by Rich Sabatini

Created on: March 08, 2009   Last Updated: August 05, 2011

DNA-damaging free radicals are a by-product of food metabolism. So it stands to reason that if you're eating healthier on the food chain, you're diminishing your risk from free radicals.

In scientific parlance, free radicals are highly reactive oxygen compounds that have a "free electron" to donate; therefore they're dangerous to certain cells and organs within a body.

The danger to humans is that these devilish molecules target the mitochondria (the cell's energy "organells") with this excess electron, thus weakening the ability of the mitochondria to power the cells energy processes (metabolism).

After the mitochondria are weakened, the death of the cell becomes imminent and it divides prematurely.

But the less a cell divides, the less the genetic damage to our bodies. Just as digestion stresses the body, the division of our cells causes us to "age". But consuming foods rich in anti-oxidants shifts each cell's status away from constant division into a longer-surviving, "self-preservation" mode.
So the basic problem is how to counteract these highly damaging, electron-donating compounds.

And if not counteracted, this unchecked "free radicalism" over a period of time promotes the growth of tumors. This is why pollutants, fatty foods, and certain nitrogen-containing preservatives are harmful: they all contain the cancer-causing free radical molecule.

Many genes damaged by aging promote oxygen radical formation, which research has shown to deform healthy DNA into a state of disease - eventually causing a myriad of unwanted and potentially serious health problems.
But consuming foods rich in anti-oxidants actually conserves cellular energy, lessening free radical formation, and increasing cellular lifespan in all tissues of the body.

Combating free radicals also supports healthy vision and protects against aging eye diseases; plus lowers your risk of both cancer and heart disease. Your immune system's ability to resist disease, colds, and flu viruses is also enhanced whenever one undertakes a steady diet containing free radical fighting anti-oxidants.

Hippocrates always said: "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food". Most people would follow this sage advice were it not for the amount of conflicting information from the government, the AMA, and the advertising industry. Americans are constantly bombarded with a daily dose of conflicting information.

So what are the basic foods that would make Hippocrates truly proud?
CRANBERRIES: These contain several

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