Free Radicals and Antioxidants: Complete Guide

Free radicals can harm our health if not properly controlled. Explore how antioxidants can protect your body against oxidative stress and improve your overall well-being.

The damage from free radicals requires being more mindful of our diet

Imagine a grand ballroom dance where couples twirl and spin to the music.

Until a lone dancer without a partner enters the ballroom. She interrupts another couple who is dancing. This leaves one of the original pairs without a partner.

This new lone dancer interrupts another couple, and by interrupting, this strange scenario creates chaos. A chain reaction of changing partners interrupts the dance over and over.

When the molecules in our body do this, it’s called oxidative stress.

Free radicals are molecules with an unpaired electron. They look for sources from which they can steal an electron.

After obtaining an electron, the donor molecule is often damaged. When this combination of electrons becomes widespread, it can become a major health problem.

The oxidative stress from free radicals is a natural process. Our body uses it when we exercise or fight an infection. It is a normal part of the body’s intricate system to stay healthy.

However, when there are too many free radicals, problems can arise. It can contribute to a variety of modern inflammatory diseases. Conditions like diabetes, atherosclerosis, heart disease, and high blood pressure can occur. Even Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer, and many neurological diseases.

What is the solution?

Having one more dancer in the room can reduce this chaos in the ballroom. In the body, that’s what an ‘antioxidant’ does.

Antioxidants are molecules that can donate an electron without becoming unstable. This stabilizes free radicals and makes them less reactive.

The good news is that there are two key strategies we can use to combat free radicals.

Reduce exposure to free radicals: An old saying comes to mind, ‘When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.’ Look for ways to reduce oxidative stress in your body. This may include reducing your exposure to ozone, pesticides, tobacco smoke, and pollution. Reduce alcohol and sugar in all its forms.

Increase antioxidants: our body thrives on the foods we eat to provide antioxidants. The damage from free radicals requires being more mindful of our diet. Consider adding grapes, blueberries, nuts, dark green vegetables, root vegetables, beans, and fish. Limit processed meats like sausages, bacon, and salami.

As with so many things in the body, we need balance. We need the right amount of free radicals and the right amount of antioxidants to keep them under control.

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