Antioxidants are chemicals that interfere with oxidation.In the context of a healthy diet, antioxidants are substances found in food items that help shield biological molecules such as DNA from this potentially destructive activity:<ul><li>These substances include vitamins like vitamin C and vitamin E, trace elements such as selenium and zinc, and other common plant compounds such as lycopene and flavonoids.</li><li>A diet that includes a reasonable mix of fruit, nuts, vegetables, and mushrooms should contain sufficient antioxidants to guard our cellular machinery against oxidative stress. </li></ul>

What Are Antioxidants?

Oxidative damage occurs when an electron is stolen from an important biochemical structure, such as a base in a genetic code or the amino acids making up proteins. Simple changes to DNA <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_oxidation">can transform a base </a>into something different, altering its behavior so it no longer spells out the same sequence. While our bodies have repair mechanisms that can account for these damaging changes, as we age the problems can pile up. Mutations get missed, aggregations of proteins build, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5927356/">and risks </a>of diseases like <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/cancer">cancer </a>or even neurodegenerative conditions like <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/parkinsons-disease">Parkinson's </a>increase.

How does oxidation harm our bodies?

Our bodies naturally produce a range of chemical products called free radicals as a consequence of typical metabolic processes.To deal with these reactive species, our bodies also produce enzymes with antioxidant properties, like superoxide dismutase. But our environment can also be a source of free radicals. Absorbing pollutants, including cigarette smoke and toxic metals, can overwhelm our bodies' home-grown defenses and increase oxidative damage.

What causes oxidative stress?

Between our own enzymes and the antioxidants we collect in our diet, our body is as well prepared for keeping a lid on oxidative stress as it can be.Unfortunately, adding more antioxidants to the mix isn't the solution we might imagine. <ul><li>More importantly, studies over the decades have found no sign that antioxidant supplements can reduce risks of ill health or combat aging.</li></ul>Further research is needed to figure out why supplementary antioxidants don't seem to reduce oxidative stress in the body and what possibly can.

Do you need antioxidant supplements?


Antioxidants are chemicals that interfere with oxidation – the process where an atom or molecule loses some electrons due to a chemical reaction.

Healthy Lifestyle

What Are Antioxidants, And Do You Need to Take Them as Supplements?

Nutrition experts state that we only need what's typically found in a routine diet. Industry representatives argue that we need supplements as foods don't contain enough. Yet, studies show that vitamin supplements increase the risk of cancer and heart diseases and shorten lives.

Vitamins cause damage

Linus Pauling is hailed as one of the greatest scientists ever. When Pauling was 65 years old, he mentioned at a talk how much pleasure he took in reading about scientific discoveries and hoped he could live another 25 years. A biochemist, Irwin Stone, who had been at the talk, wrote to Pauling that if he took 3,000 milligrams of vitamins C, he would probably live more than another 25 years. Pauling followed Stone's advice and began to feel livelier and healthier. In 1970, Pauling published Vitamin C and the Common Cold, urging people to take 3,000 milligrams of Vit C daily.

The man who won two Nobel Prizes but was spectacularly wrong

In 1942, a study concluded that there is no indication that vitamin C alone, an antihistamine alone, or vitamin C plus an antihistamine have any important effect on the duration or severity of infections of the upper respiratory tract. Other studies followed and also concluded that vitamin C didn't prevent colds. At least 15 studies have now shown that vitamin C doesn't treat the common cold. Other studies showed that the use of high-dose vitamin C doesn't treat cancer.

Studies on Vitamin C

<ul><li>In 1994, researchers found that subjects that took vitamin E and beta-carotene were more likely to die from lung cancer or heart disease.</li><li>A 1996 study found that vitamin A and beta-carotene increased the risk of dying from cancer and heart disease.</li><li>A 2004 study found that vitamin A, C, E, and beta-carotene seemed to increase overall mortality.</li><li>Several other studies came to the same conclusion.</li></ul>

Studies on Vitamin E and beta-carotene

The most likely explanation of why studies show that supplemental antioxidants are harmful is that free radicals aren't as bad as people believe. While free radicals can damage DNA and disrupt cell membranes, it's not always bad. Free radicals kill bacteria and new cancer cells. Large doses of antioxidants interfere with the balance between free radical production and destruction, causing the immune system to be less able to kill harmful invaders. This is known as "the antioxidant paradox."

