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Free radicals are atoms that are short 1 electron because of a chemical reaction of some sort. These cells are very unstable and seek out a cell nearby to steal an electron from. When this happens, the cell becomes unstable and the process cascades until many cells are involved. When enough cells ( say in the liver) become unstable, the function of the organ is disrupted. You can see why people get ill with this process that affects all of the organs ( including the skin and gums ).

The body creates free radicals in the normal process of metabolism but they are controlled by substances known as antioxidants. These free radicals are created by the body to fight the virus and bacteria that are attacking our system. As good as free radicals sound, too much of one thing is harmful. Too many free radicals are associated with over 50 diseases including cancer ( in all forms). So we do not want to do anything to add to the free radical production. The free radical producers are cigarettes,herbicides, exhaust,some prescription drugs,UV radiation, X-rays, high fats, alcohol, stress, poor diet to name a few. I highlighted the ones that need the most attention by society. Stress can be emotional, biological ( infection) chemical ( mercury, BPA) or physical.

What we do in our office to diminish the chance of free radical production is to use digital x-rays ( 90% less exposure than normal machines), eliminate the use of mercury fillings, only use BPA free resin materials and counsel patients on foods and supplements that have antioxidants to help neutralize free radicals. We also try to make the office atmosphere pleasant and as stress-free as possible. One source of free radical formation not talked about much is the radiation used to treat cancer. That very radiation causes free radicals and you now know that they can cause cancer. The interesting dilemma isn’t it. Well, you can help yourself a lot by changing your eating habits ( no grease or high fats, stop smoking, no alcohol to excess) and taking antioxidants in large quantities while under treatment. Most oncologists will not agree because they do not want the patient to take anything that will interfere with the chemo treatments. There are studies that show taking CoQ10 and antioxidants increase the chemo treatment results. As high as 80% cure rate with breast and cervical cancer with those aides versus 35% without them. You can go online to verify this statement.

The main thing I want to stress is no mercury fillings, take out the ones you have, BPA free resins, digital x-rays as needed and lifestyle change.