What Are Free Radicals?

Atoms that have a free electron are called free radicals.

Atoms have layers (or shells) of pairs of electrons. Generally, chemical reactions are interactions between the electrons of the outermost shell between two atoms. Their negative charge would cause them to repel each other, but each electron spins creating a magnetic pull. Since they spin in opposite directions, the two electrons have opposite magnetic pulls (like north and south) which holds the electrons near each other as a pair.

An atom can lose an electron from its shell, leaving the atom with an unpaired electron – a free electron. The spin of the free electron has a magnetic pull that is no longer countered by an electron spinning in the opposite direction. The magnetic pull of the free electron, and other forces due to the loss of the electron, cause the free electron to easily pair up with (react with) an electron of a pair of another atom, causing the two atoms to be held together by the paired up electrons. The new pair of electrons holding the two atoms together is the bond between the two atoms (covalent bond). The electron pushed out becomes a new free electron.

The new free electron pairs up with an electron of another atom, pushing out one of the electrons in the process, again creating a new free electron. The displacing and replacing of electrons continues through hundreds and even thousands of atoms until finally two atoms with a free electron (spinning in opposite directions) pair up forming a bond between the two atoms.

Some free electrons can “steal” an electron from another atom without bonding to the atom just by pulling an electron off another atom, which of course creates a new free electron in the other atom. Atoms that have a free electron are called free radicals.

About 98% per cent of the oxygen we breathe combines with hydrogen and leaves the body as water (H2O) without causing problems. About 2% of the of the oxygen atoms we breathe lose an electron during metabolism, becoming a free radical. Free radicals in the form of oxygen is a big problem because there’s so much of it (2% of a large number of atoms inhaled each day is still a large number)

The free radical form of oxygen and molecules containing a free radical form of oxygen is termed Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and causes damage called oxidation. ROS causes most of the damage in the body. Rust is an example of oxidation. A flame is a chain reaction of free radical oxidation. Other free radicals also cause oxidation damage in the body.

What is Free Radical Damage?

This type of bonding between two atoms by chance bonds atoms together without purpose. If the atom the free radical bonds to is part of a molecule of a structure of the body (a component of a cell membrane, DNA, etc.) the attachment of the free radical to the atom of the structure degrades the structure.

When a free radical bonds to an atom of a molecule of a structure or steals an electron from an atom of a molecule of a structure (i.e. cell membrane, proteins) it obviously makes a small molecular change in the structure. Small change, after small change, after small change eventually changes the structure enough to cause the structure to work differently or not at all. Each small change is free radical damage. Interestingly though, white blood cells used free radicals to kill parasites. Free radicals do have the upper hand on nutrition. Given the protection of a life long nutritionally perfect diet, aging will still occur and is free radical damage caused by free radicals.

Carbon will always have three or four bonds. If there are only three atoms bonded to carbon, one of the bonds will be a double bond. Double bonds are not as strong as single bonds making the electrons of a double bond much more vulnerable to free radicals. saturated fats don’t have double bonds, but polyunsaturated fats do. polyunsaturated fats are the type of lipids in cell membranes.

What appears to be the core cause of a number of degenerative disease related to free radicals is that free radicals take electrons from the atoms of lipids more easily, more frequently than other molecules. In heart disease the core problem is free radical damage (oxidation) of cholesterol (a lipid) inside the LDL molecule. In diabetes the cause is widely believed to be the free radical damage of the lipids of the cell membrane (cell wall) adversely affecting the membrane in a way that prevents the membrane from detecting or responding to insulin molecules. Free radical damage of lipids is also believed to be the culprit in Alzheimer’s disease. The free radical damage may stem from heavy metals in the brain.

Creation of Free Radicals

A series of chemical reactions that changes molecules to different molecules is called a metabolic pathway. Metabolism of food is the numerous pathways involved in breaking food down for spare parts and for extracting and storing the energy from food. Metabolism of the body includes the building of molecules from spare parts to keep the chemical reactions of the body going and to maintain the structures of the body.

There are two types of free radicals. Internal (endogenous) free radicals are created inside cells during metabolism of food molecules. External (exogenous) free radicals come from outside the body such as, smoking, drugs, irradiated food, certain food additives, overheated food, burnt food, charcoal cooking, radon, ozone, ultraviolet light, etc.

Internal Creation Of Free Radicals

The metabolic pathways of cellular respiration is a major source of free radical creation. Cellular respiration takes place in the mitochondria of the cell and is the extraction of the energy in the bonds of glucose and other molecules by breaking the bonds using oxygen (aerobic respiration). The energy extracted is stored as molecules of ATP. The energy needed for growth, repair, muscle use, thinking, and almost all other energy needs comes from the energy stored in ATP.

Free radicals are created in the peroxisome of the cell where fatty acids (from fats in food) are broken down. Free radicals are created in the membrane of the mitochondria where an enzyme (P540) creates free radicals in the process of re energizing ADP to ATP. White blood cells kill parasites using a number of different free radicals, so people with infection, especially chronic infection, experience more free radical damage.
Beckman, K. & Ames, B. (1998) “The free radical theory of aging matures” Physiology Rev 78: 548-81.
Ames, B. et al (1993) “Oxidants, Antioxidants, and the Degenerative Diseases of Ageing” Proc Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90: 7915-22.

During digestion proteins are broken down into amino acids. Most protein molecules contain hundreds of a type of a bond called a covalent bond. Other kinds of protein molecules contain 1000s of covalent bonds. When covalent bonds are broken, free radicals are created.

According to one source, more than 20 billion molecules of free radicals (“oxidants”) per day are produced by each cell during normal metabolism.

Too much protein, and or too much fat and or too much sugar creates too many free radicals. Vegetarian diets have a healthy amount of protein and fat and can be pretty sweet but not enough to cause diabetes. It boils down to eating more food means more chemical reactions inside cells and therefore more free radicals are created. Exercise increases the amount chemical reactions inside cells and exercise does increase free radical creation. Significant food (“calorie”) restriction reduces total free radical creation, so long as you don’t decide to start exercising too.

External Free Radicals

The exact damage that oxygen free radicals cause resulting in type 2 diabetes is likely oxidation of the any number of the numerous lipids of the cell membrane, interfering with the ability of islet cells of the pancreas to make or release insulin or absorb components needed to make insulin.In atherosclerosis the oxygen free radical oxidization of the lipid cholesterol (contained inside the LDL molecule-oxLDL) is the cause of atherosclerosis. Other degenerative diseases appear to have roots in oxidized lipids.

Diabetics are more prone to atherosclerosis due to increased levels of oxidized LDL.