Oxygen Radicals
and Their Destructive Forces

Oxygen radicals are the most common type of free radicals in the body. There are several types of these oxygen-derived free radicals, including superoxide radicals, hydroxyl radicals, hypochlorite radicals, hydrogen peroxide, and various lipid peroxides. These compounds cause substantial cellular damage within the body. It took scientists many years to identify all the mechanisms involved with free radical damage. Many studies have now shown that much of the damage is caused by severely decreasing the level of nitric oxide that is produced in our bodies.

For many years, scientists who studied free radicals thought that derivatives of oxygen could be a factor in many diseases, but there was not much evidence to support this theory. Now, however, there is proof. An atom has particles, called electrons, that rotate around the nucleus of the atom in pairs. As long as these electrons remain paired together, the oxygen atom stays stable. However, when an atom loses one of its electrons, the molecule becomes unstable. When this happens, oxygen or free radicals are formed.

Free radicals desperately want to become stable again, and so they will try to capture electrons from any other compound they can within nearby cells. This causes damage to those cells, and triggers a chain reaction of cellular damage, which further creates more free radicals. This damaging cycle causes more and more cells to be injured and killed, which can cause tissues and whole physiological systems to break down.

Many factors can cause the formation of free radicals. Normal biochemical processes are one factor, but they can also form because of your exposure to many different environmental chemicals. Cigarette smoke is one pollutant that causes the formation of free radicals that damage the lining of the lungs. Other damaging factors are chemicals in the air and water, pesticides found in food, radiation from X-rays, and too much ultraviolet light from the sun or a sun lamp. A sometimes forgotten factor in free radical formation is stress, over an extended period of time. All of these factors can cause damage to cells and levels of nitric oxide in the body.

Fortunately, our bodies produce many antioxidants, a group of vitamins and natural substances, that destroy many free radicals before they are able to inflict their damage. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, and act as a protector of nitric oxide, thereby extending its brief lifespan. Nitic oxide itself is a powerful antioxidant, with the ability to ward off damaging free radicals. In fact, among the antioxidants produced within our bodies, nitric oxide is the most important due to its seeking out, reacting with, and neutralizing of free radicals wherever it comes in contact with them. According to Dr. Louis Ignarro, Nobel Prize Laureate, it is 1,000 times more powerful than any other natural antioxidant in the body.

When nitric oxide acts as an antioxidant, it also becomes a potent anti-inflmmatory agent. It works in conjunction with enzymes and genes to minimize the effects of inflammation. It is in a continual internal battle with chemicals that promote disease within the body.

There are four important enzymes that neutralize oxygen radical activity, superoxide dismutase (SOD), methionine reductase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase that are naturally produced within the body. These enzymes, along with a number of phytochemicals and other nutrients, such as various vitamins, normally keep the activity of free radicals in check. However, when we are exposed to excessive amounts of toxic pollutants and environmental hazards, the need for additional nutritional supplements may be necessary to fend off the increased levels of oxygen radicals.

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