What are "free radicals?"

Ever hear of the "free radical?" No, that is not a reference to a possible future state of Charles Manson, but is a health term that describes the degeneration of human cells which speeds up aging.

Free radicals are highly damaging to our cells, and they occur when some electrons become "unbonded" during the metabolic processes inside our bodies. That causes molecular destabilization, kind of like a rat on crack inside a small tube. That may be a bad analogy, but you get the idea.

These free radicals can start attacking normal cells (causing disease, even) and although they occur naturally (and can even be helpful), too many of them can be disastrous behind the scenes. The next time you eat a food listed as "high in antioxidants," you can know that you're helping your body copy with these potentially nasty electrons.