• Oxidation is the chemical process by which oxygen reacts with a substance; or when a chemical reaction takes place in which a substance gives up electrons, thus increasing its positive charge (since electrons have a negative charge).

There are basically two types of oxidation:

• Slow oxidation: which is caused by water or air and causes metals to lose their lustre and leads to corrosion.
• Rapid oxidation: which is that which takes place by means of combustion, giving off significant levels of heat. It tends to occur primarily in elements containing hydrogen or carbon.
• Redox: There is also the chemical reaction called “redox” (reduction-oxidation). This may be the one that interests us most in our case as it is what happens with
  chlorine dioxide.

This is an interaction of two substances in which:

• The oxidised element loses electrons.
• The reduced element gets electrons.
• The electrons behave like the glue that holds the structure together, like the “cement” that holds the bricks together.
• By losing electrons, the oxidised substance also loses its structure and we turn an iron bar into iron oxide powder.
• As the electrons that form the bonds are lost, the structure weakens. It’s like in the famous block game (jenga), when you lose electrons you lose the structure and it falls apart.
• It is important to keep in mind that the main source of energy for humans is through combustion, i.e. burning proteins, fats or sugars and even toxins, and for all combustion, oxygen is needed. For combustion is like fire.
• We also eliminate toxins and heavy metals by oxidising them, degrading them so that they do not produce unwanted interactions in the organism. (There are even metals that are toxic and yet their oxidation is useful to us)