style, and Oreet's Sharqui Workout (Master Instructor). Jenny also launched Dance to Heal Wellness in 2021.

Jenny believes that the secret to dance is that it is this therapeutic modality and even though there’s only recently been more research about it, we actually are instinctively drawn to it because it puts you back into your body. It puts you in the present moment.

Dance as a Form of Meditation

When you’re dancing, you can only be focusing on that. It is hard to focus on anything else if you are really paying attention to your body position and your movement. You are really connecting with each part of your body and how it moves, and it gets you out of your head and into your body, like a movement meditation. We become aware of how life is precious and how we only have the present.

There is such intelligence and brilliance in the specific steps, rhythm, and patterns in various forms of dance. The movement patterns, for example in belly dance, salsa, or even yoga, were determined by people (women) who spent a lot of time using movement throughout their lives and during various forms of stress, including grief, loss and trauma. In this way, as we learn a form of dance, we are also learning the movements that help the human nervous system heal.

Dance is a form of medicine.

Finding Your Rhythm

Jenny shares that there is a whole branch of science called the neuroscience of dance. Any type of movement combined with music ignites your entire brain, it’s one of the few activities that can do this. Also, everyone’s perception of music is different because of our cultural and gender differences. And so, there is a movement discovery process in which you follow 3 steps:

Acknowledging with gratitude that you’re here now. Not in the past and not worried about the future.

Being present through tuning into your 5 senses (smell, taste, hearing, sight and touch).

Analyzing which type of sound or melodies does your body instinctively like to move to.

By following these three steps, you will start identifying the music and movement that is going to be most therapeutic for you individually. Everybody is different because everyone’s neurology is a little bit different. For example, there are people who don’t like music at all. Some prefer the sound of birds or sounds from nature.

You may want to try different types of dancing before you find your rhythm. This will inform you of what you want to learn more and what you want to say no to. It is also important to tailor your own journey with music and movement based on your setting, the stage of your life, and your love language, which can change over time.

The Discover Oneself Process

Jenny encourages listeners to get started. She sees that we often deny ourselves the healing we need by thinking that we need to make more money first or that we should just be grateful for the way things are. However, if we never give ourselves the support we need to heal, then we’ll never feel well enough to be more productive.

She reminds us that it is a miracle that we are alive today, and to celebrate each and every day.

Movement is essential. Everything that is alive moves, cells move, atoms vibrate. And for us to get better beyond the trauma that we are healing, we also need to move.

The D.I.S.C.O.V.E.R. system she describes in her book, “Outside in Recovery: Dancing My Way Back to My Self after Breast Cancer,” is a process you can follow to feel like yourself again and thrive in healing by following the path to self-love.

The acronym stands for:

D: Discover Yourself - Acknowledging your pain and trauma and face it to be able to release it.

I: I Move You Move - Movement is essential to healing.

S: Somatic Intelligence - Acknowledging how our bodies are intelligent systems.

C: Can I Self-Love? - Learning to be compassionate with ourselves and our healing process.

O: Organic Rage - Releasing the bottled...

Next Episode

#154 The Magic in Your Mess: Change Your Life Now with Michelle Burke

In today’s episode I interview Michelle Burke. Michelle is a bestselling author of Hot Mess Magic, podcaster, speaker and Hot Mess Alchemist. She specializes in helping women reclaim their power, regain their confidence, and transform their life.

Today we talk about what it means to be a hot mess alchemist and how Michelle helps people by guiding them through their transformational journey.

Michelle lives by this philosophy that every one of us is a hot mess whether we want to admit it or not, and it's through those low points in our lives that we grow, we transform and we learn the most.

Change Starts from Within

We focus so much on the outside, like bringing more abundance, prosperity, and money but we forget that change need to start on the inside. It doesn’t matter if we are doing all the things that everyone says to do - such as working with a coach, or reading all the right books, or doing the meditations and affirmations and mantras - if we don’t change from the inside out, things are not going to shift for us.

Michelle was a middle school science teacher for many years. She woke up one day and realized she could not do it for one more day. She realized that what she was doing was crushing her soul. So, she quit her job, moved with nothing lined up, and started a business in network marketing.

She realized she needed to grow, to expand, to transform, because she was not happy anymore with the life she was living. That big change started from within, and in the process she outgrew the life she had, and realized she needed more.

If you are growing emotionally and becoming more aware of yourself and your passion and purpose, then you could start to realize your life doesn't match you anymore. You’re stepping into a new and improved version of yourself.

There’s Magic in Your Mess

There are times in your life when you might feel like everything is a mess. Nothing is working in your favor, and everything seems to be upside down. It’s like if you're in a snow globe that someone just shook and all you want is for that dust to settle. You may be glad that things are changing but you don’t know where you’re going to land.

It’s within this mess that the transformation process happens. And you will see later that you will start to connect the dots and start to gain clarity, you will see your life coming together and will realize the shifts that had to take place within you to achieve this new life.

A lot of times this can be scary, because even when you could be unhappy with your job or where you live or your day to day life, it’s what is familiar to you and the unfamiliar is always scary. We are used to be in our comfort zone, but change doesn't happen in your comfort zone.

This fear comes from our egos, it’s our egos job to protect us and keep us away from the danger of the unfamiliar. But we must reach that point where we get honest with ourselves and have that conversation with our ego, we thank it for keeping us safe but let it know we are doing this new thing anyway. For some people this means taking a big leap and for others it could feel more comfortable to pace it and introduce one change at a time.

What Tools can We Use to Change?

Meditation is a good way to start. Another option is something Michelle calls “body set” where instead of focusing on the mind-body connection, we approach it the other way around and focus on the body-mind connection by diving deeper into our bodies and our nervous systems and what feelings are coming up. We can also utilize traditional Chinese medicine, like acupressure points, and the concept of letting go - letting go of what no longer serves us and our purpose.

We are so used to living in our minds, constantly thinking, worrying, planning, and organizing that sometimes we forget that we're even living in a human body and that connecting with our bodies can also help heal our minds.

Being aware of our bodies and listening to them is also a way to be more present and realize the change that we need. A simple thing, such as taking a minute in the morning when we wake up to say good morning to ourselves and ask how do we feel, or making that French toast breakfast we are craving and eating it slowly, can help us connect more with our bodies.

We need to listen to what our body is telling us and analyze why is it telling us these things. If you're resisting doing something, if it doesn't feel safe in your body, ask yourself why. Why don't I want to e-mail this person? Why don't I want to make this phone call? Why do I have this anxiety that's coming up when I talk about a certain individual? This will help you be conscious about what is it that you want to change.

From my experience (Dr. Doni speaking), I see this situation come up very often for women that I help with addressing/resolving HPV (human papilloma virus) and abnormal pap results. T...