As it blazes its trail through the body, evidence of its power remains in the air. Garlic applied to the skin, even on the soles of the feet, will be exhaled in the breath. The effects of eating garlic can be neutralized by chewing coffee beans, parsley, raw apple slices, or baked beet root. Alternatively, finely chopped garlic, swallowed without chewing, greatly reduces breath odor. Antioxidants include many of the vitamins and minerals we grew up with, like A, C, E, iron, magnesium, copper, and zinc, only they are now being recognized as having greater potential than we knew .
Antioxidants function as a damage control team, limiting the destruction wrought by free radicals.
Free radicals are unstable oxygen molecules with an extra hydrogen electron. The electrons that are not paired seek partners, stealing electrons from healthy cells and initiating a destructive cycle. Under ideal circumstances the body is able to keep the number of free radicals in check through its own antioxidant production. When they are not kept in check, the results are illness and aging. Free radicals have been implicated in diseases ranging from cancer to rheumatism, from heart attacks to senility.