Sunday, January 18, 2009

What are Free Radicals

By Dr. Jerimiah Crossderd

The best way to fully comprehend what free radicals are is to look at them from a cellular level. Here's a quick Physiology 101 lesson: The human body is made up of various kinds of cells.

Cells are comprised of various types of molecules. Molecules consist of one or more atoms of one or more elements held together by a chemical bond.

An atom is made up of a nucleus, proton, electrons. and neutrons. The amount of protons (particles that are positively charged) in the nucleus is what determines how many electrons (particles with a negative charge) will surround the atom.

The role of electrons is they are involved in the chemical reactions and is the compound the bonds the atoms to form molecules. The electrons surround an atom in one or more shells.

When the innermost shell has two electrons, it is considered full. when the second shell is full with electrons the process starts all over again.

The single most important feature in determining the chemical behavior of an atom is how many electrons are contained in the outer shell.

An atom that has a full outer shell does not enter in chemical reactions. Atoms seek to reach a state of maximum stability by one of the following:

Loose or pick up electrons to either empty or fill the outer shell

Bonding with other atoms to share electrons to complete the outer shell

Atoms very frequently finish this outer shell by sharing electrons with other atoms. This allows the conditions to be satisfied for what is needed to the atom to sustain maximum stability of the molecule.

Most of the time, these bonds do not tear apart in a way that leaves an atom with an odd, unpaired electron. When this does occur however, free radicals are formed; they are very unstable and react swiftly with other compounds in attempt to gain the needed electrons for stability.

Free radicals usually attack the closest molecule they cam find. From here they radicals begin the process of stealing electrons from the molecule which ends in the molecule becoming a free radical itself. This process brings into being a cascading effect where the conclusion leaves a living cell being disrupted.

During metabolism, free radicals will normally arise--there are even times when the body will naturally create free radicals for situations like neutralizing viruses and bacteria. Another way free radicals enter the body is by pollution such as radiation, smoke, and insecticides.

The body usually can defend free radicals, however when antioxidants are unavailable or the production of free radicals becomes too much, damage can occur. The most important thing to remember here is that free radical damage hastens the aging process.

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