Antioxidant Network
The term ‘Antioxidant Network’ was first coined by Dr. Lester Packer, Ph.D. of UC Berkeley, regarded as the foremost antioxidant research scientist. Antioxidants are used up and turned into different but weak forms of free radicals itself, while they scavenge free radicals in our bodies. Network antioxidants recycle one another, greatly enhancing their fighting ability and making the network greater than the sum of its parts.

5 Core Network Antioxidants

There are two types of antioxidant required in our bodies. While the fat-soluble antioxidants, vitamin E and CoQ10, protect the cell membrane against cellular aging, the water-soluble antioxidants, vitamin C and Glutathione, guard the interior of a cell from free radicals. The following 5 network antioxidants work together as a virtual powerhouse recycling one another to combat free radicals.

• Glutathione is a water-soluble antioxidant eliminating toxins in the liver. Even though glutathione is synthesized in our bodies, the rate of its production and absorption start declining with age. As people get easily exposed to environmental and chemical toxins nowadays, the significance of glutathione gets more emphasized.
• Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA)ALA is the only network antioxidant that is both water- and fat-soluble, rescuing and reviving other network antioxidants whether inside the cells or the cell membrane. Glutathione gets absorbed more efficiently into the system when taken with ALA.
• CoQ10 (Coenzyme Q10) is a fat-soluble antioxidant producing energy and blocking the oxidation of fat cells.
• Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant extending the cell cycle and minimizing cellular damages during cell division and replication.
• Vitamin C is the most familiar water-soluble antioxidant with a switch over the role from being an antioxidant to a pro-oxidant under pathological conditions. Vitamin C and E support each other’s antioxidant function.

2 Supporting Components

• Selenium is known as an essential mineral for the network antioxidants. Selenium is not an antioxidant itself, but it plays a supporting role in the synthesis of glutathione and the reduction-oxidation of vitamin C and E.
• Vitamin B complex is a hidden player in the antioxidant network. As vitamin B complex exhibits both antioxidant and pro-oxidant properties, it is involved in a wide range of antioxidant functions such as preventing cell damages, prolonging the lifespan of damaged cells, and protecting our system from mutations.