Why studies show supplemental antioxidants are harmful

Nutrition experts contend that all we need is what’s typically found in a routine diet. Industry representatives, backed by a fascinating history, argue that foods don’t contain enough, and we need supplements. Fortunately, many excellent studies have now resolved the issue.

Stashed ideas

The Vitamin Myth: Why We Think We Need Supplements

While topical serums and creams may slow the appearance of aging in areas where they are applied, they cannot fight the aging happening within your body, and some anti-aging ingredients cannot be absorbed through the skin, making topical application pointless. Vitamins, meanwhile, work from the inside out, resulting in both inner and outer health. This does not mean you need to forgo topical solutions — the most powerful anti-aging regimes use both vitamins and topical creams to form a powerful, multi-pronged defense.

Vitamins are sometimes overlooked in the fight against aging.

Some vitamins are far more powerful at combatting the effects of age than others. The article ranks the most effective vitamins when it comes to giving yourself a youthful glow, wrinkle-free skin, and a renewed sense of well-being.

Ranks

Collagen is the king of anti-aging, which is why so many youth rejuvenation treatments focus on renewing or revitalizing collagen production in the body — but you can kick start this process without needles, simply by supplementing collagen into your diet.Collagen is a protein that helps in the maintenance of skin, and as we age we produce less of it, leading to wrinkles and sagging. It’s believed that collagen production begins slowing as early as our early twenties.

1. Collagen

However, when our bodies start to slow the production of collagen, we can make sure our levels remain high by supplementing it. Collagen supplements have been shown to improve skin elasticity and reduce wrinkles.A 12-week study of 72 women showed that regularly taking a supplement that contained 2.5 grams of collagen (along with several other ingredients) significantly improved the appearance of skin elasticity and softness.[4]If you choose one anti-aging supplement, choose collagen. But why would you choose just one when many others do almost as good a job?

Vitamin A is also known as retinol, which forms the key ingredient in many anti-aging supplements and serums. Vitamin A is not naturally produced by our bodies, which means it needs to be consumed either by eating foods rich in it or by taking it as a supplement. And there’s plenty of reason to do that, because vitamin A is the gold standard when it comes to anti-aging.

2. Vitamin A

Tretinoin, which is derived from vitamin A, has been proven to boost collagen production and reduce wrinkles. It does this by interfering with the enzymes that break down collagen in the skin’s dermal layer, promoting the creation of new collagen instead.Your insides age, too — but you can slow the process with the help of vitamin A.

Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin, as one of the ways we synthesize it is from exposure to sunshine. But vitamin D is also a powerful anti-aging vitamin, extended with longevity and a possible reduction in diseases and illnesses related to aging.Research has also shown that vitamin D is effective in preventing premature aging by protecting the skin from ultraviolet light, one of the most common causes of wrinkles and lines.

3. Vitamin D

As we age, our body needs more vitamin E to remain healthy— unsurprising, as vitamin E plays an essential role in regulating our immune system.As one of the skin’s first layers of defense, vitamin E occurs naturally in our body but is quickly depleted by sun rays. This is not good, as vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals, unstable atoms that damage cells and have been linked to aging.

4. Vitamin E

Vitamin E can also boost collagen production, speeding up cell regeneration and creating new skin growth. Studies have shown that ingesting vitamin E orally as a supplement dramatically increases protection against the breakdown of collagen.Vitamin E is good for your body as well as your skin. It’s been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and potentially protect against cognitive decline.

Resveratrol is responsible for giving grapes and raspberries their distinctive red color, and it also combats wrinkles and fine lines. While you can certainly get plenty of resveratrol by making berries a staple of your diet, you can much more easily add it to your diet as a supplement.There’s no need to stop enjoying the sunshine. Resveratrol has been found to protect skin from premature aging brought on by UV light. It has also been found to increase lifespan. Not bad for such an obscure vitamin.

