What are Free Radicals?

January 20, 2021

You can help slow down the progression and signs of aging and protect yourself from illness and disease by understanding free radicals' simple concept. By knowing what they are, how they work, and, above all, how to combat them, you can increase your longevity, vitality, health, well-being, and enjoyment of life.

 

What Are Free Radicals

Simply put, free radicals are unstable atoms. As a result of their instability, they can damage other cells.

A shell of electrons surrounds all cells. If a cell lacks enough electrons in its orbit to make up a complete shell, the cell begins seeking other electrons from other atoms to fill those gaps. This makes that cell extremely reactive to outside influences.

In one common situation in which this occurs, an oxygen molecule splits into individual atoms with incomplete electron shells, making them into free radicals and, thus, reactive to other atoms and molecules. When other molecules and atoms react with free radicals formed by a former oxygen molecule, oxidation or oxidative stress occurs. Then, oxidative stress or oxidation causes harm to those other cells of the body with which the free radical has interacted. The result is vulnerability to a host of illnesses and symptoms of aging.

 

 Oxidation has been linked in studies to:

• Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and other diseases of the central nervous system
• Clogged arteries and resultant cardiovascular disease
• Diabetes
• Cancers, rheumatoid arthritis, and other inflammatory and autoimmune disorders
• Appearance changes associated with aging, like wrinkles, elastic skin, hair loss, graying hair, and alterations in hair texture
• Cataracts and age-related decline in vision
• Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and other genetic degenerative diseases

Causes of free radicals include fried foods, smoking, drinking alcohol, stress, exposure to pollution, pesticides, and other toxic chemicals.

 

Antioxidants vs. Free Radicals

If free radicals are a poison, then antioxidants are their antidote.

Now that you understand the primary mechanism of oxidation, it's not a far leap to realize that antioxidants are simply molecules that protect other molecules from oxidation and, thus, from the potential damages that process can wreak.

 

Noto Ginseng: A Powerful Antioxidant Against Free Radicals

Among the all-natural antioxidants known to man, one of the most potent is panax notoginseng. Grown only in a specific region of China, the herb has been used for its antioxidant value for hundreds of years.

Farlong Pharmaceutical operates its own GAP-certified, 6,000-acre farm in this Chinese province where they grow all the notoginseng they use in their products, such as NotoGinseng Steamed Powder. All the noto ginseng Farlong grows is free of GMOs and processed in a GMP-certified laboratory to ensure proper quality and safety controls.