Vitamins and minerals functioning as antioxidants with supplementation considerations

Free radicals are atoms or molecules containing one or more unpaired electrons, making them very “reactive” (Surai, 2003). Biologically relevant free radicals are activated atoms or groups of atoms (usually containing oxygen or nitrogen) with an odd (unpaired) number of electrons. In a non-radical compound, all orbits are occupied by two electrons. When a chemical reaction breaks the bonds that hold paired electrons together, free radicals are produced. Therefore in a ‘free radical’ compound, there is a single unpaired electron in the outer orbit.