Re: Oxygen oxidizes our cells (degeneration) but it also heals?

Oxygen is not healing, you simply need it for respiration. Your cells make 
ATP, a form of stored chemical energy, from metabolism of things like 
glucose in your food. During the making of ATP, electrons are removed from 
metabolites and "sent" down the electron transport chain in mitochondria 
within your cells. Oxygen is the final electron acceptor in this process, 
givin you water (H2O). You have no oxygen, you have no electron transport, 
you have no ATP production, your cells die. Oxygen also can react with 
metal ions in solution and generate spicies that damage lipid membranes 
for example. When butter goes rancid, it is just getting oxidized in that 
way. basically, compounds called lipid hydroperoxides are formed, and 
these kinds of compounds can keep reacting with others in chain reactions. 
Vitamin E or tocopherol, is in the lipid membranes of cells and it stops 
these kinds of chain reactions by becoming a free radical that is stable 
and not reactive. Ascorbate (vitamin C), can recycle the tocopherol 
radical back to tocopherol to be used again, and this oxidizes the 
ascorbate to DHAA. DHAA can be again recycled to ascorbate by other 
processes in the cell. Cells also have enzymes and other chemicals that 
scavange or neutralize the damaging free radical oxidation compounds as 
they arise. Yes, in aging, part of the problem is that proteins and lipids 
get damaged and sometimes cannot be recycled. These tend to accumulate in 
time, over years and they will tend to clog up the workings of a healthy 
cell. Frankly there is nothing you can do about it. You can decrease the 
rate by eating lots of veggies and fruits to get C, and E in your diet. 
Avoid the crazy supplements sold in the nutrition stores in mall. They are 
selling every plant extract that they think scavenges free radicals, but 
just because they do in a test-tube, does not mean they work in you. The 
body is selective and will pee most of that stuff out, but your liver 
carefully processses alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E form kept in the body) 
from your foods and keeps it in your blood for supply. Don't take too much 
of anything, especially vitamin A. Dont megadose on vitamin C either. If 
you are one of those persons that have a high content of oxalate 
in your matabolism (many do), megadoses of ascorbate (C) causes oxalate to 
crystallize in your kidneys and can put you in the hospital. SUMMARY: 
1) Can't live without oxygen, cause you need to make ATP for fuel. 2) Must 
have the cells natural antioxidant systems to keep the nasty side of 
oxygen's reaction products in check. 3)Get your "antioxidant" 
vitamins from foods if possible (C is water soluble, E is fat soluble). 
Dont megadose, for excess C or E or A, can become excess DHAA, tocopherol 
radical and oxidized A, which can make you worst off.