5. Reservatol

Zinc is an essential trace mineral found in the red blood cells and is involved in many important roles in the human body but our body does not naturally produce zinc. Because of this, we need to obtain zinc through either our diet or supplements. We need zinc for many things, including synthesizing proteins, regulating our immune system, and healing wounds. But zinc is also a powerful ally in the fight against aging. Zinc deficiencies have been found to speed up the aging process, while significantly reducing the risk of age-related illnesses and infections.

6. Zinc

Zinc also plays a key role in protecting against hair loss, a major part of aging for both men and women. As zinc plays an important role in the growth and repair of hair tissue, it’s no surprise that studies have shown that taking zinc supplements can defend against hair loss.[18]With so many benefits, zinc is well worth adding to your supplement routine.

Curcumin’s positive effects on aging have flown under the radar for a long time but new research is bringing this polyphenol into the spotlight. Found in the root of the turmeric plant, curcumin has been found to lead to improvements in both cognition and memory, and is now being investigated as a possible treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

7. Curcumin

Curcumin has also been found to extend the life of a wide variety of organisms, from fruit flies to worms to yeast, leading researchers to question if it can be used for the same purposes in humans.There are many different causes of aging, from oxidative stress to breakdown of cells to loss of telomere length, and curcumin has been found to positively impact a wide variety of them. However, the jury is still out on how much curcumin finds its way back into the bloodstream when ingested.

Selenium is a trace mineral that prevents vitamin E deficiencies. It can be obtained through diet or supplements. New research suggests that selenium can play an important role in fighting aging, particular when it comes to age-related disorders and illnesses such as tumors and cardiovascular diseases.Selenium has also been associated with longer telomeres — caps located on the ends of our chromosomes that decide how quickly our cells age. And older adults with low levels of selenium have been found to have significantly higher rates of death than those with high levels of selenium.

8. Selenium

Vitamins are some of our strongest weapons when it comes to fighting anti-aging, but unfortunately sometimes we can’t get the amount we need through diet alone. However, with a good supplement routine, we can fight the symptoms of aging, whether it’s wrinkles and fine lines, skin sagging, cognitive decline, or poor physical health.Not all vitamins are useful when it comes to combating aging, and some vitamins might not confer the particular anti-aging benefits we are specifically looking for. This is why it’s important to stay educated on the newest research on which vitamins fight what.

Conclusion

8 Anti-Aging Vitamins and Nutrients That Actually Work, Ranked

What do all these holidays have in common? Food, nice food! From meatballs to sandwiches, from fruit punch to smoothies, from cookies to brownies, from watermelons to apples. The list of delicious dishes goes on and on. The <a href="https://megabloginfo.com/pre-workout-smoothies/">fruit also stimulates the secretion </a>of alkaline saliva, which neutralizes the acidic environment created by plaque after <a href="https://megabloginfo.com/healthy-eating-tips/">eating foods </a>rich in carbohydrates. Apples have long been known as nature’s toothbrushes which is another benefit of apples. Although the consumption associated with apples does not actually clean the teeth, biting and chewing them stimulates the gums.

Apple health benefits

<ol><li>Apples boost gum health:</li><li>Apples Can Support a Healthy Immune System</li><li>Apple may improve your heart health</li><li>Metabolic       </li><li>Beat looseness of the bowels and constipation</li><li>Glowing skin </li><li><a href="https://megabloginfo.com/pomegranate-health-benefits/">Antioxidants</a></li><li><a href="https://megabloginfo.com/health/weight-loss/">Weight Loss</a></li><li>Diabetes</li><li>Cancer</li><li>Asthma</li><li>Environment and Apples </li></ol>

 Outstanding benefits of apple 

Apple health benefits are gum health, Immune System heart health Metabolic, bowels Glowing skin Antioxidants Weight Loss Diabetes Cancer

10 Outstanding benefits of apple and nutrients - Health fitness blog info

Intermittently challenging yourself, be it through temperature changes like cold or heat, other types of stressors, such as physical activity, or even dietary compounds in plants such as polyphenols or flavonoids, is beneficial to the body. These intermittent challenges activate genetic pathways that help you deal with normal metabolism and immune function stress. This concept is known as hormesis.  Hormesis is a little bit of stressful challenge that activates the stress response pathways in a beneficial way. It has a profound antioxidant and anti-inflammatory response.

