Free radicals are molecules with unpaired electrons that can disrupt cellular chemistry. Such molecules can be found in fava beans, and when people with favism eat fava beans, the free radicals within wreak havoc on those individuals’ red blood cells, resulting in severe anemia.
Free radicals Quotes in Survival of the Sickest
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Chapter 4
Quotes
By releasing free radicals and raising the level of oxidants, fava bean consumption makes the blood cells of non-G6PD deficient people a less hospitable place for malarial parasites. With all the free radicals, some red blood cells tend to break down. And when someone with a mild or partial deficiency in G6PD eats fava beans, the parasite is in deep trouble.
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Free radicals Term Timeline in Survival of the Sickest
The timeline below shows where the term Free radicals appears in Survival of the Sickest. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4: Hey, Bud, Can You Do Me a Fava?
...called G6PD, which clears out elements that are harmful to the cell. These elements include free radicals , which are molecules with unpaired electrons that can disrupt cellular chemistry. Primaquine is thought...
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...undergo a similar reaction to the one that occurs after taking primaquine because of the free radicals in fava beans. The irony of favism is that the people who have favism are...
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...beans and favism. People who have favism and lack the G6PD enzyme cannot mop up free radicals , which results in anemia in more than 400 million people around the Mediterranean. However,...
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