I’ve modified my diet to include lots of anti-oxidants and I take vitamin E, vitamin A and beta carotene supplements.  Now I’ve recently heard they don’t reduce inflammation.  What’s the truth and, oh by the way, why can’t scientists get things straight? 

Well, first of all, scientists are people and therefore fallible.  But, science itself can be thought of as a ratchet to the truth moving forward one cog at a time.  And the complete truth/understanding may not become apparent early in the process.  Such is the case with free radicals and antioxidants.   

There has been intensive global research on inflammation and aging.  Early on it was discovered that reactive oxygen species and free radicals cause inflammation and speed up aging.  It was only later on that it was realized that amount matters.  This is based on a phenomenon called hormesis, which means small amounts are beneficial and large amounts are harmful.  Or as Friedrich Nietzsche said “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. 

As it turns out small levels of reactive oxygen and free radicals stimulate the production of detoxifying enzymes and repair proteins for our individual cells and most importantly our mitochondria.  Whereas large levels have the opposite effect.   

Inflammation and aging encompass a spectrum of physiologies but mitochondrial function seems to be a lynch pin factor.  By way of reminder mitochondria are our “cellular batteries” providing life and energy for all of our cells through the production of ATP.  It’s hard to conceptualize but every 24 hours our mitochondria produce an amount of ATP equivalent to our body weight.  So, any perturbation of this system can have significant ramifications.  Because our mitochondria are so active they do break down and fall into disrepair.  That is why the detoxifying enzymes and repair proteins generated by low level free radicals are critical to mitochondrial wellness.    

Having too many broken or fragmented mitochondria not only reduces the numerical workforce but also disrupts cell function by another mechanism dubbed “inflammaging”.  Inflammaging owes its existence to our mitochondria‘s ancient bacterial origins (yes, our mitochondria are due to cells co-opting bacteria internally).  As the mitochondria spill their “bacterial origins” our immune systems mistake these fragments for actual bacterial invaders and attack the cells.  This is why low levels of reactive oxygen are critical to stimulate repair of mitochondria before this occurs.   

Thus, the “Goldilocks” niche of allowing some reactive oxygen for its goodness (all your supplements can interfere with this) but not having too much reactive oxygen (which can be accomplished through healthy diet and exercise).