제 21 호 Reactive Oxygen Species
Are 90% of human diseases caused by reactive oxygen species?
Kicker: SCIENCE
Reactive Oxygen Species
Are 90% of human diseases caused by reactive oxygen species?
By Myung-Gwan Kang
Reactive oxygen is oxygen, but this may be a word you’ve never heard before. When you hear the name, reactive oxygen may seem like very good oxygen, but it is scary oxygen. One surprising fact about reactive oxygen was announced at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the United States in 1991. That is, 90% of the 36,000 diseases that humans suffer from on Earth are caused by reactive oxygen species.
What is a reactive oxygen species?
What is this scary reactive oxygen species that is the source of all diseases? When a person breathes, oxygen brought in through the lungs travels through the arteries and throughout the body. Inside cells are mitochondria, which are called the power plants of the cell. Here, energy is created using oxygen that enters the body. When energy is generated, water and carbon dioxide are created, and the waste oxygen created at this time is reactive oxygen species.
Reactive oxygen is created during various metabolic processes when oxygen that enters the body during breathing is used in the oxidation process. Reactive oxygen is a harmful oxygen with strong oxidizing power that attacks biological tissues and damages cells. Additionally, oxygen is overproduced due to environmental pollution, chemicals, ultraviolet rays, blood circulation disorders, stress, etc. The overproduced reactive oxygen causes oxidation in the human body. Furthermore, all cellular structures, including cell membranes and DNA, are damaged, and depending on the extent of the damage, cell function may deteriorate
Free radicals are molecules containing highly chemically reactive oxygen atoms. Superoxide anion radical, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxy radicals are representative reactive oxygen species molecules and are formed through a partial reduction reaction of oxygen. Additionally, highly reactive singlet oxygen may be generated by photostimulation. Most reactive oxygen molecules have the characteristic of having unpaired electrons.
Effects of Reactive Oxygen
Reactive oxygen has both positive and negative effects on cells. This does not mean that reactive oxygen is 100% bad for your health. That's only one side of the story about reactive oxygen. Reactive oxygen must be generated in appropriate amounts to strengthen the body's immunity and help cell growth. Reactive oxygen is essential because if low levels of reactive oxygen are generated, cells cannot grow properly and cannot remove harmful foreign substances such as pathogens or nicotine. An appropriate amount of reactive oxygen is essential for maintaining health.
Why is reactive oxygen bad for the human body? The reason is excessive reactive oxygen. A moderate amount of reactive oxygen attacks bad cells, but when it increases, it attacks even normal cells. It must attack foreign substances such as germs, mold, and bacteria, but excessive reactive oxygen attacks legitimate cells. The increase in reactive oxygen occurs for many reasons, including incorrect diet, stress, drinking, smoking, drugs, ultraviolet rays, radiation, disease, and aging.
Reactive oxygen attacks our body's cells about 100,000 times every day. So how does reactive oxygen cause aging? Reactive oxygen is also called free radicals, literally meaning oxygen that is active. Normally, oxygen molecules must have a pair of electrons to form a stable bond, but if they lose one electron due to various stress reasons, they become very unstable. Unstable free radicals begin to attack other opponents in order to regain lost electrons and achieve a stable state. This is the oxidation process. The process by which fresh apples gradually become shriveled and eventually rot and disappear is also a process in which cells are destroyed by oxidative stress.
Overproduced free radicals oxidize the complex protein that carries cholesterol in the blood, narrowing the diameter inside the blood vessels. When this happens, the blood supply is reduced, causing angina or high blood pressure, and the blood vessel walls are weakened, causing cerebral hemorrhage or heart attack. Excessively produced reactive oxygen attacks DNA, mutating genes and causing cancer. However, our body has antioxidant power to stabilize free radicals, so we can stabilize them to some extent.
Prevention Method
The first way to prevent excessive production of free radicals is to quit smoking. When harmful substances contained in cigarettes enter the lungs, the body tries to defend itself by creating reactive oxygen. Second. Applying sunscreen. Ultraviolet rays are invisible to the eye, but exposure to large amounts of ultraviolet rays increases free radicals in our bodies. Third, don't be stressed. When you are stressed, the blood vessels in your body contract and the amount of free radicals increases in the process of controlling blood flow. Fourth is abstinence from alcohol. When you drink alcohol, your liver detoxifies and creates free radicals. Fifth, eat less. When we eat food, free radicals are generated in the process of decomposing the food. Overeating is not good because our body detoxifies nutrients that are not suitable for our body and creates free radicals. Regular exercise, a balanced diet, etc. are good.
Also, take vitamins A, C, and E to reduce free radicals. Foods rich in vitamins include tomatoes, spinach, garlic, and blueberries. However, it is difficult to eat them all, so among seasonal fruits, dark yellow (tangerine), blue (grape), and red (apple) fruits provide the best antioxidants.
In conclusion, the air we breathe may seem harmless on the outside, but it has scary effects. That is, 90% of human diseases are caused by reactive oxygen species. The reactive oxygen produced when oxygen is inhaled has strong oxidizing power, so special care must be taken to prevent excessive reactive oxygen from being generated. To do this, you need to avoid stress and take vitamins consistently. In this way, oxygen is essential for living in the world, but it also makes life difficult. If everyone takes advantage of both the benefits of oxygen and active oxygen through proper exercise and diet, they will be able to live a healthier life.
Sources:
https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=5733568&cid=60266&categoryId=60266
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUPPE_e98wg
https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=3408923&cid=60335&categoryId=60335
https://blog.naver.com/gkstjdwn1010/222688952828
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