Whereas cells are the building blocks that compose the body, molecules are even smaller particles that are the building blocks of all substances in nature, including cells. Molecules are composed of even smaller units—groups of atoms—each atom having an even pair of electrons that orbit its center, or nucleus, similar to the manner in which the planets orbit the sun.

Free radicals are atoms, molecules, or fragments of molecules in which one electron has become detached, leaving at least one single, unpaired electron orbiting a nucleus. An atom or molecule in such an unbalanced electron arrangement becomes unstable and is aggressively reactive with other substances. In order to restore its own stability, the free radical indiscriminately “steals” an electron from another molecule, thus imbalancing that molecule and making it a free radical as well. This process of electron theft is called oxidation, and typically involves the formation of a chain reaction of billions of free radicals that can occur within the span of a mere fraction of a second.

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When free radicals attack, damage, and/or destroy the body’s cellular building blocks, illness and disease manifest. Modern science believes the formation of free radical pathology is associated with as many as 80 degenerative diseases including arthritis, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. The cascading chain reaction of free radicals attacks any cell membrane or structure it contacts, causing cellular damage in many locations throughout the body. Approximately every 10 seconds, each of the body’s trillions of cells is attacked by a free radical, amounting to over 600 quadrillion (600 followed by 15 zeros) damaging attacks daily.[1] To help you imagine how large this number is, if you begin counting to one trillion and count a new number every second—1, 2, 3, etc.—it would take you 32,000 years to finish your count, give or take a few months.

Free radicals are toxic by-products that form within the body as a result of normal body metabolism including breathing oxygen, burning food to produce energy, and disposing of wastes. Every cell in the body uses about one trillion oxygen molecules each day. Oxygen provides the energy necessary to sustain life, yet ironically a small number of molecules of the very substance we breathe is converted into unstable and harmful free radicals within the body.

Other factors contribute to the formation of free radicals as well, including air pollution (automobile exhaust, smog, cigarette smoke, and other inhaled fumes), irradiation (sunlight, sun lamps, medical X-rays, etc.), and exposure to environmental pollutants such as petrochemicals, pesticides (insecticides and herbicides), some pharmaceutical drugs, and asbestos. Free radicals are also associated with the ingestion of alcohol, cured meats, some pharmaceutical drugs, and artificial colorings and flavorings. Chemotherapy, exercise, physical trauma, and emotional and physical stress are also associated with free radical pathology. Even the body’s own immune system produces free radicals as a form of self defense against undesirable substances such as bacteria, viruses, or other toxic or foreign agents present within the blood. Our white blood cells seek out and attack these foreign particles with an “oxidative burst” of free radicals.

The targets of free radical attacks are the molecules which make up substances such as proteins. Proteins in turn make up enzymes, which are the biological catalysts that initiate and accelerate the body’s chemical reactions. Proteins also make up the collagen and elastin present in the skin. When skin proteins are damaged, the results are wrinkles and other signs of skin aging. Proteins also comprise structures within the immune system, the body’s first line of defense against illness and disease. When these proteins are damaged, the immune system becomes compromised. Proteins are also components of hormones, the critical regulators of growth and metabolism. When these proteins become damaged, the body’s growth and metabolic systems become damaged and altered.

Other components of the body especially subject to free radical attack are the fatty acids and fats called lipids. Lipids are substances that serve the vital role of communicating signals within and between cells. They also serve as components of all membranes and hormones. Free radical attacks on the lipids and proteins that comprise the membranes of cells alter the stability of cell walls, affecting the ability of cellular structures to accept food and oxygen and rapidly and completely dispose of wastes.

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Lysosomes are small particles within the cell structure which contain digestive enzymes. When free radical attacks rupture the cells’ lysosome membranes, digestive particles spill into the cell and digest critical cell components. Also affected are mitochondria, components within the cells that are the principal sites of energy production. When free radicals are generated within the mitochondria, all of the cellular action slows down or stops, damaging the body’s primary source of energy. Because this aspect of free radical pathology is so important in any discussion of the aging process, a separate section on mitochondrial aging has been given.

The brain is extremely vulnerable to oxidation. About 10% of the brain and nerve membranes are composed of trillions of lipid molecules which are readily oxidizable polyunsaturated fatty acids. Free radicals are more damaging to this organ than any other part of the body. Although the brain constitutes only about 2% of the body’s total weight, it consumes 20% of the body’s total oxygen in a resting state, and even more during physical exertion.

Although 10 times the amount of free radicals attack the brain in comparison to any other organ, all of the body’s systems are vulnerable. When damage occurs to the lipids within the lens of the eye, cataracts are formed. When free radical damage occurs to a blood vessel, cardiovascular disease can be initiated. DNA, the material containing the genetic code for the proper duplication of cells that is held within each cell’s nucleus, can be hit by over 100,000 free radical attacks per day. If damage occurs, the genetic message in the nucleus is distorted, resulting in aging and diseases such as cancer and birth defects. The extent and severity of free radical-induced damage is dependent upon many factors including the type of tissue affected, duration of the attack, as well as the individual’s current state of health, nutritional status, stress level, and genetic predisposition.

Antioxidants, as the name implies, are substances that operate against (anti) oxidants. They comprise a group of substances that help neutralize the damaging effects of oxidation within the body by delaying, inhibiting, or destroying free radicals. When oxidation begins within the tissues of the body, each cell produces its own defense system of antioxidants, which consists of enzymes and an array of other molecules including amino acids and peptides.

The body’s first line of defense is superoxide dismutase (SOD), a powerful antioxidant enzyme. There are several forms of SOD, each performing different functions within the cells and other locations throughout the body. SOD scavenges superoxide radicals and alters them into the less toxic substance hydrogen peroxide.

Under ideal conditions, the body’s own antioxidant forces offer adequate protection in defense of excess free radicals produced by both normal bodily processes and a host of other sources. Unfortunately, our modern-day Western life style provides many current health challenges not present in previous times, including free-radical-generating toxic environmental pollutants, as well as other factors such as increased levels of emotional stress.

Modern living exposes most of us to a burden of abnormally high levels of oxidative free radical attacks. When the oxidant-antioxidant balance of power is won by free radicals, cellular damage occurs and medical symptoms develop. Oxidation leading to free radical pathology is one of the most significant underlying cause of aging. The Free Radical Theory of Aging is a comprehensive explanation of why we age, as proposed by University of Nebraska researcher Dr. Denham Harman. According to Dr. Harman, “Very few individuals, if any, reach their potential maximum life-span; they die instead prematurely of a wide variety of diseases—the vast majority being ‘free radical diseases.” [2]

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