Two other terms encountered commonly, if no more productively, in discussions of aging are “free radicals” and “antioxidants.” Free radicals are wisps of cellular waste that build up in the body in the process of metabolism. They are a by-product of our breathing oxygen. As one toxicologist has put it, “The biochemical price of breathing is aging.” Antioxidants are molecules that neutralize free radicals, so the thinking is that if you take a lot of them in the form of supplements, you can counter the effects of aging. Unfortunately, there is no scientific evidence to support that.
