Tuesday, October 18, 2005

When Free is NOT Good!

Not all freebies are good... like the saying "there is no such thing as a free lunch"... There are such a things as free radicals but they are things we do not need or want in our bodies.

What are free radicals? They are molecules with one or more unpaired electrons and are formed when oxygen reacts with the molecules. They are "free" in that they are unpaired and essentially "free" to roam and harm other cellular structures. We all know that oxygen in the air causes iron to rust and if not cleaned up and stopped, the rust continues to "grow."

Well the oxygen in our bodies does similar damage when it creates free radicals which, once they are formed, start a chain reaction of damage. Thus we need antioxidants to combat the effects the free radicals by delaying or stopping the oxidation.

Some fruits and vegetables have antioxidant components but if you read back to the earlier entries in this blog, you'll see that most of our food, including organic food, is not as nutritious as it was in years past.

So, yes do eat your fruits and vegetables but take antioxidant supplements to combat the free radicals.

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