A Quick Look at Aging and Free Radicals

Until recently, the process of aging has been a mystery for both medical professionals and scientists. The process, occurring to both living and non-living organisms, has always posted many questions regarding the cycle of life. True enough, the process of decay occurring to both animate and inanimate objects, although natural and inevitable is something that was worth the study. Learning the science behind the deterioration was thought to be the key to a pool of knowledge and answers about life, living and death. However, after years of research and countless experiments, it was discovered that aging was not as mysterious as it was first perceived.

Modern science tells that the root cause of aging and decay are organic molecules called free radicals. These unstable molecules are always looking to bond with others. In the process, they destroy their target molecule's vigor and brings on decay, by causing damage at the cellular and tissue level which eventually causes the organism to succumb with enough time.

Free radicals are called such because they float around "freely" until they stabilize, and "radical" because of their deviant behavior of obtaining electrons from normal molecules and causing damage. This lack of electron is what causes their instability. Like parasites, they steal an electron to the detriment of their victim. The victim in turn becomes unstable, perpetuating the process.

The process of aging or decay starts when a free radical is able to take an electron from a healthy cell. Taking an electron from another molecule will cause it to become unstable, turning it into a free radical. Simply put, once a free radical steals an electron from a tissue, the latter turns into a free radical. This snowball effect can cause significant harm on healthy tissues.

Metabolism naturally gives birth to some free radicals. There are times when the body's immune system's cells need to produce them to neutralize viruses and bacteria. However, a big number of free radicals today are actually products of unhealthy human practice. These acts expose us to a great number of these unstable molecules everyday and include pollution, cigarette smoking, large volume of alcohol, radiation, preservatives found in some processed food and a number of poisons found in cleaners or herbicides and other everyday household products.

As free radicals have been around for a long time, the body can handle it under normal conditions. The damage primarily happens when antioxidants, the molecules that fight free radicals by donating electrons, become scarce or unavailable due to the above factors. Conversely, free radical production may also become excessive, overwhelming the antioxidants and dooming the tissues and body with time.

This article is brought to you by Sono Bello. Don't forget to follow Sono Bello at twitter, too! Thank you very much and have a great day!