What Are Free Radicals and How They Effect Your Health?

There is a lot of talk about free radicals and what impact they have on your health. But, to most people, they are nothing more than a medical term as they’re often explained in a way that is completely confusing (electrons, protons, sharing, etc.). So, here is an easy way to understand what free radicals are and how they affect your body.

A simplified explanation of free radicals Think of your cells as a four walled room. Inside the room are wall studs (also known as protons). These are strength of the room or the foundation, if you will. The outside of the room is built with drywall which is held in place by nails (referred to as neurons). The nails are always used in even numbers and those numbers are determined by the number of studs (or protons) inside the room.Sometimes there aren’t enough nails (protons) to have an even number, so the room shares with an adjoining room to use their nails to make a complete, strong room with the right number of nails. However, if it steals the nails from a room that is not built with the appropriate number of nails either, it winds up creating an unstable wall which is called a “free radical.”

This free radical doesn’t like to be unstable and will look to strengthen itself by stealing nails from its adjoining walls. When this happens, other free radicals form and the process continues, thereby creating a number of free radicals – or unstable rooms. Have enough of these and you now have an entire complex that isn’t strong enough to sustain itself.

Their effect on health

Obviously, unstable walls (or cells when it comes to your body) aren’t good as they crumble under pressure. This means that diseases and illnesses have an easier time taking hold and wreaking havoc as your body isn’t strong enough to keep them out.

One way to minimize the damage caused by free radicals is to get enough antioxidants. Nutrients such as vitamins C and E donate their electrons so that free radicals do not form, strengthening your body against anything that tries to make it unstable and weak.