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Oxygen
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this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2024
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I'm just going to ask because I think this is true but I'm not certain and nobody's talking about it. Antioxidants are BS right?
A bit Overblown, but not really bs, from what I researched a bit ago
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxidative_stress#Diseases
Antioxidants may help with some of those conditions, but others are based on such underlying dysfunction that it would be like trying to bailing out a boat with big hole in the side. They're just not gonna do anything for you.
The dietary antioxidant fad is mostly BS. They're supposedly meant to counteract oxidative stress and specifically free radicals. Both of those things are part of a healthy life and you would die without them. So any real impact is not so simple as "just counteract those bad things". Dietary antioxidants don't always lead to higher intracellular antioxidant levels, either.
Some dietary antioxidants so lead to higher intracellular levels and may help buffer oxidative stress (like from exercise) but there isn't much evidence that it doesn't just boil down to "eating your vegetables is good for you".
Sleeping more (and in tact with your circadial rhytm) and drinking more water keeps the radicals at a lower level tho, keeping you healthier in age. That or fasting like a fakir your whole life, keeping your cells in an "safe energy and clean up" mode.
Edit: radicals, not oxidants
You need oxidants to live. Issues stemming from oxidants are about levels of free radicals getting too high in the wrong places for too long.
Getting good sleep, eating a balanced diet, reducing stress, and getting enough exercise are the best ways to reduce the chances of such a scenario. Realistically, these things are also just a way to maximize wellness and health overall and it is probably not very useful for most people to think of this in terms of oxidation.
It’s more complicated than good or bad. High levels/sustained stress are definitely bad, but there’s some research to suggest that short-term oxidative stress is an important trigger for various responses in cells.
Oxidative stress happens every time you exercise. People need exercise to have better health. Oxidative stress is actually a necessary part of a healthy life.
It’s not that free radicals are good (they are necessary, but excess free radicals are definitely bad), but more so that there is no solid research to suggest that dietary antioxidants have any effect whatsoever. All the studies that show any beneficial effect have been shown to have major flaws or have not been able to be reproduced consistently.