That's simple, but the name probably told you that. What it didn't tell you is how very important it is to prevent oxidation. Leave home for the rest of the day, noting the appearance of your specimen. This result is visible evidence of oxidative damage, the kind of oxidation that antioxidants prevent. These same types of chemical reactions occur within our bodies all the time unseen and unfelt.
Free radicals attack the by-products of metabolic reactions such as processing foods and medicines.
Free radicals are also activated by smog, smoke and fumes. In fact, they result from the chemical reactions going on in our bodies 24 hours a day. Some reasoning may achieve a strategy. When we are stressed, injured or infected, biochemical reactions occur more rapidly, more free radicals are activated, and more damage is done. If, during high-risk times, our antioxidant supply is strong enough to quench the free radicals, tissue damage won't happen.