Free Radicals

 

What Are Free Radicals?

Why are they damaging to the human body? And how do antioxidant nutrients help protect the body against free radical damage? We will attempt to answer these questions and help you understand why eating 5-8 servings per day of anti-oxidant rich fruits and vegetables can benefit your health, and why alkalized ionized water is one of the most powerful antioxidants to neutralize free radicals.

Free radicals are organic molecules responsible for aging, tissue damage, and possibly some diseases. These molecules are very unstable, therefore they look to bond with other stable molecules, making them unstable and perpetuating the detrimental process. Antioxidants, present in many foods, are molecules that prevent free radicals from harming healthy tissue.

Dr. Denham Harmon became very famous for having "discovered" free radicals or, more accurately, for developing the "free radical concept of aging."
Here is a summary if his theory:

The nucleus of an atom is surrounded by a cloud of electrons. These electrons surround the nucleus in pairs, but occasionally an atom loses an electron, leaving the atom with an "unpaired" electron. The atom is then called a "free radical", and it is very reactive. When cells in the body encounter a free radical, the reactive radical may cause destruction in the cell. According to Dr. Harmon's free radical theory of aging, cells continuously produce free radicals, and constant free radical damage eventually kills the cell. When free radicals kill or damage enough cells in an organism, the organism ages.

Free radicals contribute to many different diseases. Chemically, a substance is oxidized when electrons are removed and reduced when electrons are added. Once an atom has fewer electrons, (with a negative electrical charge), than protons, (with a positive electrical charge), we say that this atom is, itself, positively charged. Because it is positively charged (missing an electron) it attracts any available electron , with a negative charge. Opposites attract.

 

As free radicals are missing an electron, they are all positvely charged (positive ions). As antioxidants have an extra electron to share, they are always negatively charged.

 

Some free radicals arise normally during metabolism. Sometimes the body's immune system's cells purposefully create them to neutralize viruses and bacteria. However, environmental factors such as pollution, radiation, cigarette smoke and herbicides can also spawn free radicals.

Normally, the body can handle free radicals, but if antioxidants are unavailable, or if the free-radical production becomes excessive, damage can occur. Of particular importance is that free radical damage accumulates with age.

 

It is these free radical molecules which rapidly react with other molecules, setting off a chain reaction of free radical formation, somewhat similar to an atomic explosion. So now we have this molecule which is missing an electron and is dying to get its hands on an electron to help fill its need. This free radical now goes and steals an electron from another molecule that is more willing to give one up and thus it becomes satisfied, but now the victim molecule has become a free radical! This goes on for quite some time. We therefore call this process the chain reaction of free radicals.

 

Most all of natures fresh foods, fruits and vegetables especially, are natural antioxidants. Some of the highest antioxidant foods are grapes, garlic, spinach, berries, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli and whole grains.

 

One of the most powerful antioxidants you can put into your body is Alkaline Ionized Water.

 

 

What Are Antioxidants? read

 

 

10 servings of antioxidant rich
Fruits and Vegetables
mixed in minutes.

Only $1.67

 

only 50 calories

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