Free radicals are extremely active, unstable, and short-lived compounds. Because of their instability, they cause chemical reactions with cellular tissues in the body. This chemical reaction can be collectively called oxidation, which can cause tissue cells to lose normal function. Even destroy DNA, causing damage or mutations that cause cancer. You can think of free radicals as the underworld in the body, the personality is stubborn, and you like to bully good people. But they are not useless. If a bacterial virus invades our body, free radicals will have a defensive function, and the elimination of foreign germs will only be good or bad. If the amount of free radicals in the body exceeds the balance, it will be normal. Cells pose a threat. Cells are made up of atoms, each with a center (core) that surrounds the electrons. Usually the electrons are in pairs. When an atom or molecule contains one or more unpaired electrons, it becomes a free radical. Biological oxidation is the process of making energy. It involves the movement of electrons from one oxygen molecule to the next. Sometimes when electrons escape, the oxygen molecules with asymmetric electrons are called free radicals. How is free radical produced? Where did this terrible bad guy come from? There are two sources of free radicals, one is the normal physiological operation in the body, and the other is improperly affected by the outside world: Human physiological operation :
1. Metabolism The normal metabolism of the human body is itself an oxidative process, and free radicals are by-products of metabolism. In addition, in order to maintain the normal operation of the human body, many useful chemicals must be produced, and there are also free radicals.
2. Defense against foreign bacteria When foreign virus enters the human body, white blood cells use free radicals to devour foreign invaders. Therefore, when the body has symptoms of inflammation, there will be a lot of free radicals in the body.
External environmental impact: The external environment will also provide or create more free radicals, threatening human health :
1. Smoking (second-hand smoke), alcoholism (each smoke will produce 10,000,000,000,000,000 free radicals)
2. Radiation, ultraviolet light, electromagnetic waves Radiation exposure, or radiation therapy for cancer patients, can produce free radicals.
3. Environmental pollution including air pollution, drinking water pollution, industrial wastewater pollution, soil pollution
4. Chemical drug abuse such as food additives, pesticides, fruits and vegetables, drugs, drugs Abuse
5. Mental state stress, irritability, anxiety, depression, nervousness and other emotional problems, will also produce free radicals in modern urban people, life pressure, poor living environment, full of various pollution, free radicals in the body, if not good control Every day, you may suffer billions of free radical attacks.
Free Radical Hazards Free radicals attack cells, and what harm does it cause to attack cells?
1. Oxidized lipids: If the lipids on the cell membrane are oxidized, the cell membrane fluidity will change, and nutrients cannot enter the cells to cause cell necrosis. If the rate at which the cell membrane is destroyed is greater than the rate at which the cells are regenerated, the function of the tissues and organs is affected and aging occurs.
2. Attack protein: The protein loses its function, or forms a macromolecule, even breaks, causing disease. The collagen tissue that occurs under the skin will cause the skin to lose its elasticity and stiff bones.
3. The destruction of DNA by free radicals: mainly caused by the cleavage of DNA strands or the modification of bases. Once the DNA is cut, the body may be mutated during the repair process because it cannot be repaired properly. Free radicals attack the bases and some by-products are derived. These by-products can cause genetic errors and carcinogenicity.
If the human body suffers from this series of injuries for a long time, the result is a variety of chronic diseases and aging. How free radicals are produced: Free radicals are naturally occurring products in the process of material metabolism in the body, while environmental pollution, mental stress, and electromagnetic waves are also the main causes of free radicals. Free radicals can cause those diseases: Free radicals can be called "terrorism", which in turn destroys cell aging in the body, or directly affects gene mutations, and produces cancer or old invading organs such as liver and muscle, causing hardening of blood vessels. Heart disease, gout, diabetes, arthritis, cataracts, immune system disorders and other diseases, according to statistics, about 100 kinds of diseases are associated with free radicals.
