Recent research on antioxidant supplementation has yielded conflicting results. But there is no doubt about one thing—eating a diet high in antioxidant-rich foods is a smart choice. There are hundreds of studies linking antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables to a lower risk of heart disease, cancer, and many other illnesses. But why is eating fruits and vegetables so healthy? Is it due to some specific compounds found in plant products or some special combination of nutrients? Or is it that people who eat lots of fruits and vegetables eat less meat, or that in general they consume fewer calories? In any case, the antioxidant theory merits investigation.Just as a burning fire needs oxygen, every cell in our body needs a steady supply of oxygen to derive energy from digested food. But consuming oxygen comes with a price; it also generates free radicals, unstable molecules that can damage healthy cells. Free radicals are highly reactive because they contain an unpaired electron, and electrons prefer to pair up. So these free radicals search for a molecule from which they can steal an electron. The molecular victim then goes in search of an electron to satisfy its deficiency and sets off a chain reaction in the body that results in the creation of more free radicals. A molecule that has lost electrons in this manner is said to have been "oxidized."
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