metabolism comes at a cost: exhaust.
One of the by-products of glucose metabolism is the
creation of compounds called reactive oxygen species, or
free radicals. These damaged zombie molecules are the
same as those described in chapter 2, and their presence is a
normal and unavoidable aspect of living. Right now, as you
read this, mitochondria throughout your body and brain are
converting glucose and oxygen to energy and leaving
behind these waste products as a result.
Free radicals aren’t all bad—during exercise, their
concentration is momentarily increased and they become
powerful signaling mechanisms, coaxing the body to adapt
and detoxify in powerful ways. (I will cover this in greater
detail in chapter 10.) Under ideal circumstances, we have
the ability to clean up these compounds. But when
excessive free radical production is sustained, it can outrun
our body’s ability to effectively mop things up, thereby
kicking off a cascade of damaging processes that drive
aging and its associated conditions. Epilepsy, Alzheimer’s,
Parkinson’s, MS, autism, and even depression are all
conditions in which oxidative stress runs rampant in the
brain, propagating the disease process.^3
This is why an alternate fuel source to glucose, the
biological equivalent of a fossil fuel, might be of value, one
that burns “cleaner” and more efficiently and can be
sustained for a longer period of time. As it happens, we
don’t have to look very far. Scientists have known since the
mid-sixties of a powerful fuel source hidden in each and
every one of us, discovered upon observation of an ancient
practice.