Healthcare, Health Insurance, Vitamins, Nutrition

The best way to fully comprehend what free radicals are is to look at them from a cellular level in that the human body is made up of all kinds of cells.

The chemical bond of a cell is comprised of various types of molecules that are held together with one or more atom.

The composition of an atom is: nucleus, proton, and electrons where the sum of the protons determines the total amount of electrons that will be around the atom.

The primary role of electrons is for chemical reactions that occur inside the atom and the substance that holds the atoms together to form molecules. Electrons revolve around the atom in one or more shells

When two electrons fill the innermost layer it is considered full. Once the second shell is full, the process stats all over again.

The most important structural characteristic of an atom for determining its chemical behavior is the number of electrons in its outer shell.

An atom ideally seeks to have a full outer shell because is what is called maximum stabilty. an atom will seek this state in the following ways:

Picking up or dropping electrons that will either occupy or leave the outer shell

Bonding with other atoms to share electrons to complete the outer shell

The typical way an atom achieves maximum stability is sharing electrons with other atoms. This allows the conditions to for the atoms sustain the molecules in the most efficient way.

Often, the bonds that the atoms form remain in tact so that maximum stability is maintained. However, when these bonds do tear, the highly unstable free radical is born and swiftly seeks to make itself more stable.

The ideal way free radicals attack is by locating the nearest molecule they can find that has achieved maximum stability and start stealing electrons. Once a molecule is attacked, it too becomes a free radical. This process creates a chain reaction that continues until it causes cells to become damaged.

The process of metabolism is frequently when free radicals occur and sometimes even when fighting off viruses and bacteria. Other producers of free radicals derive from pollution, cigarette smoke, radiation, and pesticides.

Most of the time the body is able to fight off free radicals, but if antioxidants are unavailable or if there are too many free radicals, cellular damage can occur. As you get older free radical damage gets more progressive.

This study showed that acai berry triggered a self-destruct response in up to 86 percent of the leukemia cells tested according to the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry where the results were published.

A abundant source of antioxidants which fight and prevent harmful toxins from entering the body can be found in the acai berry. This research has strengthened the hypothesis that adding an acai berry extract can be very beneficial to the human body.

An very important thing to note here is that this study did not intend to demonstrate that the elements found in the acai berry can prevent leukemia in humans.

This study was never intended to raise any false hopes that the acai berry is a cure for leukemia. The results are still very positive however. The human body has shown promising results with compounds that have been tested under the cell-culture model.

Other fruits, such as grapes, guavas and mangoes,have antioxidants that have also proven effective in destroying cancer cells. Research has still been uncertain how much effect antioxidants have on cancer cells in the human body, due to factors like the amount of nutrient absorption, metabolism and the influence of other biochemical processes.

Acai berry must be consumed shortly after they are picked which is why so little is known about them. The process of being able to maintain the valuable qualities is so new that very little research has ever been done on this fruit.

Acai berrys are produced by a palm tree known scientifically as Euterpe oleracea, common in floodplain areas of the Amazon River. When the berry is ripe, it is purple and about the size of a grape. It’s contained in a thin layer of an edible pulp surrounding a large seed.

The local people of the amazon have been using the acai berry to treat conditions ranging from skin disorders to digestive problems. recently, the acai berry has proven helpful in loosing weight and lowering cholesterol.