Free Radicals and Antioxidants 101

Once you understand what free radicals and antioxidants are, you can easily judge the superiority of astaxanthin compared to other antioxidants.

"[M]y definition of a free radical is a toxic, unstable molecule that attacks and steals electrons from other molecules," Dr. Corish says. "Those other molecules could be your DNA. They could be enzymes. They could be critical proteins within the cell. So, they inflict damage on the cell. Not only that, they actually trigger chain reactions... a tsunami of free radicals stealing electrons from our cellular parts.

The cells [then] become dysfunctional; they die, and this leads to health problems. We're talking about cancer, inflammation, heart disease, and the whole gamut of medical problems. The point I'm trying to make is that it all begins with the free radical.

Now, the process by which these free radicals cause damage to cells is called oxidation... An antioxidant is a substance that stops free radicals from causing damage to cells, hence the name antioxidant. 

So, the process of damage is oxidation. The protection of it is antioxidation.

...[V]itamin C and vitamin E can handle one free radical at a time and neutralize them. The free radical is being taken care of, but now vitamin C and vitamin E are being exhausted... they cannot go on to grab another free radical. So... they now need to be recharged... Depleted vitamin C may be recharged by vitamin E, alpha lipoic acid, and ubiquinol. They all handle the oxidized portion. Now vitamin C can go back and grab another free radical.

...This is really why we need to take vitamins, supplements, and antioxidants on a daily basis, because we deplete our reserves. Once you deplete on your reserves, then we have a problem with the free radicals versus antioxidants. It's a numbers game. Once the free radical members are elevated and you don't have enough antioxidant reserve to neutralize them or mop them up,these free radicals are now going to cause cellular damage, and cellular damage leads to disease – heart attacks, cancers, autoimmune disease.

That's the whole pathological process. That's why we're concerned about free radicals. That's why we need antioxidants. And that's why we need to choose the correct and most potent antioxidants, so as to definitely build up our reserves and know that we have got that defense system."

Another very important point that makes astaxanthin stand out is that it will never become a pro-oxidant. Yes, other antioxidants can, once depleted and exhausted, "switch teams" so to speak, and become a pro-oxidant free radical. Astaxanthin, on the other hand, never turns into a harmful molecule, no matter how exhausted it gets.