Antioxidant Nutritional Testing at the Brady Chiropractic Group, PC.  How does it work? By simply placing the palm of your hand in front of a safe, low-energy blue light laser, you obtain an immediate reading of your carotenoid antioxidant levels — your skin carotenoid score. As you continue to eat more fruits and vegetables and supplement with LifePak®, you can track your skin carotenoid score for evidence of improved carotenoid antioxidant levels. Pharmanex® is the exclusive owner of the patented BioPhotonic Scanner technology. Developed by doctors and physicists at the University of Utah’s Center for Biomedical Optics, the BioPhotonic Scanner is the world's first measuring tool for carotenoid antioxidant levels using Raman technology. What are Free Radicals? Scientists believe free radicals contribute to the aging process. It’s a fact of life … we age, every second, of everyday. And although we can’t stop the aging process, we can take steps to improve our health as we age. Certain known causes of free radical damage such as smoking or sun exposure can have negative impacts on how we look and feel. Pollution, exposure to toxic chemicals – even the air we breathe creates free radicals within our bodies. Why should we be concerned about free radicals? Free radicals are highly reactive, short lived molecules that can damage proteins, fats, and even DNA inside of our bodies. Every day our cells get about 75 thousand free radical hits to their DNA. Most of the damage can be repaired by repairing enzymes inside the body, but the little bit of damage that can’t be repaired accumulates over time and can add to the problems associated with the normal aging process. What are Antioxidants? There are many different kinds of antioxidants and they work together to help fight the harmful effects of free radicals. Our bodies produce some antioxidants and other important antioxidants are consumed in our diets. All of these antioxidants work together to form a powerful system to support good antioxidant health. Antioxidants can actually capture or neutralize free radicals and therefore stop the chain reaction. One of the most powerful classes of antioxidants is carotenoids. Carotenoid antioxidants can help break the chain reactions of free radical damage. That’s why it’s important to get measured and know your Pharmanex® Skin Carotenoid Score. After your initial measurement, you can take steps to raise your antioxidant levels by eating properly and by taking supplements. By supplementing your diet with LifePak® and being scanned every 60 days, you will now be able to track your body’s skin carotenoid score and determine if LifePak® is helping to improve your antioxidant level. “Most people do not consume an optimal amount of all vitamins by diet alone. Pending strong evidence of effectiveness from randomized trials, it appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements.” Journal of the American Medical Association, June, 2002.