What are free radicals?  Why are they damaging to the Human body?  And how do the antioxidants in Eiro help protect the body against free radical damage?  To understand the way free radicals interact with antioxidants, you must first understand cells and molecules.  Cells are composed of many different types of molecules.  Molecules are composed of atoms.  Atoms are made up of a nucleus, protons (positively charged particles), and electrons (negatively charged particles).  Electrons “orbit”  the nucleus of an atom in one or more shells.  Because atoms seek to reach a state of maximum stability, an atom will try to fill it’s outer most shell any way possible.  Atoms often fill their outer shells by sharing electrons with other atoms, forming molecules.  By sharing electrons, the atoms bind together and thus satisfy the conditions of maximum stability, ie. 2 oxygen atoms binding together to form the oxygen molecule that we breathe as “air”.  Normally these bonds do not split in a way that leaves a molecule with an odd, unpaired electron.  But when weak bonds do split, free radicals are formed.  Free radicals are very unstable and will react quickly with another molecule  to “capture” the missing electron to gain stability.  Free radicals attack the nearest stable molecule, “stealing” its electron.  When the “attacked” molecule loses its electron, it becomes a free radical itself, beginning a chain reaction, that if not checked, results in the disruption of a living cell.  Normally the body can handle free radicals, but if antioxidants are unavailable, damage to the cell can occur.  Antioxidants neutralize free radicals by donating one of their electrons, ending the electron-stealing chain reaction.  The antioxidants themselves do not become free radical because they are stable in either form.(2)  The antioxidants of Eiro, the anthocyanidins, carotenoids, tocopherols, etc. are long chain molecules with lots of double bonds.  The electrons that make up these double bonds are shared evenly over the whole chain.  This makes the whole chain relatively electron-rich.  So, for example, if a carotenoid loses one electron to a free radical, the resulting charge of +1 is distributed over the whole electron-rich chain, a much more stable situation.  The Eiro antioxidants act as scavengers, traveling throughout the body, donating their electrons, and neutralizing free radicals.  Perhaps the most familiar free radical is oxygen itself.  We can see many examples of oxygen doing its electron stealing in our everyday lives: the browning of an apple, the rusting of a nail, the slow fading of our blue jeans.  When a material is oxidized (loses an electron) its chemical structure is altered, often irreversibly.(1)  When this happens in the human body we call it oxidative stress.  Because we breathe air (oxygen) we are constantly exposed to oxidative stress.  Sometimes these reactive molecules formed by normal aerobic (oxygen-requiring) metabolism are beneficial, and in fact, necessary for life, but can also be harmful if present in excess.(1)  This is why it is extremely important to have a source of many different types of antioxidants available on a daily basis.  Eiro provides this antioxidant variety necessary to keep these excesses in check.

References:

1.  http://www.astaxanthin.org/antiox-prop.htm

2.  http://www.healthchecksystems.com/antioxid.htm