Healthy Life

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Heard of Free Radicals?

Who say free things are good? Free radicals are certainly not.

What Are Free Radicals?
Our bodies use the oxygen we breathe to burn carbohydrates to produce energy. However, this normal oxidation process creates highly reactive chemical compounds called free radicals. Free radicals are highly reactive and may attack important body compounds like DNA, enzymes and fats. Free radicals are continously generated in the cells through the normal body metabolism. Cigarette smoke, air pollution, alcohol and ultraviolet sunlight are all external sources which can also generate free radicals.

How To Fight Against Free Radicals?
Antioxidants! Yes! Our bodies have antioxidants, natural chemical defenses against free radical attacks. These antioxidants act by trappings deactivating and destroying free radicals and preventing the damage they may cause. Principal antioxidants – Vitamin C and E.

How Do Antioxidants Help?
Antioxidant vitamins act as scavengers of free radicals. Although they work as a team to inhibit free radical activity, each kind of antioxidant focuses on different parts of the cell. Vitamin E protects the unsaturated fatty acids located in the cell membrane. Vitamin C protects the blood and liquid interior of the cell from free radical attack.

... next post "Importance of Vitamin C"