| Once free radicals are running rampant, the | | | | ultraviolet (UV) light, which is one of the leading |
| damage they cause mostly depends upon where | | | | producers of radicals. |
| they launch their attacks. The best example of the | | | | And your eyes aren't all that suffers under the |
| damage free radicals can cause is atherosclerosis, or | | | | sun's powerful rays. So does your skin. Radical |
| hardening of the arteries. It is well-documented that | | | | damage caused by UV rays is also believed to be the |
| these radicals contribute to this disease in a very | | | | perpetrator responsible for wrinkles, skin thickening, |
| important way. | | | | and other signs of premature skin aging. |
| Cardiovascular disease often occurs when the | | | | Although the research is still highly speculative, |
| "bad" low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in your | | | | these radicals may also be one of the keys to |
| bloodstream clumps together and sticks to your | | | | unlocking mysterious neurological disorders like |
| artery walls, causing hardening and blockages. | | | | Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Some scientists |
| Scientists have found that free radical damage is the | | | | believe that these radicals may poke holes in the |
| reason that LDL cholesterol begins sticking to the | | | | barrier that usually shields the brain from outside |
| artery walls. | | | | invaders like viruses and bacteria. In response to the |
| Other times, radicals may go for your DNA. | | | | injury, the immune system produces more free |
| When they damage those critical strands of genetic | | | | radicals, which may cause further damage that leads |
| information, cells may undergo changes that cause | | | | to neurological disease. |
| them to replicate uncontrollably. In other words, they | | | | Very often, these radicals are not involved in |
| may become cancerous. | | | | initiating the disease, but the radicals that result from |
| Free radicals can also cause damage to your | | | | the disease itself keep the damage going. Such is the |
| eyes. In a study that will send you searching for your | | | | case with rheumatoid arthritis. The inflammation within |
| Ray-Bans, researchers from Harvard Medical School | | | | joints creates radicals, which seem to do more |
| found that there is a strong link between macular | | | | damage than the actual disease itself. The same can |
| degeneration which is the leading cause of irreversible | | | | be said for many digestive diseases. Free radicals |
| vision loss in people over the age of 50, and free | | | | may not be the cause of inflammatory bowel |
| radical damage. Beautiful though it is, sunshine | | | | diseases like Crohn's disease, but they certainly do |
| contains a tremendous amount of dangerous | | | | contribute to the damage. |