>FOR almost half his life, Myron Wentz has been working hard to rid the world of disease by eliminating degenerative diseases caused by deteriorating cells in the body.
As a microbiologist and immunologist, Wentz is confident that with the right food and supplements - to feed the cells, protect them from free radical damage and thus keep them healthy - people will not suffer from degenerative diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
He says that if we do not feed our cells with all the essential nutrients, then they will not function properly.
"We are living in toxic environments that damage our cells. We are now no longer dying from infectious diseases, but from degenerative illnesses.
"The cells that are damaged most will determine what disease arises, be it heart disease, nerve degeneration or organ failure," says Wentz.
He explains that the biological functions in our cells generate free radicals that damage our bodies. To counter this, the body also creates antioxidants to destroy them.
A healthy diet, he says, is no guarantee for health as cells in our body are affected by a toxic environment.
"Toxic substances are a major source of oxidative damage which destroy cell structures and molecules like DNA, enzymes, proteins and lipids. The end result is cellular degeneration and loss of function, and all kinds of degenerative diseases."
Wentz set up the Utah-based USANA Health Sciences in 1992 to manufacture vitamins and other nutritional supplements.
He says the best protection against free radicals is antioxidant nutrients, which are available in plants.
"But the amount of antioxidants from even the most nutritious food is still significantly less than what we need to protect us in our increasingly hazardous environment.
"This is why we need to supplement our healthy diet with antioxidant vitamins, minerals and other vital nutrients.
"From my research I found that within the first year of taking supplements, you give your cells proper nutrition to heal and restore them back to health.
Wentz says antioxidants are the frontline defence in cell health and as our toxic burden increases, improved cellular defence is even more critical.
Recent studies have implicated free radicals in more than 50 diseases including heart disease, various forms of cancer, cataracts and premature ageing.
Vitamins A, C and E; beta carotene; the mineral selenium and lycopene are some of the nutrients found in food with antioxidant properties.
This story was first published in the New Straits Times on Apr 21, 2008.
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