What are Antioxidants?

Most atoms are composed of electrons, protons, and neutrons. Most atoms have paired electrons to balance each other out. A free radical has unpaired electrons. That is, an electron on one side but not on the other of the atom. Picture a spinning disk with a weight on just one side. It would be lopsided, and create a lot of damage. But if we balance it out with a weight on the other side, it would spin symmetrically.

Free radicals create damage to your cells; to the DNA and the mitochondria. They create a lot of oxidation, just like what happens to your car when it rusts. It can happen in your body too. Some examples of things that give off free radicals are radiation, different chemicals, hydrogen peroxide, and free iron or free copper. Free iron and copper are normally bound to protein, but dangerous when they’re free.

As well, high levels of sugar create a lot of oxidation in your arteries and tissues.

Antioxidants donate an electron to neutralize the damaging effects of the free radicals and improve your health. You get these in super foods, leafy greens, and cruciferous vegetables. The problem is that the antioxidant now becomes a free radicle, which then borrows an electron from another antioxidant—and so on and so on. This is why antioxidants are a network.

So, avoid the things that cause oxidation, and focus on consuming foods containing antioxidants that neutralize and repair the damage caused by free radicals.