Each atom has electrons continually circulating around the nucleus of the atom. (Much like the solar system with the sun as the center nucleus.) Electrons are negatively charged particles surrounding the nucleus and are the most reactive part of the chemical process.

The whole body, including thinking, is driven by chemical reactions. There is a continuous exchange of electrons and the up-building along with changes in your biochemistry. The problem of free radical damage occurs when the chemical reaction is deficient of electrons; the free radicals steal their needed electrons from other weaker atoms. This causes oxidative damage and inflammation, the mother of all degenerative diseases. It can serious affect the DNA genetic code and produce degenerative diseases like heart disease and cancer.

Oxidative and free radical damage is often cumulative. This happens when there are too few electron donors (called anti-oxidants). All chemical processes in the body produce a number of free radicals (Including exercise and digestion). The problem occurs when the body is overwhelmed with too many free radicals and too few antioxidant donors.  Because the environment is loaded with toxins, foreign substances (free radicals) and a  poor diet, there is a  deficiency in the necessary electron donors or anti-oxidants.

Compounds with a lack of electrons (oxidative themselves) have something like a vacuum effect, pulling in electrons. Free radical compounds tend to suck in the necessary electrons to make their atom or molecule more stable. This causes inflammation, analogous to iron rusting.

Inflammation of the coronary arteries produces an accumulation of dangerous plaque that can lead to a heart attack. This plaque is called atherosclerosis. This increases blood pressure and clot formation which can occlude coronary arteries, producing heart attacks. This is what defines coronary artery disease.

Where do the necessary electrons come from? They are best released and donated from the anti-oxidant substances such as vitamins A, C and E, poly phenols,  and certain enzymes (such as glutathione) which are designed precisely for this purpose. These substances have spare electrons and can contribute additional or donor electrons.

In addition, certain bioflavonoids, most rich in fruits and vegetables, are also excellent donors. This is the reason why a healthy  diet is so important to health and longevity. Anti-oxidants have extra electrons to give. They are accessible to the hungry free radicals and prevent  robbery of electrons from other weaker compounds.

The victims of the theft (the weak molecules) result in trillions of sick molecules which eventually accumulate  in your body, producing aging. This is what happens in the process of aging with free radical damage occurring at a molecular level.

As already alluded to, oxidative damage is the process in which substances lack electrons. A good example is the rusting of iron. This is called oxidation. Oxidation in the artery lining pulls cholesterol and calcium in and it produces a plaque formation; the plaque condition is called atherosclerosis. (It is called atherosclerosis or sometimes arteriosclerosis.)

Free radical damage can occur throughout your body. This is oxidative damage at the cellular level, with associated chronic inflammation. This process results in a shorter lifespan. You may ask, I thought oxygen was good for you? It is, but  too much oxygen produces free radicals. Oxygen is needed by every cell, but large quantities are destructive. There is a limit to the aerobic (oxygen) capacity.

Most true foods  are good when in sufficient quantities but too much of them becomes destructive to health. This upsets the chemical balance.

Glutathione has  proved a most powerful anti-aging agent in other experiments. Anti-oxidant vitamins like C and E lose their spare electron and then become ineffective as anti-oxidants. Glutathione is able to recharge and replace the extra electrons lost in vitamins C and E. The result is, glutathione replenishes them. These vitamins are now no longer suicidal  in their anti-oxidant function; they are recharged and re-cycled to be anti-oxidants again.

Coronary artery disease is a degenerative disease caused by free radical damage and subsequent inflammation.  The bottom line is this. Breakthrough recent research has uncovered the process that causes aging. Damage from free radicals increases aging and degenerative diseases like heart disease and cancer. Why breakdown sometimes occurs and sometimes not, often depends on antioxidant activity that cancels the oxidative damage…Denis Van Loan D.D.S.

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