How Antioxidants Work in Your Body

Reader Contribution by Linda B. White and M.D.
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I often hear that I need to eat antioxidant-rich foods. What are antioxidants, and how do they work?

Antioxidant molecules in our bodies inhibit the oxidation of other molecules and neutralize “free radicals,” or unstable compounds. Free radicals are created by oxidation, a chemical reaction involving the loss of electrons in a molecule. More familiar examples of oxidation are butter going rancid, iron rusting, apple slices browning and fires burning. Apply antioxidant-rich lemon juice to your sliced apple, and what happens? The flesh will resist browning.

Free radicals accelerate aging and contribute to many chronic illnesses, including Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, atherosclerosis, cancer, cardiovascular disease, cataracts and diabetes. To stabilize themselves, free radicals snatch electrons from other atoms or molecules, which can then spark a chain reaction of electron raiding.

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