Bodily movements are regulated by a portion of the brain called the basal ganglia, whose cells require a proper balance of two substances called dopamine and acetylcholine; both are involved in the transmission of nerve impulses. In Parkinson’s, cells that produce dopamine begin to degenerate. Loss of dopamine causes the nerve cell of the striatum to fire out of control, leaving patients unable to direct or control their movements in a normal manner. Studies have shown that Parkinson’s patients have a loss of 80 percent or more of dopamine-producing cells in the substantia nigra. One theory holds that free radicals-unstable and potentially damaging molecules generated by normal chemical reactions in the body–may contribute to nerve cell death, thereby leading to Parkinson’s disease.

The key to having a healthy body is to repair damage caused by free radicals and to protect the body’s tissue cells from the free radicals. Antioxidants are substances that have free-radical chain reaction-breaking properties. Most of these antioxidants come from plants and are called phytochemicals. More the 60,000 such plant chemicals are identified. Among the most effective and dedicated antioxidants are Vitamin A, C and E. Out of these Vitamin C is the most powerful.