"Sounds like a hippy band from the sixties!
It's also a scientific term for any molecule, or atom that has one or more unpaired electrons. In biology free radicals serve many purposes but they can also be potentially harmful if they are too plentiful. Apparently some of the muscle soreness you experience when working out is due to these free radicals. That also is one of the reasons you hear so much about antioxidants, as they fight the negative effects of the free radicals.
Hyperbaric therapy is believed to cause an increase in oxygen centred free radicals. When I asked the doctor about this he conceded that that was probably the case, and went on to say that that's why they recommend you take a vitamin E supplement (an antioxidant) during the treatment. What? No one recommended as much to me! Oh! Was all he said.
Anyway, he went on to say that despite the fact that HBOT may indeed impact the amount of free radicals in my body, that if I had anywhere near a normal diet, they should easily be offset. He did acknowledge that every individual is unique and that while it would be quite a stretch that "maybe" it could be a factor in my case....but he doesn't think so!
He's also a pretty funny guy, or at least he thinks he is. He knows that I never watch television and that out of sheer boredom I had broke down the last couple of weeks while in the chamber. I always watch the discovery channel and there are some pretty stupid shows on there. Part way through my treatment he picked up the phone and with a serious face said, "Do you suppose that there is any correlation with the crap you've been watching on TV and your reduced endurance." Wise ass!!
We joked afterwards that the only way I could prove that it was his chamber and not the television that was causing my problems would be for me to continue to watch 2 hours of bad television shows every day, even after my treatments. I think not!!
Anyway, the free radical thing is my latest theory and I'm gonna wishful think it into reality. Tomorrow morning I see my family doctor to get his thoughts, and right after that I make my last trip to Hamilton.
I will continue to do nothing again today and tomorrow, and return to action Wednesday. I will try to ease back into it and for some reason I am confident it will go well. It will be like a new start, and this time with plenty of time on my hands. I will still go to the gym tonite just to sit in the hot tub and stretch. I intend on making that a regular part of my routine going forward as well.
Wish me luck my friends! Game on!
"I am trying to do two things: dare to be a radical and not a fool, which is a matter of no small difficulty."---James Garfield
"I never dared to be radical when young for fear it would make me conservative when old."---Robert Frost
It's also a scientific term for any molecule, or atom that has one or more unpaired electrons. In biology free radicals serve many purposes but they can also be potentially harmful if they are too plentiful. Apparently some of the muscle soreness you experience when working out is due to these free radicals. That also is one of the reasons you hear so much about antioxidants, as they fight the negative effects of the free radicals.
Hyperbaric therapy is believed to cause an increase in oxygen centred free radicals. When I asked the doctor about this he conceded that that was probably the case, and went on to say that that's why they recommend you take a vitamin E supplement (an antioxidant) during the treatment. What? No one recommended as much to me! Oh! Was all he said.
Anyway, he went on to say that despite the fact that HBOT may indeed impact the amount of free radicals in my body, that if I had anywhere near a normal diet, they should easily be offset. He did acknowledge that every individual is unique and that while it would be quite a stretch that "maybe" it could be a factor in my case....but he doesn't think so!
He's also a pretty funny guy, or at least he thinks he is. He knows that I never watch television and that out of sheer boredom I had broke down the last couple of weeks while in the chamber. I always watch the discovery channel and there are some pretty stupid shows on there. Part way through my treatment he picked up the phone and with a serious face said, "Do you suppose that there is any correlation with the crap you've been watching on TV and your reduced endurance." Wise ass!!
We joked afterwards that the only way I could prove that it was his chamber and not the television that was causing my problems would be for me to continue to watch 2 hours of bad television shows every day, even after my treatments. I think not!!
Anyway, the free radical thing is my latest theory and I'm gonna wishful think it into reality. Tomorrow morning I see my family doctor to get his thoughts, and right after that I make my last trip to Hamilton.
I will continue to do nothing again today and tomorrow, and return to action Wednesday. I will try to ease back into it and for some reason I am confident it will go well. It will be like a new start, and this time with plenty of time on my hands. I will still go to the gym tonite just to sit in the hot tub and stretch. I intend on making that a regular part of my routine going forward as well.
Wish me luck my friends! Game on!
"I am trying to do two things: dare to be a radical and not a fool, which is a matter of no small difficulty."---James Garfield
"I never dared to be radical when young for fear it would make me conservative when old."---Robert Frost
Love
Peter
Peter
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