Challenge yourself intermittently to improve health

Sulforaphane is a sulfur-rich compound found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, broccoli sprouts, brussel sprouts, cauliflower and cabbage. It activates a powerful detoxification pathway which helps you detoxify things like carcinogens that you’re exposed to. Clinical studies have linked the benefits of sulforaphane to a variety of chronic diseases such as autism, aflatoxin toxicity, cancer, air pollution toxicity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and more.

Sulforaphane

Sulforaphane levels in broccoli are lower when it's cooked. But adding one gram of mustard seed powder to cooked broccoli increases the sulforaphane by fourfold.  The plant, Moringa, has similar effects to broccoli. This can be bought in a powdered form and added to smoothies.

Broccoli - raw or cooked

Omega 3 fatty acid is another essential macronutrient. People with low omega-3 index have higher all-cause mortality and lower lifespan. <ul><li>Wild game has a higher concentration of micronutrients (e.g., zinc) and omega-3 versus conventional.</li><li>Grass-fed meat is better as factory farmers feed cows corn to fatten them.</li><li>Fish is a great source of omega 3 but is higher in mercury. </li><li>Plant sources of ALA would be walnuts and flaxseeds. If you’re a vegan or vegetarian, the best it to supplement with microalgae oil as they have DHA.</li><li>Supplementation is a good way to get a high dose of Omega 3s.</li></ul>

Omega -3 Fatty Acids

Vitamin D is essential for various aspects of our brain and body health. Vitamin is a steroid hormone we produce when we’re in the sun, depending on how much melanin we have on our skin, whether or not we’re wearing sunscreen, and how old we are.  Vitamin D gets converted into a steroid that regulates some of the human genomes and plays an important role in activating the innate immune system. Vitamin D3 is a good way to supplement. Vitamin D2 is often a plant source.

The importance of Vitamin D

Being deficient in magnesium makes it more difficult to make Vitamin D. Magnesium is also involved in making ATP, the energetic currency of our cells.  Our bodies need ATP to do anything, including repairing DNA enzymes. You can’t look in the mirror and see DNA damage from lack of magnesium, but it is there.  Dark leafy greens are high in magnesium, for example, kale, spinach, chard, and romaine lettuce. Magnesium in dark leafy greens is less bioavailable, but cooking can release it. For supplementation, magnesium malate would be best.

Magnesium

Cold exposure (11 minutes per week, up to the neck) has been shown to increase brown fat which increases metabolism and the ability to feel comfortable in cold temperatures. 		 Regular use of sauna and other heat exposure can reduce mortality by cardiovascular events, stroke, and all-cause mortality. Heat changes the way in which proteins are configured at the molecular level: Heat shock proteins (HSP) ensure cells of the brain and body don’t misfold. <ul><li>Recipe for heat exposure: 57 minutes per week spread out across sessions. </li><li>Cold exposure (safe but cold) a couple of times a week.</li></ul>

Deliberate hot and cold exposure

This podcast focuses on micronutrients that are essential for brain and body health. 

