We have all heard of them, and we know they are bad, but what really are those elusive little things called free radicals? A free radical is any molecule on your body that has an unpaired electron in its outer shell. (For example Ó) A stable atom or molecule will have all of their electrons paired in their outer shell (to follow the example ?), so when a free radical has an unpaired electron it goes on a scavenger hunt to look for an electron to steal, this is why they are said to be extremely “reactive.” However, when the free radical steals an electron from another molecule, it leaves that molecule unstable now and hungry for an electron to pair with! So just one free radical can create a chain reaction that leads to more. Free radicals can react with a number of different things to steal that electron that they so desperately want. Free radicals can also attack your cells membranes which is your cells true life line. When free radicals react with proteins in your body, they change the shape of that protein and alter or completely inhibit the proteins functional capabilities. Protein aggregates such as these are what is seen within a brain in Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders.
Oxygen molecules with an unpaired electron, called oxygen free radicals, can bind to iron-sulphur containing molecules creating extremely damaging hydroxyl radicals that surmount your body’s normal biochemical supplies of antioxidants and result in what is called oxidative stress. The powerhouses of your cells are mitochondria, small organs within your cells that produce your energy molecule, ATP. Here, your body runs into a problem – called aging. The vast majority of free radicals come from mitochondria and your mitochondria are particularly susceptible to oxygen free radicals. When you cannot produce enough ATP you cannot heal, and you age. You also begin to interfere with neuron function. To us, this looks like as your connective tissues begin to break down, your skin sags, your muscles simply don’t have as much power as they did 20 years ago and you aren’t as quick, or in other words, your neurons aren’t firing like they were in your prime.
Find out more on how to remove free radicals from your body! Our Ioncleanse foot bath detox treatments do just that by creating a negative charge in the water that pulls out the positively charged free radicals.
MASSAGE SPECIAL: With the foot detox , we offer a lower leg lymphatic drainage massage and reflexology to help your body detox free radicals.