Going beyond diet and exercise.

This is Part 2 of my series on aging and oxidative stress. Please read my previous post, Oxygen is Killing Us.

I don’t want to get old. Really, I’m just not interested.

Yeah, you can lecture me on the wisdom we acquire as we age. I couldn’t agree more. I’m totally down with that. But that’s not what I’m talking about. The aging I’m referring to is the kind that shuffles down the street, drives 50 mph in the fast lane, and knows when a storm is coming by how his joints feel. Nope. You can count me out of that one.

And no, I’m not in denial. I’ve been known to pluck a gray hair or two. I know my hairline isn’t what it used to be. Yet if it were possible to slow down the aging process and avert the litany of degenerative diseases that come along with it, who wouldn’t be intrigued by that prospect?

In the late 1950s, a scientist by the name of Denham Harman, M.D., Ph.D., proposed what is known as the free radical theory of aging. As you may recall from my previous blog post, free radicals are an inevitable byproduct of metabolism. They hold the dubious distinction of being a fact of life and at the same time a contributor to death and disease.

With all due respect, Harman’s postulation resides within the realm of what I consider to be common sense. If our bodies are made up of trillions of cells, it is not a stretch to surmise that the condition of the cells determines the condition (and function) of the body. The accumulation of wear and tear on our cell membranes and the structures, organelles, and DNA within them is without question a major factor in aging and degenerative diseases.

A weathered, dilapidated home with poor plumbing and a leaky roof was at one time brand new. So goes the human body.

To review, the mechanism by which free radicals sabotage cellular function is through a process called oxidation or oxidative stress. In other words, there is an ongoing looting spree going on within our bodies. The free radicals aren’t actually up to no good, they’re just following the laws of chemistry.

If you flash back again to high school chemistry, you likely recall that electrons prefer to travel in pairs. One is the loneliest number, even for atoms and molecules. Carrying a single unpaired electron, free radicals do what they have to do to hook up. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough electrons to go around. In order to complete itself, a free radical must steal an electron from another cell.

Just think of it as the guy who procrastinates on asking his dream girl to the prom. When he finally asks, she’s already taken. Frustrated and frantic, he scrambles to find a date. Eventually, he steals another guy’s date. Imagine the drama!

Within your cells, the drama can be DNA damage. When this occurs, cells may not divide properly, resulting in a malfunctioning and possibly cancerous cell. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. For the sake of brevity, a malfunctioning cell gives rise to malfunctioning organs, which give rise to malfunctioning systems, which give rise to the diseases of aging. These diseases include, but are not limited to, heart disease, the many neurodegenerative diseases, osteoporosis, and diabetes.

Free radical damage (oxidative stress) plays a role in over 200 diseases. Most of us will succumb to at least one of them.

Again, I’m not interested.

Instead, I choose to use the wisdom of my years to control the free radical fire burning within. To forever walk with long strides. To remain independent until it’s my time to go. To age gracefully.

That’s how it should be.

Stay tuned for Part 3!

Sean Croxton of Underground Wellness
sean@undergroundwellness.com
http://www.undergroundwellness.com

This may very well have been the worst week of my life. You guys almost lost me.

I almost lost you.

The thought of pressing the button crossed my mind more than you’d ever wish to know. I wanted to end it all. The YouTube channel. The radio show. The websites. None of it mattered if I couldn’t have peace of mind. In times like these, to retreat back into that world called Anonymity seems to be the lone solution I can ever come up with.

No more filming.

No more e-mail.

No more radio shows.

No more haters.

No more pressure.

I could have my old life back. Could watch the games from tip-off to the final buzzer. Buy the piece of chocolate raspberry cake without worrying about getting caught. Take my time in the gym. Start at nine. End at five. Heaven.

Maybe it was just Oprah Hangover. To be honest, after all that voting, I grew a bit sick of myself. Maybe it was those people who signed up for an account on the Oprah site just to bash me. They’re probably the same legion of keyboard warriors who find a way to cast a negative light on every positive thing I do.

The same ones who send me 10-paragraph emails denigrating my very existence.

The ones who post my replies online in their own ridiculous attempts at smear campaigns.

The ones who call me a sell-out.

Or maybe it was the dozen or so Facebook friends who dropped me when I changed my relationship status last week.

People…

This is what I get for trying to help?

I know all of this sounds crazy coming from a guy who nearly reached a million Oprah votes in 7 days. And to be perfectly honest, it sounds crazy because it is. It’s bullshit. Pardon my French.

The truth is that I was scared. I’ve been paralyzed with fear for years now. I fear that I’ll say the wrong thing and lose my audience, that I won’t meet the exceedingly high expectations that my clients have for me, that I would indeed be a sell-out. I was doing the two things I tell my clients NOT to do. I was worrying about what other people thought. I was always trying to look good. Both lie at the root of our addiction to self-sabotage. Hypocrisy at its finest.

My troubles above weren’t all I was dealing with. If you’re a Facebook friend, you likely know that I was in the shortest relationship in the history of social media. That one came to an end on Friday. I’ll spare you the details. I’m an open book, but I’m not that open.

Like Eminem says, I hit rock bottom so hard I bounced twice. And as odd as it sounds, I absolutely LOVE that place called rock bottom. More people need to go there. Why? Because change happens when you’ve finally suffered enough.

I’m done suffering. It’s time to put me first. Like the flight attendants say before takeoff, secure yourself before securing your children. For most people, that may seem like a selfish act. But being selfish can be a wonderful thing. If you’re not secure in your health, wealth, and spirit, you will never be able to effectively help others.

Life is all about balance. This week was one of my worst, BUT this weekend was likely the best I’ve ever had. I made many decisions that will better my life. And through the reform of my life and my vision for Underground Wellness, the lives of others will be touched in a way that I never thought possible.

One of my decisions was to dust off this blog and spend an hour a day writing about what’s on my mind. My time is up. I’m a slow writer. See you tomorrow. Wait until you hear about my weekend!

SC

“All my friends are on a diet. It’s just not cool to actually eat lunch. We just sit around the [lunch] table and talk instead.” (Janie, a fourth-grader)

Human nature drives our desires to want that which we cannot have. For those who eventually achieve what once seemed physically unattainable, they are usually met with feelings of emptiness and solitude. Their journeys to their supposed mountaintops are not joyous and redeeming but lonely and demoralizing. Their motivations are out of fear, False Evidence Appearing Real. For most, the apex is nonexistent. It is merely an oasis, a delusion of grandeur. Someday, they will come face to face with the reality that the days that have passed are gone forever. What remains is not worth the pain.

The false evidence of which I speak is everywhere I go. It screams out at me as I impatiently wait my turn in the inappropriately-named Express Lane at the local supermarket. Lose 10 Pounds! Janet’s New Body! Get Shredded in Two Weeks Flat! Most of these headlines are directed toward the opposite sex but even I walk away questioning my physical state. I can only imagine how others feel.

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