<h3>By Dr. Robert Knitzer</h3>
What if there was a new, safe way to accelerate the body’s natural ability to heal itself; a way to bring about positive changes in health by selectively removing damaged or destroyed cells and protecting already healthy cells; an approach that was native to the body so that it didn’t interfere with one’s current medication or dietary regimen? This was the type of hypothetical medication we sought to create in my very first Pharmacology class in medical school several decades ago… It is now available!

The nature of the human body is to seek balance and to heal itself. Despite all the toxins in our food and water supplies, from sun exposure, chemicals, stress, over-exertion, infection, etc., the body is constantly trying to make adjustments to return to balance.

Over the past 20 plus years, basic medical research has moved to a greater understanding of how the body functions by looking at its smaller and smaller components. In this way, researchers begin to see the body as an organism whose health and efficiency is based on the cell health. Cells were the unifying thread or common unit of all tissues, organs and systems. This breakthrough in understanding as an approach to treatment is diametrically opposed to our present notion that our bodies consist of a number of separate and unrelated systems… the Cardiovascular, Respiratory, Renal and Musculoskeletal, to name a few.

Cell function became the focus of great research with hundreds of scientific articles being published on the topic monthly. Entire journals and most recently a textbook are now devoted to this field. Since 1998 it has been an area from where multiple Nobel Prizes have been awarded. What has been found is the critical role that tiny molecules called Redox Signaling Molecules (RSMs) play in our health and well-being. We now know that these molecules, once thought to be waste molecules in the formation of cellular energy, are vital to immune function and the activation of massive amounts of antioxidants lying dormant in our body. They signal what cells are healthy and need only be protected and what cells are damaged and either require repair, or if that is not possible, replacement with healthy cells. The clearer and louder the signal, the more effectively and quickly the body can work to heal itself. It’s the difference between hearing a call on your cell phone with only one bar of signal versus four bars.

Over time these RSMs are depleted in number and efficiency. Ultimately this leads to a decrease in energy and the changes of aging that we all experience. Medical researchers at universities, the National Institute of Health, as well as some pharmaceutical companies, have been working to create these molecules in the laboratory. All attempts had been unsuccessful due to the highly reactive nature of the molecules. In fact, in the body these molecules are so unstable that they are created, react and degrade within nanoseconds. In the recent past, however, what was once thought to be impossible was made possible and has been verified by independent research labs. One company has successfully created balanced pairs of these molecules in a stable, bioactive liquid form available for ingestion and a gel form for topical use. The implications of this medical breakthrough are so great that it will likely fuel medical advancements for years to come.

In coming articles, I will share more results of research with Redox Signaling Molecules in the areas of healing and anti-aging, beauty and skin care as well as athletics.