Diseases caused by Free Radicals and Oxidative Stress

Free radicals (also known as ROS "Reactive Oxygen Species") can cause severe damage to the cellular system in our body. It may cause damage to macromolecules, DNA and proteins. This led to cause a variety of diseases, especially cancer and heart disease.

The imbalance between oxidant and <a href="https://viinutrition.com">Antioxidant</a> factors in body cause oxidative stress. This is a danger to the body. A lot of research and studies have been conducted to prove that antioxidants might play a vital role in preventing or slowing the progression of these illnesses.

Based on the findings, some of the notable illnesses caused by oxidative stress are:

Heart Disease
The famous death cause worldwide. Heart disease may occur due to the high level of cholesterol in the body, high blood pressure, smoking habit as well as diabetes. All these factors will promote atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis refers to the buildup of fats, cholesterol and other substances in and on the artery walls (plaque), which can restrict blood flow to the heart and other vital organs. If the plaque bursts, it may trigger a blood clot.

Atherosclerosis happens due to oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (also known as "bad" cholesterol) in arteries. According to several studies conducted, it shows that there is an increasing frequency of heart disease with low intakes of antioxidants in dietary.

For those with high level of antioxidants, they are likely to have lower risk of heart disease. For instance, people who took more vitamin E on a regular basis had 41% lower risk of heart disease compared to those who took less. This result is driven from a test conducted on a group of nurses.

Cancer
It kills human worldwide. 35% of the cause comes from diet. The low intake of fruits and vegetables in dietary can double the risk of cancer. In addition, low antioxidant intake also may be the contributor.