Free radicals are harmful, unstable substances (rogue oxygen molecules) that develop after oxidation, which is a naturally occurring process of the body. Free radicals are not harmful in themselves. In fact, they can be beneficial. The problem lies in the fact that free radicals are damaged molecules, which means that they are missing one electron.
Now, it is but natural for molecules to want to get their full complement of electrons, but in order to do that, they would have to "steal" them from other molecules surrounding them. Free radicals therefore react with other molecules, leading to the latter’s damage.
Depending on the circumstances, this tendency of free radicals to react can be good, but only if the molecules they react with are harmful. The trouble is free radicals do not distinguish between healthy and harmful molecules so that there is a great possibility that they would also "attack" your other healthy cells, causing massive cellular damage, tissue damage, and eventually resulting in a chronic disease or disorder that includes not only aging, but something more serious like cancer.
It is impossible for us to avoid damage by free radicals. Free radicals arise from sources both inside (endogenous) and outside (exogenous) our bodies. Oxidants that develop from processes within our bodies form as a result of normal aerobic respiration, metabolism, and inflammation. Exogenous free radicals form from environmental factors such as pollution, sunlight, strenuous exercise, x-rays, smoking, and alcohol.
The human immune system and antioxidant activity becomes weaker and less efficient with age. This reduced effectiveness in turn helps to explain the rising incidence of cancer and life threatening infections in older people.
In their focused attempts to find a solution to aging and other chronic diseases, scientists have finally made a breakthrough with the discovery of the anti-aging properties of antioxidants.
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