Life Hacks for Health

Antioxidants prevent cell damage from free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules created in the natural process of metabolism, and at an accelerated rate during exercise. Free radicals also form due to exposure from environmental sources such as cigarette smoke, air pollution or sunlight. Free radicals trigger cell damage and are the cause of all sorts of disease.

However, when it comes to antioxidants, they are not just purely beneficial:
https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2013/03/antioxidants-more-is-not-always-better/index.htm
https://joshmitteldorf.scienceblog.com/2012/11/19/anti-oxidants-a-disappointment-or-worse

Vitamin C, has overall good health effects 1 2 when supplemented above the Dietary Reference Intake, but it reduces performance gains from exercising:
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/87/1/142/4633311
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22777327

The NCCIH recommends the following:

• Scientists have researched anti-oxidant supplements to check whether they help to reduce diseases like cardiovascular disease, cancer, and cataracts. Results indicate that antioxidants didn’t lessen the risk of developing these.
• High doses of antioxidant supplements can cause unpredictable harm. When taken in high doses, anti-oxidants can act as pro-oxidants, increasing production of free-radicals. High doses of beta carotene can increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers. Use of high-doses of vitamin E supplements upsurge the risk of hemorrhagic stroke and prostate cancer.
• Certain antioxidant supplements are known to interact with some medicines. Vitamin E can increase the risk of bleeding in people who use anticoagulant drugs (blood thinners).

Too much of a good thing can be problematic as discussed above, so don’t try to amp up your intake with merely supplements. Focus on natural food instead and make sure your diet contains a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes.1

The Truth behind Antioxidants Richard Veech of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, whom interviewed a few years ago, sums it up best:

“People don't want to exercise,” he said. “They don't want to eat healthy food. They don't want to stop drinking; they don't want to stop smoking; they don't want to stop having dangerous sex. They want to take a pill. Well, good luck.”

Antioxidants and Aging

Anti-oxidants aren’t helpful in aging, according to certain studies they are worse than useless. The magical thing about our body, is that our body lives longer stressed than un-stressed (an effect of hormesis). When our body is stressed it upsurges its defenses. This can be seen with exercise, with starvation, and with many toxins (please specify?).

At an older age, the body isn't doing it's best to protect itself from damage. It willfully allows the damage to accumulate. Defensive programming is turned off and decay is allowed to overtake us. 1 2

Free Radicals, Antioxidants and aging have been linked together since 1950's , since that time it was presumed oxidative stress accelerates aging and antioxidants helps to slower down this. but recent research deny this theory, Hekimi and his colleagues used C. elegans, they randomly induced mutations and picked up those with slow metabolism and exposed those to free radicals . Outcomes were impressive , the mutated worms live longer than non-mutants, moreover mutated ones showed no increased resistance against free-radicals. But still , giant work needed to imply results on humans. Though free radicals somehow involved in aging in complex ways, they are not that much unfriendly.

— Humaira Sarfraz 2019/07/15
— Marcos Reyes 2019/07/15