My guest is Rhonda Patrick, Ph.D. She earned her doctoral degree in biomedical science from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and has become one of the leading public health educators on the brain and general health, aging, cancer, and nutrition. We discuss the four major categories of micronutrients that regulate cellular and organ stress and antioxidants, inflammation, hormone regulation, immune system, and longevity. Dr. Patrick provides actionable protocols for obtaining key micronutrients from food and/or supplement-based sources. Additionally, Dr. Patrick outlines protocols for deliberate cold and deliberate heat exposure to benefit metabolism, cardiorespiratory fitness, mental health, and lifespan.  Thank you to our sponsors AG1 (Athletic Greens): https://athleticgreens.com/huberman Thesis: https://takethesis.com/huberman InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/huberman See Andrew Huberman Live: The Brain Body Contract Tuesday, May 17th: Seattle, WA Wednesday, May 18th: Portland, OR https://hubermanlab.com/tour Our Patreon page https://www.patreon.com/andrewhuberman Supplements from Momentous https://www.livemomentous.com/huberman. For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com. Timestamps (00:00:00) Dr. Rhonda Patrick – Micronutrients, Cold & Heat Exposure  (00:03:12) Momentous Supplements (00:04:27) The Brain-Body Contract  (00:05:30) AG1 (Athletic Greens), Thesis, InsideTracker (00:09:42) Stress Response Pathways, Hormesis (00:16:38) Plants, Polyphenols, Sulforaphane (00:21:12) Tools 1: Sulforaphane - Broccoli Sprouts, Broccoli, Mustard Seed  (00:23:50) Tool 2: Moringa & Nrf2 Antioxidant Response (00:25:25) Sulforaphane: Antioxidants (Glutathione) & Air Pollution (Benzene Elimination)  (00:27:10) Plants & Stress Response Pathways, Intermittent Challenges  (00:29:35) Traumatic Brain Injury, Sulforaphane, Nrf2  (00:35:08) Tools 3: Omega-3 Fatty Acids (ALA, EPA & DHA), Fish Oil, Oxidation  (00:48:40) EPA Omega-3s & Depression  (00:52:02) Krill Oil vs. Fish Oil Supplements?  (00:54:23) Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Omega-3 Index & Life Expectancy  (00:59:24) Tool 4: Food Sources of EPA Omega-3s  (01:06:07) Omega-3 Supplementation, Omega-3 Index Testing (01:10:22) Benefits of Omega-3s  (01:14:40) Tool 5: Food Sources of DHA Omega-3s (01:17:07) Vitamin D & Sun Skin Exposure  (01:22:18) Role of Vitamin D, Gene Regulation  (01:25:30) Tool 6: Vitamin D Testing & Vitamin D3 Supplementation  (01:33:15) Tool 7: Skin Surface Area & Sun Exposure, Vitamin D  (01:34:23) Vitamin D & Longevity (01:36:46) Sun Exposure & Sunscreen (01:40:30) Role of Magnesium, Magnesium Sources, Dark Leafy Green Vegetables (01:44:50) Tool 8: Magnesium Supplements: Citrate, Threonate, Malate, Bisglycinate  (01:50:57) Tool 9: Deliberate Cold Exposure Protocol & Mood/Anxiety (01:59:22) Tool 10: Cold Exposure, Mitochondria UCP1 & Heat Generation (02:02:30) Tool 11: Cold & Fat ‘Browning’, PGC-1alpha, Metabolism (02:05:08) Cold Exposure & High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), PGC-1alpha, Muscle  (02:08:04) Tools 12: Exercise, HIIT, Tabata & Sauna  (02:13:30) Tool 13: Sauna, Endorphins/Dynorphins, Mood  (02:17:45) Tool 14: Mild Stress, Adrenaline & Memory (02:19:53) Sauna, Vasodilation & Alzheimer’s and Dementia Risk  (02:25:30) Sauna Benefits, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs)  (02:31:29) Insulin signaling, FOXO3 & Longevity  (02:33:22) Tools 16: Sauna Protocols, Hot Baths & Fertility  (02:37:41) Tool 17: Exercise & Longevity, Osteocalcin  (02:41:37) Tools 18: Red Light Sauna? Infrared Sauna? Sauna & Sweating of Heavy Metals (02:47:20) FoundMyFitness Podcast, Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Patreon, Momentous Supplements, Huberman Lab on Instagram & Twitter Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac Disclaimer

What Are Antioxidants, And Do You Need to Take Them as Supplements?

The Vitamin Myth: Why We Think We Need Supplements

8 Anti-Aging Vitamins and Nutrients That Actually Work, Ranked

10 Outstanding benefits of apple and nutrients - Health fitness blog info

Dr. Rhonda Patrick: Micronutrients for Health & Longevity | Episode 70

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