What is free radical ? (in simple term please)?

Question

What is free radical ? (in simple term please)?

Answer 1

They damage your cells

Eat lots of Anti-oxidants!!

Answer 2

A native of Berkeley CA.

Answer 3

In very simple terms, is a piece of a molecule looking for something to react with. If that something turns out to be DNA or other important parts of your cells, it could be trouble. Antioxidants, in dietary terms, are substances (such as vitamin C) that will react with these free radicals and take them out of circulation.

Answer 4

Basically it's something that lets your cells get too much oxygen which damages them.

Think of an apple when you start to eat it... if you leave it out for a bit it turns brown. That's the oxygen.

Answer 5

("A Free radical is an electrically charged ion or molecule that has an unpaired electron in its outermost shell. .... A common example of a free radical is superoxide, which is formed by the addition of an electron to an oxygen molecule. Having an unpaired electron makes a free radical unstable and destructive to nearby molecules. Free radicals break apart important body molecules by either giving up their unpaired electron to or taking on an electron from an other molecule. Among the many disorders and diseases linked to oxygen-deprived free radicals are cancer, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, emphysema, diabetes mellitus, cataracts, macular degeneration, rheumatoid arthritis, and deterioration associated with aging. Consuming more antioxidants---substances that combine with and thus inactivate oxygen-derived free radicals---may slow the pace of damage .... Important dietary antioxidants include vitamins E, and C, selenium, and beta-carotene.")

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Basically, there are many different kinds of free-radicals and biological means for creating them but in general, the way certain foods we eat get metabolized, results in some of these food related atoms losing an electron in their outer most ring. Making them highly reactive. This creates an unstable atom or ion (an atom that has gain or lost an electron).  This unstable atom seeks to gain back that lost electron by ripping one away from another nearby stable molecule. This changes the function of that molecule and it may no longer do its job of helping the cell, tissue, and you, survive.  If many, many free-radical ions steal electrons from atoms inside biologically important molecules, the cellular system breaks down and too much damage is done for the cell to repair itself and survive, disease can result.

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