The Most Harmful Agents to the Body
The best way to fully comprehend what free radicals are is to look at them from a cellular level. Here’s a quick Physiology 101 lesson: The human body is made up of various kinds of cells.
Cells are comprised of various types of molecules. Molecules consist of one or more atoms of one or more elements held together by a chemical bond.
Atoms are made up of a nucleus, protons, electrons, and neutrons. The number positively charged particles (protons) in the nucleus of the atom is what determines how many negatively charged particles (electron) will surround the atom.
Electrons are responsible for the chemical reactions that take place inside the atom as well as the substance that holds the atom together to form molecules. Electrons orbit the atom in one or more shells.
The innermost shell is full when it has two electrons. When the first shell is full, electrons begin to fill the second shell. When the second shell has eight electrons, it is full.
The single most important feature in determining the chemical behavior of an atom is how many electrons are contained in the outer shell.
An atom that has a full outer shell does not enter in chemical reactions. Atoms seek to reach a state of maximum stability by one of the following:
Loose or pick up electrons to either empty or fill the outer shell
Bonding with other atoms to share electrons to complete the outer shell
The most common way atoms complete their outer shell is by sharing electrons with other atoms. This bonding share strategy used by atoms satisfies the stipulations needed for maximum stability of the molecule.
Usually when a split occurs, it never leaves the molecule with an odd, unpaired set of electrons. However, when bond does split, free radicals are created–they tend to move and react quickly to other compounds as they begin to attempt to capture as many electrons as they can to achieve maximum stability.
The most common way free radicals attack is by finding the closest molecule that is stable and from there they begin the process of stealing electrons. When the molecule that is attacked starts losing the electrons, it becomes a free radical as well. When this process begins, it creates a chain reaction in which the end result is a disruption of a living cell.
Some free radicals usually occur during metabolism;at times the body’s immune systems cells will even purposefully create them to neutralize viruses and bacteria. However, environmental factors such as pollution, radiation, cigarette smoke and herbicides can also spawn free radicals.
Typically, the body is able to handle free radicals, but if antioxidants are unavailable, or if the free-radical production becomes excessive, damage can occur. Most importantly is that free radical damage accumulates with age.