30 Jan

What Are Free Radicals?

Free radicals are of great concern to anyone who wants to stay healthy. You’ve probably heard of how dangerous these substances are and how important the antioxidants that fight them are, but few truly understand the difference. Fortunately, this quick guide will teach you all you need to know.

Understanding free radicals involves learning a little bit about their chemical background. Your body is made up of many connected parts. The organs and tissues that form these parts are all made of cells. In simple terms, each cell is an independent unit that processes its own waste and ingests nutrients, in addition to performing various other functions.

Pollution, especially air pollution is a big source of free radicals

Pollution, especially air pollution is a big source of free radicals

The Chemistry That Drives Our Cells

How do cells work? The answer varies depending on the particular cell. Some generate the energy used to move muscles and others send nervous impulses, but all are powered by chemical reactions. These reactions, or interactions between the electrons that surround every atom in the universe, also occur within our bodies. Without the many different molecules, or groups of atoms, that chemical reactions produce, we could not survive.

Chemical Reactions: All About Charge

Chemical reactions usually result in bonds between specialized molecules, creating compounds like vitamins, minerals and other substances used to build cells. Reactions occur because some molecules have positive and negative electrical charges as a result of the way their electrons are arranged. In most cases, chemical reactions keep occurring until these charges have been balanced or canceled out completely.

Smoking equals more free radicals in our body

Smoking equals more free radicals in our body

Free Radicals: Unbalanced Products

Sometimes, however, reactions produce free radicals. In chemical terms, radicals are sort of unbalanced factors. These molecules retain charges for any number of reasons, depending on the reactions that formed them.

Because charges are what attract atoms to each other, free radicals that have unbalanced charges are very reactive. Free radicals are far more likely to cause chemical changes than other balanced molecules, and these changes can be harmful or helpful.

While some free radicals are necessary to biological functions or occur as intermediate stages of more complex reactions, others sit around with no use, waiting until they contact anything they can react with. As your body is a whole mass of atoms and chemical compounds, free radicals usually don’t have to travel that far to find something they can mess up.

Free Radicals All Around

A very common radical reaction you’re probably familiar with is rusting. Rust is built up as a result of charged oxygen atoms from water reacting with metals, producing corrosive byproducts which are often brown in color. While these reactions are quite a regular occurrence in metal in cars or appliances, they are also responsible for the browning you see in cut apples left exposed to the air.

Rust reactions occur because the oxygen in moisture has a charge. While water is a complete molecule, its unbalanced, or polarized, form means that it tends to react, coming apart easily to leave charged oxygen behind. This oxygen joins with the metal molecules in your body just as easily as it does those in a piece of iron. While your body might not become a rusted hulk like an old ship, it does undergo internal changes.

Sun ligh is also a source of free radicals

Sun ligh is also a source of free radicals

A Good Environment for Radicals

Our bodies are mostly water, so there’s plenty of material to generate free radicals, and many are useful. Some substances, like Vitamin E, are radicals that help us by reacting with strays, locking up harmful compounds before they can do damage. There are just as many, however, that can react with molecules in our DNA or cell walls, leading to cancers or other mutations. The byproducts of water molecule breakdown, for instance, can cause harm in high quantities, and even normal biological compounds in our bodies can act as harmful free radicals in certain situations.

Antioxidants: The Helpful Radicals

When radicals tend to sit around for relatively long periods of time, they’re called persistent radicals, or those that remain unchanged by chemical bonding. These include vitamin E and vitamin C, and because they tend to sit in the body and react with more dangerous short-lived radicals like oxygen, they are known as antioxidants. Antioxidants are indeed radicals, but they perform the vital function of preventing other unhealthy free radicals from interacting with the parts of our bodies that they shouldn’t combine with.

How Are Free Radicals Produced?

To sum things up – free radicals are produced during the various normal metabolic activities carried out by our bodies. There is nothing much we can do here. But free radicals also exist in our environment. These are the free radicals that we can sometimes avoid. How?

