From your first day to your last and for each microsecond in between , there is a battle raging in each system in your body .  There are easily millions of these battles happening simultaneously and they have oxyradicals on one hand and antioxidants opposing them . These batttles affect how long you live , your vulnerability to many different medical conditions and without question the quality of your life and health as a senior citizen .

A human brain is highly vulnerable to oxidative stress because while it only accounts for about 2% of your mass of your body , about 20% of the oxygen you take in is required by your brain.  Oxy or free radicals – unstable oxygen molecules are created by by a variety of things , but a major  cause is a natural and unavoidable by-product of metabolizing oxygen . Since twenty percent of your oxygen supply goes to your brain, it stands to reason that your brain will be subjected to a high number of free radicals.

In your mind is a major concentration of naturally occurring molecules called Lipids. Lipids include sterols, waxes, fats and a seletion of fat soluble vitamins like D, A, E and K. Lipids act as signaling molecules and are uses for energy storage and are structural components of your cell membranes.  Lipid peroxidation is the name given to free radical Lipid damage and a reason for the importance of antioxidant supplements .

Your defense from Lipid peroxidation in your brain is from antioxidants and in particular a small subset known as Network Antioxidants or the Antioxidant Network ,  made up of Vitamins E, C CoEnzymeQ10, Lipolic acid and Glutathione.  Network Antioxidants work together to clean up free radicals in the brain and they are uniquely able to repair the others in the group .  Among the Network Antioxidants, the most important is Glutathione laso known as The Master Antioxidant. Glutathione is naturally manufactured in your body and are present in each and every cell.

Sadly , your brain maintains lower levels of   Glutathione than other parts of your body and with aging , the natural supply is even less because the ability to make Glutathione falls by around 10% for every decade after our twenties.  But a brain must have Glutathione to be healthy.  Think about the role that Antioxidants play in connection with Alzheimer’s Disease – also known as senile dementia.

There is a powerful link between aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease . In a study conducted in 2009 on laboratory rats , two equal groups were deliberately given aluminum toxins, but group was also dosed with antioxidant oxyradicals scavengers.  Group one experienced a significant increase in lipid peroxidation and developed oxidative stress – which is the result of rampant free radical damage.  Reduced glutathione and other network antioxidants were also recorded . For the group that was provided with the toxins and the free radical scavengers, none of these changes were found .

With the brain’s vulnerability to the formation of lipid peroxides a plentiful store of antioxidants ( in particular Network Antioxidants and most specifically , the master antioxidant Glutathione) is key to having a healthy and functioning brain. While oral glutathione supplements are not considered to be effective, you can take a glutathione precursor like Cellgevity from Max International .