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HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW OR WHY OUR BODY AGES?

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW OR WHY OUR BODY AGES?

Posted by Manny Y on 7th Apr 2015

We age simply because we are constantly being bombarded by ” free radicals “. Free radicals are molecules, ions or atoms with unpaired electrons. They can have a positive, negative or no charge. These unpaired electrons can be veryreactive and this could cause cellular damage resulting in signs of advanced ageing and other age related diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, hair loss and many others.Sadly, these harmful molecules are constantly generated by our body. Free Radical Theory on Aging (FRTA) is based on cellular deterioration or damage made by free radicals which maycause oxidative damage leading to signs of aging.Introduced in the 1950’s by Denhem Harman, he insisted that free radicals could accumulate in the body that causes aging and lead deteriorating bodily functions, diseases and finally, death. 

Image by deflam via Flickr

Unfortunately, the scientific community long ago believed that free radicals are way too volatile to even exist in the human body.Atoms or molecules require a paired electron set on their outermost layer for them to be stable. If for any reason they get unpaired, these become free radicals. What is dangerous about this is that since free radicals have one missing electron, it will try to remove one atom or try to seek one in order to be stable. This process causes oxidative damage within the cell and the more free radicals produced in the body, the faster we age or develop diseases.The key on preventing cellular damage due to free radicals is to minimize its production. Over production of free radicals is caused by consuming too much cholesterol, fat, meat and alcohol. Smoking, food preservative, chemotherapy and pesticides increase free radicals when exposed to these substances. Even exposure to sunlight and environmental pollutants can stimulate free radical production.In reality, free radicals are inevitable, the basic process of metabolism creates them. The only way to stop free radicals is to minimize their production. This is done by warding from the above mentions. Also Anti oxidants supplements help a lot in reducing the numbers of free radicals. These are ions that readily bind to free radicals making them stable.