What are Free Radicals?
Free radicals are unstable oxygen molecules that have lost an electron. As soon as a molecule loses one of its attached electrons, it becomes unstable and seeks to re-stabilize itself by stealing an electron from the nearest molecule. This causes the attacked molecule to then become a free radical, and starts a chain reaction. Ultimately as the process continues this can lead to cell damage. Free radicals become extremely damaging to the body as they steal electrons from your cells. They begin to spread like a wildfire through the years if your body does not have enough antioxidants to keep them in check. They can attack cell walls, get inside the cell, and cause damage to the DNA. This leads to cancer. Cancer is defined as a degenerative stress condition, and we can understand this better when we understand the role free radicals play.

Free radicals are naturally produced during normal metabolism. It is believed that up to 5 percent of the oxygen that each cell uses is converted into free radicals. In addition, pollution, smoking and other environmental factors lead to increased levels of these molecules in the body. Untreated, the damage from free radicals accumulates with age. They are the cause of many degenerative diseases, and are associated with many of the signs of the aging process.

Where the work of Antioxidant fits in.
Antioxidants are molecules loaded with extra free electrons. Antioxidants are compounds in the body which neutralise other highly reactive elements, known as free radicals, which would otherwise cause damage to the cells of the body.

The body is naturally built to handle free radicals. However, the ability of these native antioxidants to deal with the free radicals can be insufficient, particularly if you're subject to environmental stress such as car exhaust fumes or cigarette smoke, and they may be insufficient to handle rising levels of free radical attacks as you get older.

In todays lifestyle of the current generation, where we are exposed to multiple levels of toxicity, every day one will see an accumulation of free radical damage to the otherwise healthy cells of the body. Antioxidants are found in the vitamins A, C and E in the fruits and vegetables we eat. Antioxidants from Vitamins E, C, and A actually pale in comparison to the phytonutrient antioxidants such as those found in red wine and blueberries. This is the reason for the French paradox, why it is being recommended to drink wine, eat chocolate, and drink green tea. They provide better sources of antioxidants.

Fortunately it's easy to supplement our reserves of antioxidants. There are literally hundreds of natural food compounds that act as antioxidants in the body. Most research has focused on three very active antioxidant compounds - vitamins C and E and carotenoids.
The vitamins C and E and beta-carotene form only a small part of a huge number of protective compounds found in foods. For example, the mineral selenium is needed for its role in supporting your natural antioxidant enzymes. Flavonoids and other types of phenolics in green tea, chocolate, and red wine also act as potent antioxidants. To maximise your opportunity for good health make sure you eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. This will help to ensure that you get healthy amounts of all of these antioxidants.


Yogic Pranayam to help get the cells more energized with oxygen molecules and also release toxins.
Pranayam or yogic breathing breaks the process of breathing down into either thoracic breathing or diaphragmatic breathing. In the process of prolonged inhalation you are stimulating your body systems and filling up your lungs with fresh oxygen. You retained this oxygen briefly, raising your body temperature, which in turn helps to burn away toxins. Lastly you exhaled the carbon dioxide in your lungs, ridding your body of wastes.

The first important step is to master the Asanas or postures, by which you have control of your body and are able to sit in a posture for a longest period of time without pain. The next exercise is Pranayama. Correct posture is indispensably requisite for the successful practice of Pranayama.

Practicing Pranayam helps balance the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the body. By practicing deep breathing your body learns to inhale and exhale while learning to retain a little more oxygen for little longer than you may on a daily basis. The process energizes the cells, fights free radicals and helps get your body get rid of toxins. Practicing pranayama helps you prevent innumerable illnesses and disease.

Getting good exercise, having a discipline in your life by getting good amount of sleep, reducing the amount of stress you take in per day, eating the right kind of food and fluids, like required amount of fruits, vegetables, salads all prepared in a healthy form are some of the factors that can help your body produce less free radicals and also help the food and exercise you get energize your system as well.
It is important to understand the significance of exercise, the oxygen intake and healthy food intake and how much of a pivotal role these plays in preventing diseases which cause anxiety, stress and pain.

So starting today, Start your life by incorporating discipline into your routine. This is the starting point towards better mental and physical health.

OM SHANTI
Archana Doshi , an avid discipline, health, nutrition and fitness freak.
Reference from http://www.mostlyherbs.com/AntiOxidants.html