Nrf2 and Antioxidants
Sulforaphane is Way Better than Antioxidants – Understanding the Nrf2 Pathway!
Did you know that your body can make its own antioxidants?
It happens thanks to a little known biochemical reaction called:
The Nrf2 Pathway
Nrf2 – we shorten it because the full name is Nuclear Factor (Erythroid-Derived 2)-like 2 (!) – is a protein that is found in every cell in your body. It lives quietly in your cells doing nothing….until it is triggered by an Nrf2 activator.
Then the magic begins!
When Nrf2 is released, a complex mechanism is triggered that signals the body to produce antioxidant enzymes.
This process, called the Nrf2 pathway, is so important it has been the subject of over 9,500 published research studies?since it was discovered 20 years ago.
Why is Nrf2 Important?
Nrf2 regulates our cells’ primary antioxidant, detoxification and inflammatory mechanisms. This little known protein is so crucial to good health that it has been called many things including:
So if my body can create antioxidants via the Nrf2 pathway, why do I need to eat fruit and vegetables and other antioxidants?
That’s a very good question!
The fact is, when we’re young, the Nrf2 pathway works perfectly, probably explaining why teenagers seem to get away with eating junk foods and staying health and youthful looking!
However, as we age, the Nrf2 pathway stops working so well, increasing cellular ageing and reducing health.
In order to counter what we put down to ‘the signs of ageing’, many of us take anti-oxidants not realising that this is really only a ‘sticking plaster’ approach. It’s a bit like pouring more oil into a car that has dirty oil: the car will keep going with more oil but can never perform as it was when brand new with clean oil in the engine.
The real issue is that our anti-aging mechanism – the Nrf2 pathway – has stopped working properly and we just need to find a way to get it to work again.
There is another issue with taking larger amounts of anti-oxidants in that, ironically, large doses can actually stop the Nrf2 pathway from working properly! So if you’re not careful you end up in a worse situation than when you started.
So rather than using antioxidants as a substitute for the body’s failing Nrf2 pathway, what we need to do is to find a way to get the body’s own antioxidant factory working properly again.
There are a few ways that we can do this and make some improvements:
This goes someway to explaining why those of us who exercise and eat well, tend to look younger and are healthier. Despite this, we can still have health problems and what we need to be doing is taking something that is really effective at restarting the Nrf2 pathway. What Dr Jed W. Fahey discovered after spending years researching sulforaphane is that:
Sulforaphane is by far the Best Way to Kickstart our Own Antioxidant Factory.
Sulforaphane’s remarkable effects on the Nrf2 pathway have been the subject of over 2000 research studies and is considered to be “The most potent activator of Nrf2 to be found naturally.” Dr Jed W. Fahey
What is the Best Source of Sulforaphane?
HPP pressure treated broccoli sprout juice. Click here to learn why.
References:
Nrf2, a guardian of healthspan and gatekeeper of species longevity.
Could physical exercises modulate Nrf2?Keap1 pathway in chronic kidney disease?
Mechanisms underlying caloric restriction and life span regulation: implications for vascular aging
