The Truth About Antioxidants

The word "Antioxidant" has become more and more common lately.  The problem is that most people have no clue what they really are.  All they know is that they are "said" to help prevent and maybe even cure diseases.  In this article, I am going to clear things up a bit and tell you exactly what they are, what they do, where you can get them, and if they are necessary.  Unfortunately, in order to explain what they really are, I am going to have to explain it in a scientific way. "An Antioxidant is a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals, which start chain reactions that damage cells. Antioxidants terminate these chain reactions by removing radical intermediates, and inhibit other oxidation reactions by being oxidized themselves.  A "free radical" is any molecule that has a single unpaired electron in an outer shell(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antioxidants)."  In other words, as these chemical reactions take place, the free radicals can allow for other molecules to bind to them which can cause cellular damage.