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Oxidative stress happens when there is an imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants in your body. Free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) can damage cells and create a state for disease. Antioxidants help fight oxidative stress. What is oxidative stress?

Many of the “symptoms of aging” are actually signs of oxidative stress. Plaque buildup, fine lines, wrinkles, and sun spots are all indicators of oxidative stress happening in the body. 

What is oxidative stress?

Oxidative stress is a phenomenon that happens when our bodies accumulate more reactive oxygen species (ROS) than it is able to remove. 

Free radicals are molecules that have an uneven number of electrons. This makes them reactive when they come in contact with other molecules. Free radicals can either donate or take an electron from molecules to change their stability. They can set off large chain reactions throughout the body — some good and some bad. This response is called oxidation.

Reactive oxygen species are types of free radicals that contain oxygen. These particular free radicals happen naturally throughout the body during cellular metabolism. Some of the cellular processes that release ROS include:

  • Mitochondrial respiration
  • Enzymes
  • Ionizing and UV radiation
  • The metabolism of drugs and xenobiotics
  • When proteins are folded
  • The formation of disulfide bonds

Antioxidants have an extra electron to give and can easily pair with ROS, so they are no longer reactive. In this way, antioxidants can help balance ROS levels and prevent them from causing damage. When free radicals find another free radical to pair with (like antioxidants), this process ends because they no longer have an extra electron to react with. This provides the body with homeostasis so it doesn’t have to continue scavenging the free radicals.

What causes oxidative stress?

Reactive oxygen species are not inherently bad. They are the result of many normal processes within the body. When we eat or exercise, more oxidants are released because our body is using more cellular energy. But just existing, our bodies are continually going through the cellular processes that release oxidants.

Oxidative stress happens when our body has too many ROS circulating and not being removed.

Certain foods we eat, lifestyle habits we choose, and environmental exposures we come into contact with can increase the ROS levels in our bodies. Eating unhealthy foods, being sedentary, and being exposed to things like mold and smog can create more ROS in our bodies. 

When we exercise, eat healthfully, and reduce unhealthy exposures, our bodies can control the ROS levels more efficiently.

However, when there is a surplus of ROS, it can cause a lot of damage to the cells and tissues in the body. The damage then triggers the immune system to respond with inflammation. Free radicals can be released during the immune response, creating a cycle that is difficult to stop. 

Until this loop is stopped, oxidative stress and inflammation can wreak havoc on your body and lead to disease onset.

Why is oxidative stress bad?

We’ve mentioned throughout the article that oxidative stress causes damage to cells and tissues, resulting in inflammation. Both of these, if left unchecked, contribute to disease onset or progression. 

However, let’s look at it a little closer to see exactly what is happening and how oxidative stress causes diseases. Some examples of the reactive oxygen species that accumulate to cause oxidative stress include:

  • Superoxide radicals (O2•−)
  • Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)
  • Hydroxyl radicals (•OH)
  • Singlet oxygen (1O2)

These ROS can directly damage cellular structures like lipids, membranes, proteins, lipoproteins, and DNA. 

When they damage these structures, they then react with them, causing cellular toxicity and mutations. This process happens extremely quickly when you have an overload of ROS and oxidative stress. 

This can cause epigenetic changes that severely alter your cellular and immune responses. Many of these epigenetic changes are associated with conditions like cancer. Oxidative stress can cause acute reactions like strokes, or it can cause degenerative and chronic conditions like:

To prevent all of this, you’ll need to stop oxidative stress in its tracks.

What antioxidants fight oxidative stress?

Antioxidants are important for avoiding oxidative stress because they can neutralize the ROS. Antioxidants have an extra electron to pair with the free radical so it no longer causes damage. 

Antioxidants and polyphenols sometimes get used interchangeably, but there is a difference between them. The main difference is that our bodies can create antioxidants on their own in addition to what we get from our diets. Polyphenols only come from eating plant-based foods. Antioxidants come from plant and animal food sources. However, the standard American diet (SAD) does not contain as many antioxidants as it should. 

Some of the most effective antioxidants to fight oxidative stress include:

  • Vitamin A
  • Vitamin C
  • Vitamin E
  • Glutathione
  • Flavonoids
  • Polyphenols
  • Carotenoids
  • Superoxide dismutase
  • Catalase
  • Glutathione peroxidase
  • Thioredoxin
  • Peroxiredoxin
  • Glutathione transferase

If any of these vitamin levels are low, it can affect your body’s ability to remove free radicals. Knowing that you have a diet that supports free radical scavenging can put you at ease and reduce disease.

Fighting Oxidative Stress with Lifestyle Changes

The first thing you’ll want to do is look at your diet. If it is full of whole, real foods, then you’re probably on the right path. If your diet is lacking fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, nuts, grains, and other plant-based foods, then you’re setting yourself up for disaster. 

Eat a healthy diet that has a wide variety of real foods. Try to cut out as much processed food as you can. 

Exercising on a regular basis is actually an important part of fighting oxidative stress. While it sounds counterintuitive because exercise releases oxidants, it also helps fight them by creating endogenous antioxidants. Exercise with a healthy diet is the best way to control oxidation levels.

Exercise can lead to dehydration, and a study has shown that keeping hydrated during and after exercise prevents DNA damage and oxidative stress. 

You’ll also want to limit your exposure to harmful substances. This includes everything from chemicals in your food and beauty products to alcohol, tobacco/nicotine, and environmental exposures. This can be difficult to do when so much pollution happens, especially in cities; however, making conscious decisions to get out into places where the air is cleaner can help.

Stress is often dubbed the “silent killer” because it negatively impacts our health so drastically. But we don’t really put much effort into reducing stress. A study found that chronic stress affects the impact of oxidative stress, especially in the brain. Chronic and oxidative stress were linked to the start and progression of Alzheimer’s disease and depression. Antioxidants that helped AD included CoQ10, vitamin E, melatonin, polyphenols, selenium, and curcumin. In depression, the antioxidants curcumin, zinc, selenium, saffron, and vitamin E were all helpful.  

Living a healthy lifestyle is the best way to fight oxidative stress and avoid its negative impacts on your health. 

Atrantil is full of rich polyphenols that contain antioxidants and can help get your health back on track! Grab yours here.

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