oxidation & reduction

Oxidation and reduction overview:

Over the last two or three decades, you may have heard marketers and wellness coaches talk about the influence of free radicals and antioxidants on our health and longevity. They’re elements of the “oxidation-reduction” cycle in the rapidly emerging science of Oxidative Medicine, or Oxidative Sciences – now called “redox” in many instances. Oxidation-reduction: Simply put, oxidation and reduction describe the exchange of electrons. Electrical charge: Electrons are negatively charged. So removing electrons through oxidation increases positive charge and acidity, while adding electrons through reduction/antioxidant activity does the opposite – it increases negative charge and alkalinity. This is important because most pathogens, toxins, and free radicals are in their comfort zone when positively charged and acidic, while antioxidant activity fights those threats by donating electrons, thus increasing a molecule’s negative charge and alkalinity. Oxidation is the “stealing” of electrons from a molecule – or an increase in the state of oxidation. So molecules with the propensity to oxidize substances are called “oxidants.” To illustrate, when oxygen takes electrons slowly from iron, that’s a form of oxidation we call rust. When a flammable material burns or explodes – again, with oxygen – that’s oxidation happening rapidly right before your eyes. Oxidants, aka reactive oxygen species: In biological systems, oxidation destabilizes the matter inside cells by stealing their electrons, which makes them blow apart in a hurry unless they find an electron to pair up with and zero out their charge. For that reason, oxidants are used by our immune systems as the ultimate antimicrobial, detoxifying agent. Most oxidants, as the name would suggest, are predominantly oxygen-based molecules, so they’re called “reactive oxygen species” (ROS). Nitrogen and sulfur also form their own less-common reactive species. Oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, ozone, and chlorine dioxide are some of the best-known oxidants in the functional medicine field. Free radicals: When a molecule with a balanced pair of electrons loses one of those electrons due to oxidation, the resulting molecule can become a “free radical” because of its extra, unpaired electron, which is highly reactive and potentially damaging to cells. Its destructive effect on cells is why the public was taught to fear free radicals in the 1980’s-2000’s, and why we were instructed to get plenty of antioxidants to combat free radical damage. Reduction is the opposite of oxidation. It’s the giving of electrons, or a decrease in the state of oxidation (hence the term “reduction”). Reductants: Molecules that give up their extra electron in chemical reactions are called “reductants” (even though that sounds backwards), or Reduced Species (RS). Antioxidants are tiny molecular catalysts that make oxidants give their extra electron(s) to reductants, thereby neutralizing (balancing) them both of electrical charge and biological reactivity. The body’s naturally-produced antioxidants such glutathione can perform tens of millions of these reactions per minute. Reactive oxygen species and reductants then turn back into salt water (from which they came). Redox: Not too long ago, redox scientists realized that saying the words oxidation, reduction, and reactive oxygen species out loud made them sound like nerdy chemists who use big words to confuse or impress people. So they came up with a cooler sounding umbrella term to describe the players and processes (e.g. redox molecules, redox reactions). The field swapped and shortened oxidation-reduction to “redox,” which is short for REDuction-OXidation. And it seems to have a ring that’s right for the mainstream. Redox molecules: Reactive oxygen species (ROS), and reductants/reduced species (RS), are collectively called “redox molecules” or “redox signaling molecules.” Redox molecules are by-products of metabolism that (1) mitochondria use to support cells in many ways, or that (2) bacteria use to support the microbiome. Mitochondrial redox molecules: Without the concentrated heat of a conventional fire, mitochondria burn fat or sugar in the presence of oxygen to make ATP to fuel cells. This produces oxygen redox molecules as a by-product. Otherwise known as “metabolism,” aerobic exercise dramatically increases the need for, and rate of, this process. Made principally of oxygen, mitochondria’s oxygen redox molecules are the communication network between mitochondria and human cells. Bacterial redox molecules: When bacteria metabolize food, they spit out their own variety of redox molecules as a by-product. Made principally of carbon with about 17 potential binding sites (representing its signaling capacity), each of the tens of thousands of bacterial species makes about 10-15 different varieties of these carbon-based redox molecules. Oxidative stress: Oxidative stress is the amount and duration in which oxidants outnumber reductants. Oxidative stress can be damaging when insufficient antioxidants and reductants are available to neutralize the oxidants – particularly, in chronic, uncontrolled circumstances. Oxidative stress can be beneficial when used therapeutically. Tight junctions are the filaments that normally hold the cells of all our membranes together and keep unwanted things out. They also open and close on-demand to let authorized things through. However, when tight junctions become damaged, they stay open and let unauthorized substances through, causing myriad health problems.