By Caroline Rechia • August 27th, 2006

In the summer, getting your antioxidants is easy since they are aplenty in the fresh fruit and vegetables available to us at every local store. Plant-derived antioxidants correct a potentially harmful free radical reaction within our bodies and bring things back into balance. They are just one more reason why getting fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet is very important.

But what exactly are free radicals and what do antioxidants specifically do? The answer to these questions requires a short chemistry lesson. A compound is a substance made up of different elements, such as hydrogen and carbon, and each element has an outer ring of electrons. Our body contains many different compounds: enzymes and hormones to name just two, and these compounds perform important bodily functions.

Free radicals are compounds that are formed during natural chemical reactions in the body. When a compound loses an electron during a process called oxidation, the compound becomes a free radical and is unstable. These free radicals require a new electron to stabilize them, and they often end up zipping around the body searching for electrons. Often they will steal an electron from another substance, creating a new free radical, which must in turn, scavenge an electron from another source. This cascading reaction can actually cause a cell to collapse. The free radical process is known to cause inflammation and has been linked to many serious diseases such as arteriosclerosis and cancer. Some scientists even believe that the aging process could be slowed, if we could only manage the amount of free radicals in the body.

Here's where antioxidants come in. They just happen to have an extra electron to donate and so they are able to stabilize the free radical and remain stable themselves. These antioxidants often come in the form of vitamin complexes, such as vitamins A, C and E. Eating foods that are high in these antioxidant vitamins means that you are giving your body the tools to fight free radical damage in the body....

• <<
• <
• 1
• 2
• >
• >>

Location:  Vancouver, CA

Caroline Rechia is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist with over 10 years experience in consulting and working with diverse clients, including the Vancouver School Board and Canadian Cancer Society. Caroline believes that the right food choices can...