What is a Free
Radical Reaction?
A
free radical reaction is a byproduct of your body's metabolism. Your body has to produce energy in order to
carry out all of the necessary functions that are critical to its survival. You
get the necessary components you need for this from the food you eat and the
air you breathe. This process of converting food and oxygen into energy is
called your metabolism.
During metabolism, some
oxygen molecules escape and become highly unstable and reactive particles
called free radicals. When these particles are allowed to roam freely and
become too numerous, it causes oxidative stress, now considered one of the
primary causes of aging and degenerative diseases.
Free radicals are
essential for your survival — they perform many valuable functions in your
body, including controlling your blood flow, fighting infections, even killing
cancer cells. The goal is not to eliminate these highly reactive particles, but
to keep them under control.
Stress
increases free radical reaction. In addition to normal production by your metabolism, excessive
free radicals are also caused by any one of a number of external stress
factors, including, but not limited to, the following:
·
environmental toxins
and pollution
·
emotional stress
·
strenuous exercise
·
chronic illnesses
·
processed foods and
food additives
·
chronic inflammation
·
smoking
·
ultraviolet radiation
from the sun
·
electromagnetic
radiation
When you examine your
body all the way down to the cellular level, you'll find atoms with electrons
circling around a nucleus, or center. Healthy atoms always have
electrons in pairs, each one holding either a positive or negative charge. A
free radical is an unstable, highly-reactive atom or molecule with one or more
unpaired electrons.
When one of these particles comes in contact with a stable atom,
it will steal the electron it needs from the stable atom, or deposit its
extra electron into the stable atom. An atom having an unpaired electron
is highly reactive and can initiate a thousand chain reactions within seconds,
unless the free radical reaction can be deactivated by restoring the electron
pairings.
These particles don't particularly care about where they get their
new partners, either. They'll oxidize just about anything that's available —
damaging cell membranes and important enzymes, even your DNA. This process of
cell oxidation happens more often than you could imagine — about 10,000 times
every day for each of the trillions of cells in your body.
When this free radical reaction goes unchecked and damages enough
cells in your body, you'll develop disease and accelerate the aging process.
What Do Free Radical
Reactions Do Inside the Cell?
The most common form of damage done by free radical reaction
involves the oxidation of fatty compounds called lipids (chemists call fats and
oils "lipids"). This is commonly refered to as lipid peroxidation.
This process is similar to what happens when fatty foods like butter turn
rancid.
Free radicals damage cell membranes. Lipids are a vital component of cell
membranes, the outer shell of each and every cell. After many years of exposure
to oxidative stress, your cell membranes lose their elasticity. They begin to
have difficulty performing their usual functions, such as transferring
nutrients and oxygen in and out of the cell, eliminating waste products and
repairing DNA damage.
Free radicals damage your DNA. When free radicals penetrate into the nucleus(center) of a cell,
they can also attack the genetic material (DNA) that the cell uses to reproduce
itself. This is the first step in the formation of a cancer cell.
Cell mitochondria suffer — and you lose energy. Free radical reaction
can also attack another component inside the cell called the mitochondria. This
is where cellular energy is created. As damaged cells with low energy multiply,
you end up with a body that is low on energy, tired all the time, and unable to
fight off disease.
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