Sources Of Free Radicals In Our Environment

These are the main sources of free radicals around us or to put it better the main sources of free radicals that we can control. If we can avoid these sources we can avoid these free radicals affecting our bodies:

  • Pollution, especially polluted air,
  • A huge part of air pollution is automobile exhaust,
  • Smoking and cigarette smoke,
  • Sun light (UV rays)
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Emotional stress
  • Exposure to heavy metals like mercury, cadmium, lead…
  • Radiation

Since this is a fruit juice website it doesn’t hurt to again point out that natural juices are a great source of free radicals fighting antioxidants.

 

17 Nov

The Many Health Benefits Of Watermelon Juice

Watermelon juice is known for its refreshing properties and nutritious value. It is the perfect fruit to enjoy the summer season. It is an exceptional choice for a healthy diet. With its fleshy texture, juicy pulps and sweetness, it becomes a favorite ingredients for salads and desserts. It contains more water and less sodium aside from being the top source for almost all vitamins. It can be prepared fresh throughout the year and provides everyone with a lot of health benefits.

Watermelons And Their Health Benefits

Packed with powerful antioxidants

Watermelon juice is fully packed with powerful antioxidants. Aside from its sweet taste and juicy watermelon pulps, it is a rich source of natural antioxidants which is important in neutralizing the free radicals inside the body. It has a notable concentration of beta carotene, a very good source of vitamin C and an excellent source of vitamin A. These potent antioxidants are very essential in combating the harmful substances that destroy the human system. They have the ability to minimize free radicals that greatly contributes to stress and the aging process. Furthermore, they can oxidize cholesterol and prevent the occurrence of strokes, cancers and heart attacks. They can prevent asthma attack by eliminating the toxins that might cause the air passage to close. Moreover, they can decrease the inflammation in osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis and prevent cancer cells to develop. In addition to this, vitamin C is known to prevent a person from getting colds and greatly contributes to a stronger immune system. Certainly, vitamin C and beta carotene are the main stress buster in the body and assist in getting rid of harmful molecules to avoid cell damages. With just one cup of watermelon juice, it can offer a daily value of 24.3% for vitamin C and 11.1% daily value for vitamin A through its beta carotene.

Watermelon Juice And Lycopene

The next vital element that can be found in watermelon juice is lycopene which is a potent carotenoid antioxidant found in pink watermelon. It gives watermelon the bright red or pinkish color which is thought to be found only in tomatoes. However, recent investigation shows that it is present in ample amounts and very concentrated in watermelon. It has been the main focus of several clinical health studies because of its oxidizing capabilities and cancer- preventing properties. It has been proven to be an excellent protection against various types of cancers such as breast cancer, endometrial cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancers. One human clinical study shows that lycopene reduces the risk of having polyps in patients with colorectal adenomas. On the other hand, it has antioxidant function which covers the human cells and other related structures against oxygen depletion. It has also been proven that lycopene can protect the DNA inside the white blood cells through its antioxidant role.

Rich In B Vitamins, Magnesium And Potassium

Juicing watermelon is a fun and healthy way to acquire energy and boost your mood. It is rich in B vitamins which are essential to stay active everyday. It is highly rated as a good source of vitamin B6 which accelerates the brain’s capacity to cope with anxiety and panic, vitamin B1, magnesium and potassium which aid in regulating the normal blood pressure levels and keeps your heart in a healthy condition. It has higher content of nutrients compared to other fruits and contains lower calories. It delivers only 48 calories with a whole cup of watermelon juice.

Good Source Of Arginine

Another healthy benefit of watermelon juice is that is is a rich source of arginine. Arginine is a form of amino acid which is usually used in the urea cycle to eliminate ammonia that is a harmful toxin when inside the body. This kind of amino acid has been shown to relax blood vessels and minimizes high blood pressure. It has also been proven to avoid erectile dysfunction in problematic males. Also, it improves the insulin sensitivity of patients with diabetes disease type 2.

Watermelon Juice Can Prevent Macular Degeneration

Specifically, watermelon juice can prevent macular degeneration which is a type of vision loss. This kind of disease is age related and usually happens in adults. Aside from carrots, watermelon can help protect your eyesight against macular degeneration. It has been noted that individuals who take watermelon juice are less prone to this type of eye ailment compared to others who doesn’t take any watermelon juice.

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