BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Electronic personal health records (PHRs) allow patients access to their medical records, self-management tools, and new avenues of communication with their health care providers.
Antioxidants are chemicals that interact with and neutralize free radicals, thus preventing them from causing damage. Antioxidants are also known as âfree radical scavengers.â. The body makes some of the antioxidants it uses to neutralize free radicals. These antioxidants are called endogenous antioxidants. However, the body relies on external (exogenous) sources, primarily the diet, to obtain the rest of the antioxidants it needs.
An antioxidant is a molecule that inhibits the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction involving the loss of electrons which can produce free radicals. In turn, these radicals can start chain reactions.When the chain reaction occurs in a cell, it can cause damage or death to the cell.he relative importance of the antioxidant and pro-oxidant activities of antioxidants is an area of current research, but vitamin C, which exerts its effects as a vitamin by oxidizing polypeptides, appears to have a mostly antioxidant action in the human body.