Think of an apple for a moment. The beautiful shiny red skin covering the fruit acts as a protector. Once the skin is peeled away, or the apple is cut into wedges, the tender fresh fruit is exposed to oxygen. You say to yourself, “Oh, that apple is bad, I can’t eat that. On the contrary, it’s still a juicy delicious apple.

Immediately free radicals swirling about in the environment expose themselves to the flesh of the apple. Immediately, positively charged oxygen atoms and negatively charged electrons go into a Speed Dating frenzy. The more free radicals that form, the more the apple starts to brown and oxidize. Try this simple experiment.

Rub a drop or two of Mother Nature’s Essentials Vitamin E Oil on the side of one slice. Come back an hour later and see which side of the apple slice is more oxidized. The reason Vitamin E keeps one side of the apple slice looking more fresh is because Vitamin E is a Tocopherol. That’s the fancy name for an antioxidant that is fat-soluble. And any antioxidant functioning in the body, is working to protect cells and keep them healthy. It’s okay, eat the apple even if it’s oxidized.     

Most metals, like sodium, magnesium and iron fall victim to oxidation. Rust on the car and the steam holes in the clothes iron react from chemical build up, the bottom of the tea kettle gets scaly from mineral deposits, and all fruits and vegetables oxidize from exposure to oxygen mixing with free radicals. It’s the stuff of science.