When an atom is balanced in this way, it becomes inert – like a happily married couple.

These bonds are normally stable. But if something weakens the bond, the pair of atoms can split apart (like a married couple divorcing), leaving one atom with an odd, unpaired electron. This a

Have you ever wondered about what an antioxidant really is? There is a lot of publicity nowadays about how you should eat good natural antioxidants. But what does an antioxidant do, and what foods should you be eating?

First, let’s look at the battle that free radicals are waging on our bodies. To do this, we need to look at the basic infrastructure of the human body. As you know, our body is made up of cells; our cells are made up of molecules; our molecules are made up of atoms; and our atoms are made up of a nucleus (containing positively-charged protons and neutrally-charged neutrons).

This nucleus has negatively-charged electrons orbiting around it (arranged in one or more shells). There is a maximum of 2 electrons in its inner-most shell, and 8 in its second shell.

This atom must have each shell completely filled, or completely empty. This is how it achieves balance. If it doesn’t, it will try to come into balance by gaining or losing electrons. One of the easiest ways it can do this is by bonding with other atoms so that they can both share electrons, in order to mutually complete their outer shells. When an atom is balanced in this way, it becomes inert – like a happily married couple.

These bonds are normally stable. But if something weakens the bond, the pair of atoms can split apart (like a married couple divorcing), leaving one atom with an odd, unpaired electron. This at

g on our bodies. To do this, we need to look at the basic infrastructure of the human body. As you know, our body is made up of cells; our cells are made up of molecules; our molecules are made up of atoms; and our atoms are made up of a nucleus (containing positively-charged protons and neutrally-charged neutrons).

This nucleus has negatively-charged electrons orbiting around it (arranged in one or more shells). There is a maximum of 2 electrons in its inner-most shell, and 8 in its second shell.

This atom must have each shell completely filled, or completely empty. This is how it achieves balance. If it doesn’t, it will try to come into balance by gaining or losing electrons. One of the easiest ways it can do this is by bonding with other atoms so that they can both share electrons, in order to mutually complete their outer shells. When an atom is balanced in this way, it becomes inert – like a happily married couple.

These bonds are normally stable. But if something weakens the bond, the pair of atoms can split apart (like a married couple divorcing), leaving one atom with an odd, unpaired electron. This a

nd neutrally-charged neutrons).

This nucleus has negatively-charged electrons orbiting around it (arranged in one or more shells). There is a maximum of 2 electrons in its inner-most shell, and 8 in its second shell.

This atom must have each shell completely filled, or completely empty. This is how it achieves balance. If it doesn’t, it will try to come into balance by gaining or losing electrons. One of the easiest ways it can do this is by bonding with other atoms so that they can both share electrons, in order to mutually complete their outer shells. When an atom is balanced in this way, it becomes inert – like a happily married couple.

These bonds are normally stable. But if something weakens the bond, the pair of atoms can split apart (like a married couple divorcing), leaving one atom with an odd, unpaired electron. This a

letely empty. This is how it achieves balance. If it doesn’t, it will try to come into balance by gaining or losing electrons. One of the easiest ways it can do this is by bonding with other atoms so that they can both share electrons, in order to mutually complete their outer shells. When an atom is balanced in this way, it becomes inert – like a happily married couple.

These bonds are normally stable. But if something weakens the bond, the pair of atoms can split apart (like a married couple divorcing), leaving one atom with an odd, unpaired electron. This a

When an atom is balanced in this way, it becomes inert – like a happily married couple.

These bonds are normally stable. But if something weakens the bond, the pair of atoms can split apart (like a married couple divorcing), leaving one atom with an odd, unpaired electron. This atom is now a free radical.

A free radical is desperate to fill it’s unbalanced shell of electrons, so it does this by stealing electrons from other atoms (in our relationship analogy, this is like setting out to steal someone else’s husband or wife, by having an affair with them).

By doing this, it creates another incomplete atom, which itself is a free radical. This is how the domino effect occurs. Using the relationship model, you can imagine how destablising this is to the overall “health” of the community (and the community we are referring to is your body).

Free radicals create abnormal cells, which are the number one cause of disease, cancer and aging. These abnormal cells also have compromised cellular communication, which affects every body function, including hormone production. The end result of this process is also disease, cancer and aging.

Antioxidants are extremely valuable to our body, because they are able to donate an electron to a free radical without becoming unstable themself. By donating this electron, they help the free radical to complete its electron shells, and thus become inert