Free radicals, what do we do with them?*
Verybriefly: Free radicals are leftover by-products of our metabolism to the size of atoms/molecules. Our bodies actually produce free radicals all day long, no matter how good your metabolism is. Free radicals are very dangerous, actually strange that we create them ourselves. Fortunately, our bodies have “devised” an extremely good system to clean up these free radicals again. This article explains:
- How free radicals are created
- Why free radicals are dangerous
- How the body protects us from it
How do free radicals form?
Our bodies are busy all day without us realizing it. Cell divisions, protein conversion, energy production, etc. All these processes (our normal metabolism) leave traces, byproducts we call free radicals. No matter how healthy we try to live, we cannot change this process. Our body produces free radicals whether we want it to or not.
We may not be able to produce less “waste,” but we can produce more of it ourselves. Drinking a lot (alcohol), smoking, stress + unhealthy diet cause us to create more free radicals. The more free radicals in your body, the more potential for diseases such as heart disease, cancer and they can damage your DNA.
It is not only our metabolism that produces free radicals. They can also enter your body from the outside. Air pollution or chemicals, for example, can intrude as free radicals.
What is dangerous about free radicals?
The annoying thing about free radicals is that they can bind to other cells very easily. These molecules/atoms (free radical) causes disruption of the process of the cell in question. You can figure out that the more free radicals, the more healthy cells can no longer do their function properly. You can think of them as unwanted guests in your body!
Free radical protection
Fortunately, our bodies can protect us very well against free radicals, provided, of course, that they are not abundant in the body and when enough of these free radicals are produced by our own bodies. Are you getting extra radicals in from the outside? Then you need extra “protection.”
You’ve probably heard of them, antioxidants. Antioxidants protect our body, they stop free radicals from “doing their job” by neutralizing them. There are many different types of free radicals, and fortunately (with a little outside help: good nutrition) our bodies can produce enough antioxidants themselves to render all these free radicals harmless.
So, to defuse all the extra free radicals, our body also needs antioxidants from food. Fortunately, our daily serving of food normally contains enough antioxidants to neutralize all free radicals. Vitamin A, C, E and selenium, for example, are a good “antioxidant supplement,” and you will find these vitamins in, for example:
If you don’t eat the above foods enough, you can also get antioxidants from supplements. But really, these are only suitable as supplements and not replacements.
Also, if you work in an environment where you are exposed to additional free radicals (air, chemicals, etc.) then supplements can serve as extra protection.
Want more information on whether you’re taking in enough antioxidants to neutralize free radicals? Then contact our nearest branch!
* We reprinted this article from optimalhealth.com
