Sounds like a rock band. Introducing The Free Radicals!!! In a conversation with Debbie today about inflammation and oxidative stress I mentioned free radicals. Do you know what a free radical is?

Well, here’s a quickie for you as a short blog in the midst of writing my book.

To tell you what a free radical is, you have to understand that we are talking about your molecules and what occurs on a molecular level. Still want to know what a free radical is? It’s actually a simple process to explain.

A molecule is made of atoms. Atoms are made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. The electrons come in pairs. When a molecule loses an electron (a process called ionization…and if I went on about this process it would then be a long blog…) it “pilfers” an electron from another molecule. Now that molecule does the same to another and off you have the beginning of a very hazardous chain reaction called “free radical damage”.

This molecular occurrence is happening to us all the time. From all of the environmental toxins to what we ingest and the natural processes of cell proliferation (development) and expiry (death) becomes more and more imbalanced. In other words, more cells die or become damaged than new healthy ones are developed.

 There’s more to the story but there’s the simple answer to a very big question. Does this now peak your curiosity as to what helps improve free radical damage? Let me know if you are curious about learning more and I will write more on the topic!