Biology Week Twelve (July 23rd): Free Radicals and Antioxidants
“People should still eat healthy food”
I do believe we rely way too heavily on supplements for antioxidants. First of all, the supplements themselves are simply isolated compounds of the antioxidant. Western views of medicine try to isolate and remove the chemical compound that they believe makes an effect on a certain process in the body, but they fail to see the body as a holistic being that is not like a machine. Every individual is different from one another and so one compound that is taken out of context of the whole organic material may miss key elements that a human needs for a more balanced diet. Nature is smart, and it provides antioxidants in naturally occurring fruits and vegetables. The antioxidants are included in an essentially balanced material like a fruit. This fruit when taken into the body provides other different materials other than antioxidants that may help it be processed more balanced in the body. Another article in class, “ Antioxidant Supplements Don’t Fight Cancer, Research Suggests” actually had studies that showed antioxidant supplements increased cancer risks and were detrimental to our health in the long term. Therefore, I find it important for us to re-evaluate our perspective on health and really establish what our priorities are.
“Aspirin a day could dramatically cut cancer risk”
This article brough to mind a huge concept of the “magic pill.” It revealed a lot about the priorities of our Western culture. People often look for a magic pill to make all of our health issues go away. They don’t want to make the changes necessary to their lifestyle like diet changes, increased exercise, reducing stress, etc that will most likely help their illnesses in a more healthy and long term way. This is a big social and cultural issue involving the problems of how we view our own health and taking charge of it. There seems to be a very unhealthy power dynamic between Western doctors and their patients. The way things are seen is often the “professional” and the “ignorant patient” who doesn’t know what is good for them so whatever their doctor says is what they must do. Even though doctors are knowledgeable, I believe it’s important to help make this dynamic more healthy by encouraging patients to take charge of their own health, and helping them feel like they have a say in their own health. I think putting more focus on preventative medicine in a holistic sense would be very beneficial than simply taking medicine to mask the deeper sources of our ailments.
I do believe we rely way too heavily on supplements for antioxidants. First of all, the supplements themselves are simply isolated compounds of the antioxidant. Western views of medicine try to isolate and remove the chemical compound that they believe makes an effect on a certain process in the body, but they fail to see the body as a holistic being that is not like a machine. Every individual is different from one another and so one compound that is taken out of context of the whole organic material may miss key elements that a human needs for a more balanced diet. Nature is smart, and it provides antioxidants in naturally occurring fruits and vegetables. The antioxidants are included in an essentially balanced material like a fruit. This fruit when taken into the body provides other different materials other than antioxidants that may help it be processed more balanced in the body. Another article in class, “ Antioxidant Supplements Don’t Fight Cancer, Research Suggests” actually had studies that showed antioxidant supplements increased cancer risks and were detrimental to our health in the long term. Therefore, I find it important for us to re-evaluate our perspective on health and really establish what our priorities are.
“Aspirin a day could dramatically cut cancer risk”
This article brough to mind a huge concept of the “magic pill.” It revealed a lot about the priorities of our Western culture. People often look for a magic pill to make all of our health issues go away. They don’t want to make the changes necessary to their lifestyle like diet changes, increased exercise, reducing stress, etc that will most likely help their illnesses in a more healthy and long term way. This is a big social and cultural issue involving the problems of how we view our own health and taking charge of it. There seems to be a very unhealthy power dynamic between Western doctors and their patients. The way things are seen is often the “professional” and the “ignorant patient” who doesn’t know what is good for them so whatever their doctor says is what they must do. Even though doctors are knowledgeable, I believe it’s important to help make this dynamic more healthy by encouraging patients to take charge of their own health, and helping them feel like they have a say in their own health. I think putting more focus on preventative medicine in a holistic sense would be very beneficial than simply taking medicine to mask the deeper sources of our ailments.
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