MAIN Health Free Radicals

As the name implies, free radicals are "revolutionaries" that seek to turn over the body's normal processes by running renegade at the cellular level.

No friend to maintaining good health, free radicals are involved in the progression of almost every disease - including heart disease, cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease - as well as common wrinkles and the process of aging.

So where do these cells that reek so much havoc actually come from?

To understand the process, it should first be noted that oxygen molecules have two electrons. When one is missing an electron, it becomes unstable and goes in search of another electron from the next molecule it encounters. As a result, the next molecule becoms a free radical becausing it is missing an electron. Ultimately, one free radical starts a chain reaction of new free radicals causing damage to your cells.

Most alarmingly, free radicals can go on to attack DNA, the genetic material of cells and cause them to mutate, the first step on the path to cancer.

Protecting against the onslaught of free radicals

This process of "oxygen molecules gone wild" is commonly known as oxidation. But there are ways to protect yourself against the worst influences and even repair the demage they may have already caused by supplying your body with plenty of antioxidants found in certain foods and in vitamin supplements.

In addition to proper nutrition, other rules to limit the formation of free radicals include:

Exercise - keeping your body strong and fit through regular exercise usually results in the formation of fewer free radicals.

Eliminate toxins from the environment - cigarette smoke, chlorine in water, pesticides in foods, smog.

Protein - made up of amino acids from which the body makes protective antioxidants.

Get proper sleep - one of the most powerful scavengers of free radicals is melatonin, a hormone released when you sleep.

Stress management is also very important to reducing free radical formation, as persistent emotional stress very often translates into physical ailments and, at worst, serious disease.

More about free radicals around the Web:

Antioxidants and Free Radicals

Free radical theory - Wikipedia