Free radicals

Antioxidants and free radicals constantly circulate in our bodies. As long as there is balance between them, our body remains healthy. Free radicals are unpaired oxygen electrons that are formed in the body as a result of metabolic processes. Their presence is related to defense mechanisms, but an excess of them can be harmful. Free radicals are negatively charged and seek to combine with a positively charged molecule, and the course of this reaction of molecule bonding is called oxidation. Currently, it is believed that this may be the beginning of various diseases and also influence the aging process of the body.

We cannot live without oxygen. It is needed in every cell of our body. Before the oxygen taken from the air reaches its destination, i.e., every cell of our body, it must be absorbed and distributed. During the conversion of oxygen into energy, each cell releases free radicals using nutrients.

Our body uses them in immune cells to destroy pathogenic bacteria and to oxidize toxic substances. These unwanted microorganisms and toxic substances destroy the phagocytic cells of the immune system, called macrophages, which produce free radicals. This idyllic picture is disrupted when there is a rapid increase in free radicals due to a disturbance in oxygen metabolism.

Processes that generate free radicals are accelerated, for example, by smoking cigarettes, strong or prolonged stress, inhaling exhaust fumes, prolonged sunbathing, and even strenuous exercise. Considering the enormous scale of respiratory processes, an unfriendly byproduct is created in millions in each second.

Free radicals are molecules of organic compounds with one free electron. Therefore, free radicals strive at all costs to donate or replenish this missing electron, using any compound in neighboring tissue cells for this purpose. In search of such an opportunity, they are extremely active and, by moving quickly throughout the body, damage the protein-lipid cell membrane, genetic material contained in the cell, or other protein with vital significance.

The matter is complicated by the fact that one free radical, by stealing electrons from other molecules, often generates further radicals, thereby exacerbating the destructive process. Such a chain reaction may have no end. The destructive action of free radicals on our body can be extremely extensive. They can destroy heart cells, kidney cells, brain cells, and other important organs, damage nerve cells, red blood cells, weaken the immune system, and even damage genetic material in cells, which can ultimately lead to the development of cancer.

Free radicals are also released in the process of metabolism, with particular intensity during the burning of polyunsaturated fatty acids by the body. They are produced in large quantities, especially in fried or long-stored products, as fats easily oxidize.

Hence, consuming such foods as chips, fries, crackers, cookies, pizza, salad dressings, etc., which are common especially among young people, becomes a dangerous dietary habit for health. And to prepare these products, fats harmful to health are used.

Despite such great threats from ubiquitous free radicals, we often manage to live to a ripe old age. But the level of human health is very diverse. It depends, among other things, on the diet and the individual ability of the body to remove excess free radicals. Each cell has protective enzymes and other compounds defending it, thus protecting the entire body.

It is the protective system against free radicals that - through the action of appropriate enzymes (metabolites such as uric acid or bilirubin) - counteracts the harmful effects of reactive oxygen species, either preventing their formation or deactivating them. This is the natural individual immunological ability of the body. As long as the enzymatic ability to remove free radicals is in balance with their formation, the body is safe.

If this balance is disrupted, if there is a disturbance in the balance between the normal neutralization of free radicals and their avalanche (millions) generation, oxidative stress occurs. It corresponds to a state of health risk because free radicals trigger a chain reaction damaging all cellular structures. And the weakened cell becomes increasingly susceptible to further attacks by free radicals.

Primarily, foods rich in vitamins serve this purpose, so those rich in vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol), and beta-carotene. The remarkable role attributed to vitamin C is primarily due to the fact that nature has assigned most mammals (99 percent) the ability to produce it internally. This process, taking place in the liver, leads to the production of vitamin C in proportion to the anticipated needs. To defend the body, mammals can rely on their own internal source of this antioxidant in case of an attack by free radicals.

However, we have lost the ability to respond immediately to threats from excessively generated free radicals because our body does not produce ascorbic acid. Therefore, we need to supplement the deficiency through a diet rich in natural vitamin C. We have a whole range of fruits and their products to choose from, richest in this vitamin. We can consume it in any amount because our body has the ability to eliminate its excess.