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Free Radicals & Antioxidants
As
a normal process of your bio-chemistry, oxygen reacts with your cells
and creates by-products called free radicals.
Free
radicals are actually essential compounds which are used by your
body in various ways. White blood cells, which are involved in the
body's natural defense system, use free radicals to destroy viruses
and bacteria. Free radicals are also directly involved in the production
of hormone-like compounds called prostaglandins which help
regulate many different essential bodily functions. And your liver,
which filters out toxic products in your body, uses free radicals
in the process of detoxification.
Unfortunately,
free radicals can also have a damaging effect on healthy cells in
your body if they become too numerous. This is because free radicals
are chemically unstable. Stable molecules in the body have pairs
of electrons, but free radicals are chemically unstable because
they have at least one electron that is not paired. In order to
reach a stable state a free radical "steals" an electron
from another molecule. This stable molecule, in turn, becomes a
free radical and attacks another molecule, removing its electron.
Left unchecked free radicals can thus set a destructive chain reaction
in motion that can destroy the function of a very large number of
healthy molecules. Scientists call this process oxidation. You're
probably already very familiar with this process, because it's oxidation
that turns metal rusty, makes a cut apple go brown and turns fat
rancid.
But the human body is a very smart piece of machinery, and it's
equipped with its own natural defense system against an over-abundance
of free radicals. It produces special free radical scavengers called
antioxidants (literally meaning anti, or against, oxidation).
Antioxidants hunt down free radicals in the body and effectively
neutralize them, stopping the chain reaction before vital molecules
are damaged. They do this by donating one of their electrons, which
makes a free radical stable. They are then harmlessly absorbed by
the body.
The
trouble is, in today's modern industrialized society we are over-exposed
to many different elements which can promote an over-abundance of
free radicals. Exhaust fumes and other environmental pollution,
high levels of stress, and cigarette smoke are all believed to increase
the amount of free radicals in the body.
According
to a recent study at the University of California, the damage caused
by excess free radicals also accumulates with age and is a major
contributor to conditions such as cancer, heart disease and immune
system decline. It's also believed that an over-abundance of free
radicals can deteriorate muscle and bone, and dramatically speed
up the aging process.
So
how do you tip the balance in your favor? Simple—eat more vegetables,
fruits and other plant-based foods like whole grains, legumes, nuts,
and vegetable oils such as olive and peanut oil. These foods are
rich in antioxidants and work hand-in-hand with your body's own
naturally produced antioxidants to offer you the best protection
from free radical damage.
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