| Although advertisers would have us believe it, getting | | | | around looking to pilfer the partner of a stable |
| older is not a crime, it is in fact a privilege. | | | | molecule. Then we have a chain reaction on our |
| Of course we don't see it like that. Just like | | | | hands because the robbed electron itself becomes a |
| generations before us we dutifully smooth on lotions | | | | free radical. This process is better known as |
| and potions, and dye our graying locks in an attempt | | | | oxidation. Think of a browning apple or rusting metal, |
| to hold back time. But that's not enough to keep up | | | | but instead of rusting, we age. Free radicals cause |
| appearances for the modern consumer. We now look | | | | external aging, such as wrinkles and lines, and internal |
| to such weapons as the Botox syringe for our | | | | aging such as heart disease, emphysema, |
| salvation - and increasingly the threat of fading youth | | | | osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Air pollution, |
| leads to the surgeon's knife. Cosmetic surgery is rife | | | | cigarette smoke, pesticides, saturated fats, |
| in our society; with the approval of their parents | | | | processed food, stress and ultra-violet light can |
| young girls are opting to have breast implants, laugh | | | | create free radical multiplication. This all sounds very |
| lines really aren't that funny, and nose jobs are a | | | | unpleasant, so how do we stop it from happening? |
| dime a dozen - we are choosing to let ourselves be | | | | Antioxidants are our very best weapons of defense. |
| stitched and pulled in an endless quest for perfection | | | | They offer up one of their own electrons to rogue |
| and eternal youth. | | | | free radicals (which they are able to interact safely |
| Do we really have no choice? If appearance is | | | | with), thus ending their reign of terror. Where can we |
| important to us, are we going to end up under the | | | | get our hands on these too good to be true |
| knife despite the best of intentions? Hopefully that | | | | youth-preserving gems? That's where your local |
| won't be the case, as research suggests the key to | | | | supermarket or greengrocer comes in. Dr Howard |
| preserving youth may actually lie unassumingly in our | | | | Murad, an Amercian celebrity dermatologist, has seen |
| supermarket aisles. Before we can understand why | | | | plenty of evidence of the damage caused by free |
| certain fruits, vegetables and herbs can help to keep | | | | radicals. "People who eat more green, leafy |
| us younger for longer, we first need a quick | | | | vegetables and beans throughout their lives are less |
| chemistry lesson. Molecules known as free radicals | | | | wrinkled than those who eat a lot of processed high |
| cause cellular damage - youth's enemy number one. | | | | fat and refined carbohydrates," he says. So there |
| Free radicals are unstable molecules that have | | | | you have it straight from the horse's mouth. |
| unpaired electrons. These unstable molecules cruise | | | | |