Reduced Oxidative Stress

Reactive oxygen species are not simply damaging — they are signalling molecules essential for insulin sensitivity, immune defence and exercise adaptation. Problems arise from imbalance, not from their existence. This explains the repeated failure of antioxidant megadoses: the ATBC trial found beta-carotene increased lung cancer in smokers, SELECT found vitamin E increased prostate cancer risk, and high-dose vitamin C and E blunt training adaptations. Endogenous defences, particularly the Nrf2-glutathione system, are the ones worth supporting.

1) Reduce the sources: stop smoking, cut alcohol, control blood glucose, and treat sleep apnoea — these dwarf any supplement. 2) Exercise regularly; the transient oxidative signal from training upregulates your own antioxidant enzymes, a hormetic effect no pill replicates. 3) Eat 30+ different plants weekly for a broad polyphenol and carotenoid intake — whole-food evidence is far stronger than isolated supplements. 4) Support glutathione with adequate protein, cysteine sources and cruciferous vegetables. 5) Sleep 7-9 hours; sleep restriction directly raises oxidative markers. 6) Avoid high-dose isolated antioxidant supplements, particularly vitamin E and beta-carotene, and especially around training. 7) Note that no consumer oxidative stress test is clinically validated.

• •Smoking cessation
• •Alcohol reduction
• •Regular exercise
• •Plant diversity in diet
• •Sleep sufficiency
• •Blood glucose control
• •Avoiding antioxidant megadoses