Avocados 'can help keep you young' and fight off diseases by tackling dangerous molecules

Avocados could be a weapon in the fight against ageing and disease, say scientists.
Oil from the fruit was shown in tests to combat free radicals – dangerous molecules said to have a hand in everything from ageing to heart disease and cancer.
These are particularly common inside mitochondria, the tiny powerhouses in our cells that turn the food we eat into energy.

Oil from the avocado could have huge health benefits and slow down the ageing process

Many ‘antioxidant’ chemicals in vegetables and fruits such as carrots and tomatoes can mop up free radicals – but they can’t make their way inside mitochondria.

Those in avocados can, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s annual conference heard. Researcher Christian Cortes-Rojo said: ‘The problem is that the antioxidants in [other] substances are unable to enter mitochondria.
‘So free radicals go on damaging mitochondria, causing energy production to stop and the cell to collapse and die.
‘An analogy would be that, during an oil spill, if we cleaned only the spilled oil instead of fixing the perforation where oil is escaping, then the oil would go on spilling, and fish would die anyway.’

Unstable free radicals are natural waste products of metabolism but may be generated in greater numbers due to factors such as pollution, tobacco smoke and radiation.
They wreak havoc in the body, triggering chain reactions that destroy cell membranes, proteins and even DNA.
The phenomenon is one of the prime drivers of ageing and believed to play a major role in damage to arteries and cancer.
The researchers found avocado oil allowed yeast cells to survive exposure to high concentrations of iron – an element that produces ‘huge amounts’ of free radicals.
‘We’ll need to confirm that what has been observed in yeasts could occur in higher organisms, such as humans,’ said Mr Cortes-Rojo, from the University Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo in Mexico.
Avocado oil is similar in composition to olive oil, consumption of which is associated with unusually low levels of chronic disease in some Mediterranean countries, and Mr Cortes-Rojo said his discovery could mean avocado oil becoming ‘the olive oil of the Americas’.
Previous research conducted in Mexico, the world’s largest avocado producer, has shown that the fruit lowers blood levels of cholesterol, and certain fats linked to diabetes.

source: dailymail

Comments

Apple Invents a new Health feature for AirPods that will provide diagnosis & monitoring of Bruxism

Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that relates to a possible future health related feature regarding the diagnosis and monitoring of bruxism using motion sensors in AirPods. Teeth grinding and jaw clenching (bruxism) are the most common parafunctional behavior manifested during sleep and awakeness. Awake bruxism has been mostly associated with emotions like anxiety, stress, frustration or tension. During sleep it causes sleep disorders and arousals. Individuals are mostly unaware of the occurrent and severity of their bruxing habits. The unawareness results in a myriad of orofacial muscle pain and dental consequences like teeth damage, wear and fractures. Commercial devices in dental practice to monitor and treat bruxism are expensive, inconvenient for frequent daily use. For instance, Polysomnography (PSG) studies that target the monitoring of sleep bruxism, require patients to sleep in a clinical setting overnight. Further, ...

Esthetic Oral Rehabilitation with Veneers

Porcelain veneers had long been considered to be only an esthetic solution. However, their range of indications has been steadily increasing, making ceramic veneers a highly viable alternative to classic, far more invasive forms of restorative treatment. Today, veneers can be used to handle esthetics (discolored teeth, fractured and worn teeth, diastemas, dental defects, etc.) and to restore the biomechanics of the dentition, as well as many other indications. Classifications of Veneer Preparations Referred to as no, minimal, or conventional preparation, veneer classifications—or lack there of—create a large gray zone of misunderstanding and miscommunication with patients and within the dental profession. Left unanswered, questions regarding tooth structure removal, finish lines and margins, and other aspects can cause confusion in practice. Flaws and inaccuracies in previously proposed preparation guidelines make those guidelines irrelevant . To dissolve uncertainty, this v...

Orthodontics for Esthetic Dental Treatment: Symbiotic Efforts for Optimal Results

Human fascination with beauty and esthetic trends is continuously evolving; moreover, public awareness and desire to improve facial appearances are at the highest level. This trend of heightened public awareness and expectation is paving a new way of dentistry toward a more comprehensive approach with esthetic principles at its core. The oral health of the patient and his or her dentition are fundamental in dental treatment. However, the final esthetic outcome should be among the first steps in treatment planning. The ideal esthetic approach in dental treatment planning often requires a multidisciplinary approach engaging various dental professionals. This process requires thorough communication among dental practitioners and a basic understanding of what each discipline can provide. FACIAL ANALYSIS Facial evaluation is an integral part of patient examination. It starts with evaluating facial symmetry, as symmetric faces are considered more beautiful than those that are n...

BDS INSIGHTS

Search This Blog