What are Free Radicals and How the Body Can Fight Them

In the world we now live in, many factors can affect our health. We get stressed, exposed to pollution, take unhealthy food, and experience erratic weather changes. One infamous factor that is known to damage our body are free radicals. However, fret not since there are also antioxidants that can help fight them off.

What are free radicals?

Contrary to the widespread belief that free radicals are acquired from outside factors, they are also formed through natural physiological processes. We can get them simply from the metabolizingof the food we eat. They can also be caught from exercise, diet, alcohol, smoking, drugs, pollutants, stress, and inflammation.

Free radicals are unstable and reactive atoms or group of atoms having unpaired electrons. Remembering chemistry lessons, atoms share electrons with other atoms to achieve maximum stability.  However, there are cases wherein weak bonds split, and free radicals are formed.

These free radicals would try to steal the electron of the nearest molecule, leaving it a free radical by itself. With this, a domino effect is developed. The spread of free radicals can cause damage to the cells in our body, increasing the risk of some diseases such as cancer.

Our body has a natural way to prevent free radicals from spreading. This where antioxidants come in.

What are antioxidants?

Antioxidants are the ones that canneutralize free radicals. They donate their electrons to the free radicals, preventing it from stealing electrons from other molecules. Antioxidants would not turn into free radicals because their bonds are stable in either form.

Some forms of antioxidants are vitamin C, and vitamin E. Vitamin C is the most water-soluble antioxidant in our body. It is a powerful defense against free radicals formed due to pollution and cigarette smoke. Vitamin E, on the other hand, is a fat-soluble antioxidant and very efficient in free radicals chain breaking.

What are the sources of antioxidants?

It is quite simple: get enough antioxidants to fight free radicals. The best way to get antioxidants in our body is to have a healthy diet having 5 to 8 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Some of the antioxidant-rich foods are berries, dark chocolate, artichoke, pecans, kidney beans, and cilantro.

The amount of antioxidants in food are determined through their ORAC or oxygen radical absorption capacity score.

Include Organic and Kosher Certified PURE Freeze Dried Açai Berry Powder Capsules and a balanced diet to boost your antioxidant to fight off free radicals.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to treat, diagnose, or cure any diseases.