NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Zinc, if added to chocolate, tea and coffee, limits the process of "oxidative stress" associated with aging and low life expectancy, according to a recent international study.
The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Erlingen-Nuremberg, Germany, in cooperation with the University of Auburn, and published the results of their study in the journal Nature Chemistry.
Oxidative stress is defined as the increase of oxidizing substances in the cell, which causes many diseases related to aging, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, degenerative neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and helps generate genetic mutations that destroy DNA and proteins.
The oxidation process is a natural process that occurs when the body reacts with nutrients to produce energy, resulting in a group of "free radicals", unstable compounds that enter the cell.
Although free radicals play an important role in many vital processes, some of which are very important for life, such as the killing of bacteria inside cells, their risk lies in their ability to interact with amino acids, the main problem of the DNA of the cell, , And may cause its destruction.