The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), whether from endogenous or exogenous sources, represents one of the most significant potential stressors that every one of our patients will face throughout their lives. Because of the ubiquitous nature of ROS, the body has developed complex and ingenious strategies to maintain a dynamic balance between their important physiological roles and their damaging effects on the cells and tissues of the body – most notably, ROS quenching enzymes that protect the body from damage.
In this webinar, we explore the causes and effects of the disproportionate generation of ROS, and delve into the research about how to best support the body’s quenching mechanisms through the clinical application and intentional consumption of phytochemicals and micronutrients. We analyze a “food as medicine” approach that considers the molecular structures that comprise food and how they affect human biochemistry as a foundational strategy for promoting health, preventing disease, and increasing longevity.
Watch as we uncover how the deep weave between plant and human biochemistries and throughout their genetic and epigenetic domains has created a profound opportunity for cooperative activation through xenohormesis. We delve into the latest research on how specific phytochemical combinations found in a host of medicinal foods work synergistically to have an important influence on multiple metabolic and cellular pathways, modulate inflammation, play key roles in gene expression and genetic health, and can slow down mitochondrial decay and age-associated diseases.
Reactive Oxygen Species – (n) a highly reactive group of oxygen-containing molecules. Based on their strong anionic charge, these molecules exert a powerful force on their surroundings, altering the structures of other molecules and influencing micro-ecological conditions.
Oxidative stress represents an imbalance between the generation and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the ability of a living organism to maintain balance by effectively detoxifying these reactive molecules when they are overabundant (1). Although the damaging effects of ROS have become the subject of much scientific inquiry in recent years, their role in driving a wide range of essential physiological functions in the body has become an additional focal point in the literature.
Low and moderate amounts of ROS have been shown to have beneficial effects on a number of known physiological processes including the killing of invading pathogens, wound healing, and tissue repair (2). However, the disproportionate generation of ROS that overwhelms the body’s quenching mechanisms poses a serious problem to bodily homeostasis and leads to oxidative tissue damage.
In the human population, environmental pollution, radiation, cigarette smoking, certain foods, and drugs are the major exogenous sources of ROS (3). ROS are also generated as by-products of normal cellular metabolic activities and are an unavoidable consequence of producing energy in an oxygen-rich environment. Because of the ubiquitous nature of ROS, the body has had to develop complex and ingenious strategies to maintain a dynamic balance between their important physiological roles and their damaging effects on the cells and tissues of the body. Most notably are the major ROS quenching enzymes: superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase, which are among the most important tools used by the body for protecting cells from the damaging effects of ROS, and which we can support through the use of phytochemical and nutrient-dense medicinal foods.
Xenohormesis – (n) the biological principle that explains how environmentally stressed plants produce bioactive compounds that can confer stress resistance and survival benefits to the animals that consume them.
Plants and humans have grown up together. The deep weave between their biochemistries and throughout their genetic and epigenetic domains has created a profound opportunity for cooperative synergy. The prefix xeno comes from the Greek word meaning stranger or foreigner, and xenohormesis describes the phenomenon of a “foreign” organism’s stress response, producing chemicals that yield benefits to another organism. Fascinatingly, both animals and plants appear to intentionally harness ROS for use as molecular messengers to fulfill a wide range of essential biological processes (2).
In this webinar, we explore emerging evidence suggesting that hormetic phytochemicals produced by environmentally stressed plants can activate and moderate cellular stress-response mechanisms at a subtoxic level in humans, which may enhance tolerance against severe dysfunction or disease. This principle holds that animals sense these stress-induced signaling molecules, in turn activating the evolutionarily conserved cellular stress response and subsequently enhancing their adaptation to adversity (5). Recent research also suggests that the majority of health benefits derived from phytochemical consumption result not from responses to mild cellular damage or from their antioxidant properties, but rather from the evolutionarily adaptive modulation of the enzymes and receptors of stress-response pathways in mammals (6).
Food as Medicine -Medicinal plants and plant compounds have differing degrees of influence on human physiology.
Some are very potent and employed with a high degree of specificity; others are mild and can be consumed continually in relatively large amounts. This is where the concepts of food and medicine share a common border, and where the concept of “food as medicine” is derived.
Phytonutrients are bioactive plant components that have been studied for their impact on human health – found to have an important influence on multiple metabolic and cellular pathways, modulate inflammation, and play key roles in gene expression and genetic health.
No single “antioxidant” molecule can achieve the maximal health benefits derived from the combinations of natural phytochemicals found in fruits and vegetables (7). Specific phytochemical combinations have been shown to work synergistically to promote defense against oxygen radicals and support metabolism. Even very low concentrations of these dietary compounds are found to significantly support the regulation of gene expression (8).
The clinical application and intentional consumption of plant-based superfoods and their constituents is a fundamental component of a holistic approach to medicine. In this webinar, we explore how the gentle, wide-ranging, micro-ecological impact that a continual presence of “food as medicine” level phytochemicals and micronutrients provides is an invaluable resource – shown to slow down mitochondrial decay and age-associated diseases (11).
Delve into how bathing the body in the medicinal treasure trove of polyphenols, carotenoids, anthocyanins, alkaloids, glycosides, saponins, tannins, sterols, terpenes, flavonoids, carotenoids, chlorophyll, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements found in a host of medicinal foods is a foundational strategy for promoting health, preventing disease, and for increasing longevity.
Phytochemical and Nutrient Dense Medicinal Foods
- Green Coconut water
- Coconut milk
- Kale
- Spinach
- Barley Grass
- Spirulina
- Chlorella Celery
- Beet
- Cucumber
- Parsley
- Berries
- Carrot
- Broccoli
- Goji
- Apple
- Pumpkin
Watch now for a deeper dive into how:
- The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), whether from endogenous or exogenous sources, represents one of the most significant potential stressors that every one of our patients will face throughout their lives.
- Because of the ubiquitous nature of ROS, the body has had to develop complex and ingenious strategies to maintain a dynamic balance between their important physiological roles and their damaging effects on the cells and tissues of the body.
- Environmentally stressed plants produce bioactive compounds that can confer stress resistance and survival benefits to the animals that consume them through xenohormesis.
- A food-based phytochemistry approach to food as medicine considers the molecular structures that make up food, and how they affect human biochemistry
- No single “antioxidant” molecule can achieve the maximal health benefits derived from the combinations of natural phytochemicals found in fruits and vegetables
- Bathing the body in the medicinal treasure trove of phytochemicals and micronutrients found in a host of medicinal foods is a foundational strategy for promoting health, preventing disease, and increasing longevity
RELATED WEBINARS
In “Plant Intelligence, Xenohormesis, and Synergistic Phytochemistry,” we examine the way that ecological pressures create opportunities for plants to generate novel phytochemicals that have profound impacts on human health and look closely at some of the most prominent examples in the botanical medicine toolbox.
In “Polyphenols: Molecular Multi-Taskers for Promoting Health and Longevity,” we reframe our understanding of polyphenols as “anti-oxidants” and examines their role as multi-faceted enhancers of mitochondrial adaptation. In this webinar, we explore some of our most treasured polyphenols, the plants that make them, and how to apply them in medicine.
In “Addressing Nutrient Deficiencies: The Most Important Nutrients and How to Deliver Them“, we explore how to identify nutrient deficiencies, both by assessing the patient’s environmental and constitutional picture, as well as how to use the most accurate biomedical test for each nutrient. We discuss research on supplying our patients with the best forms of these nutrients, looking at the complexity and inter-relationship of macronutrients, micronutrients, and phytochemicals in foods.
Note: This webinar is intended for healthcare practitioners.
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