Table of contents:
- What are free radicals?
- What are the dangers of free radicals for the body?
- What can be done to prevent the dangers of free radicals?
Free radicals can be found anywhere, even your body actually produces free radicals. This substance is harmful to the body and can cause various diseases, such as cancer. But, do you know what free radicals actually are? What are the dangers of free radicals to the body and why are they dangerous? Check out the following explanation.
What are free radicals?
Free radicals are molecules that contain unpaired electrons. So, this molecule can donate or accept electrons from other molecules. This makes free radicals unstable and highly reactive. Free radicals are able to attack various molecules in the body, such as lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins as the main targets. Thus, it can cause damage to cells, proteins, and DNA, as well as disturbances in the balance in the body.
Your body can get free radicals from the surrounding environment, such as exposure to sunlight, radiation, ozone, cigarette smoke, vehicle fumes, air pollution, industrial chemicals, the food you eat, and the drinks you drink. Not only that, your body actually produces free radicals from important metabolic processes in the body, from various chemical reactions that occur in the body. For example, when the body digests food, when you breathe, to do sports.
What are the dangers of free radicals for the body?
Free radicals that have only one electron will attract electrons from molecules in the body, so that these molecules turn into free radicals as well. This makes free radicals multiply in the body and cause cell damage.
Too many free radicals in the body can expose the body to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is a condition in which the number of free radicals in the body is greater than the antioxidant defenses (which can prevent cell damage caused by free radicals). This causes various cell damage in the body, such as lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.
This oxidative stress can then cause various diseases. Starting from arthritis, heart disease, atherosclerosis, stroke, hypertension, stomach ulcers, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, cancer, to cause aging. Free radicals can damage the DNA code, so that new cells grow incorrectly and cause aging.
However, free radicals are also essential for life. The body's ability to convert air and food into chemical energy depends on the chain reaction of free radicals. In addition, free radicals are an important part of the immune system, helping to attack foreign substances that enter the body.
What can be done to prevent the dangers of free radicals?
Antioxidants are molecules in cells that can prevent free radicals from taking electrons, so that free radicals do not cause cell damage. With the presence of antioxidants, the number of free radicals in your body remains under control. Therefore, you need to increase the amount of antioxidants that enter the body to prevent the dangers of free radicals.
Where do you get antioxidants? Actually your body produces antioxidants, but the amount is not sufficient to be able to offset the number of free radicals in the body. So, you need to get antioxidants from outside sources.
You can get antioxidants from consuming a variety of foods that contain antioxidants. Antioxidants in food are found in the form of beta carotene (vitamin A), lutein, vitamin C, vitamin E, lycopene, and other phytonutrients, which you can get by eating lots of vegetables and fruits.
Examples of vegetables and fruits that contain antioxidants are tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, kale, spinach, oranges, kiwis, berries, and other colorful vegetables and fruits. In addition, you can also get antioxidants from nuts and green tea.
