Basically, antioxidants are nutrients that prevent or reduce the production of free radicals, those unstable molecules that can attack healthy cells and lead to cancer, cardiovascular disease, aging processes and complications with diabetes. The major culprit in free radical formation is a process called oxidation, the same action that rusts metal and turns butter rancid. Although oxidation has a positive metabolic function--providing the body with fuel--it also causes free radicals. In the process of being broken down for energy, oxygen molecules lose an electron and become unstable. They then seek out a stable molecule from a healthy cell to pair with--creating more dangerous, unstable molecules. Antioxidants serve as electron donors and deactivate these molecules, preventing them from injuring cells