Hi everybody this is Monica Reinagle and you're listening to the

nutrition divas quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous

because I know you're all interested in nutrition, I know you're familiar with the terms

anti-oxident and free radical.

Both are thrown around a lot and always in the same sort of way.

We talk about the body as if it were some sort of wild west shootout between the free radicals, in

dark bandanas, and the antioxidants wearing white.

I myself have frequently talked about the potential damage caused by free radicals and the benefits of foods that are rich in antioxidants, such as vegetables.

But lately, there have been suggestions that this shootout at the OK Corral imagery may be an oversimplification or even an outright mistake.

Have we got it all wrong about free radicals and antioxidants?

Are free radicals actually good for us? More importantly, can you get too many

antioxidants? Free radicals of course are molecules with an unpaired electron, which makes them electrically unstable.

In an effort to stabilize themselves, they recruit electrons from other molecules nearby,

and that often creates more free radicals. If it gets out of hand, this electron robbing

free-for-all can cause a lot of damage, disrupting your cellular function and your

DNA. Way back in the middle of the last century, a scientist named Denny Harmon first introduced this notion that free radicals were a primary cause of aging and disease,

and that quelling these free radicals with antioxidants could help us live longer and

keep us from getting sick. And ever since it's as if we've been in some sort of race

in which whoever consumes the most antioxidants wins,

which explains why antioxidant supplements are a multi-billion dollar industry.

Weirdly, however, it's turned out that taking all these supplements

doesn't actually make anyone any healthier.

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