Our human body is being oxidized all the time. When the body's cells undergo an oxidative reaction and release energy, a substance called free radicals is produced.
What are free radicals
Free radicals, also known chemically as "free radicals", are atoms, clusters, molecules, and ions that contain one unpaired (odd) number of electrons. Free radicals steal electrons from other substances everywhere and make themselves stable substances.
These free radicals are very active and must steal their neighboring electrons to maintain their stability, and the molecule that has stolen the electrons becomes free radicals because it loses its stability, and has to steal the electrons of its neighboring molecules, forming a vicious circle of "free radical chain chemical reaction", which can be collectively referred to as "oxidation".
In the life activities of the human body constantly carrying out material and energy metabolism, free radicals exist objectively, and a certain amount of free radicals is beneficial to the human body, for example: the human body is invaded by toxins, free radicals can be used as a strong oxidant to kill toxins, and free radicals can transfer energy and discharge toxins.
However, when free radicals exceed a certain amount and are out of control, they will attack the human body, such as: destroying cell membranes, inactivating serum antiprotease, accelerating cell mortality, destroying genes, causing cell mutation, and so on.
The destructive behavior of free radicals can lead to damage to normal cells and tissues in the body, which can cause a variety of diseases. Such as heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and tumors. In addition, sunlight radiation, air pollution, smoking, pesticides, etc. in the external environment will cause the human body to produce more reactive oxygen species free radicals and mutate nucleic acids, which is the root cause of human aging and disease.
There is growing evidence that the higher the level of free radicals in the body, the shorter the lifespan. When there are too many free radicals in the body, if the antioxidants are not replenished in time, the cells will begin to be damaged, and diseases will occur.
According to statistics, a variety of chronic diseases, geriatric diseases, including aging, are caused by free radicals, which are the main culprits of disease. This free radical theory is now also a recognized theory in the medical community, which can explain many problems, and it is still deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
At present, there are several good free radical scavengers: vitamin C and vitamin E are the earliest discovered substances in the world and recognized as having the effect of scavenging free radicals.
Later, scientists discovered that the tea polyphenols in tea, especially the catechins in it, can scavenge free radical groupsTea polyphenols contain more hydroxyl groups than vitamins, does it mean that they have a stronger ability to scavenge free radicals than vitamins? A large number of experiments have confirmed that the ability of tea polyphenols and catechins to scavenge free radicals is many times stronger than that of vitamins.
How does tea scavenge free radicals?
Tea polyphenols have more hydroxyl groups than vitamins, which are the general term for polyphenols in tea, including flavanols, anthocyanins, flavonoids, flavonols and phenolic acids, etc., catechins account for 60 80%. A large number of experiments by Japanese researchers have confirmed that the anti-aging effect of tea polyphenols is 18 times stronger than vitamin E.
Tea polyphenols have a molecular structure that donates protons, making them highly reducible, making them a rare natural antioxidant, and therefore one of the best substances to scavenge free radicals. It can be said thatTea polyphenols are the nemesis of free radicals.
We have demonstrated that tea scavenges free radicals by inhibiting oxidase complexation with oxidation-inducing transition metal ions or by directly scavenging free radicals.
In fact, the antioxidant power of tea is to help human cells delay aging, delay decay, and play the role of a human preservative. As Professor Liu Zhonghua said, it's not that you look old, it's that you drink too little tea.