The health and wellness world is getting the word on oxidative stress, the damage caused in the body by free radicals. More and more, oxidative stress is being implicated in aging and disease processes.

So, what exactly is oxidative stress, what are free radicals, and how do antioxidants help prevent the damage that free radicals can cause?

A free radical is a molecule that is unbalanced. There are several kinds of free radicals, but the one that causes the most problems is the oxygen free radical. Oxygen free radicals are especially unstable and aggressive, and they seek to bind to another molecule, causing an imbalance.

Oxygen, of course, is necessary for our lives. We need it to breathe, to release energy from food, and for almost every single chemical action in our body. However, it is natural for oxygen to form oxygen free radicals as a by-product of many of these necessary processes. In fact, the body actually uses some of these free radicals! White blood cells use them to destroy invaders, and the liver needs them for some of its detoxifying functions. In a healthy body, especially one that is young and not overly stressed, there are plenty of antioxidants within each cell to neutralize damaging free radicals. For example, we have naturally occurring CoQ10 in our cells, as well as vitamin E, vitamin C, and beta-carotenes.

However, when we experience stress, we begin to produce more free radicals than our body can dispose of or use. This stress can be from many different sources, such as pollution, bad water, chemicals in non-organic foods, bacteria or viruses, and even sun exposure. Highly processed foods and oils in the diet may be major sources of free radical production in the body. Sugar is also a culprit, and so is a diet that does not have the variety of vitamins and essential nutrients that are necessary to help our bodies fight the negative effects of free radicals.

Free radicals can damage whatever they attach to. They can destroy cellular membranes, enzymes, and even DNA. They accelerate aging and are implicated in many diseases.

Free radicals begin as a simple form called singlet oxygen, which changes into other and even more damaging forms during a destructive series of interactions that cause the body to respond with the "inflammation cascade" (sometimes referred to as oxidative stress). The manifestation of this cascade is divided into steps, each of which constitutes the generation of a new, more dangerous free radical; this process can be thought of as the "stairstep" free radical cascade. In this cascade, each new free radical formed is more destructive than the one before it. Each free radical in this chain is different in chemical structure, and affects a different part of the cell it is attacking. It might be compared to falling down a flight of stairs. You fall down one step and are bruised; you fall down two steps and sprain an ankle; you fall down the whole flight and wind up in the hospital.

In this chain of changing free radicals, each one will be neutralized only by certain antioxidants. This is a very important concept to remember. Individual antioxidants will neutralize specific free radicals within this chain of destructive free radicals, but not all of them. When we are under a lot of stress, it is difficult for the body to catch all the free radicals early in the chain reaction. By using a variety of antioxidants--and Simplexity Health provides a wonderful range of antioxidant products--we enable our body to neutralize a variety of these destructive free radical forms, and thus protect our cells and ourselves.