The best strategies to reduce oxidative stress, slow aging, and improve longevity.
Longevity, oxidative stress, and aging all go hand-in-hand and exposure to excessive amounts of oxidative stress is known to decrease longevity and speed up the aging process. Oxidative stress can also predispose individuals to many chronic diseases of aging including cancer, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis/cardiovascular disease, depression, and many more conditions.
This article is about improving longevity and slowing the aging process, but focuses on strategies which reduce oxidative stress as a way to do so.
What is Oxidative Stress?
Oxidative stress refers to a potentially damaging imbalance between reactive oxygen species ("free radicals") and antioxidants. Think of free radicals as robbers that go around and steal from cells while causing damage and antioxidants as the cops who put these robbers in jail or neutralize them. With more free radicals (robbers) and less antioxidants (police), there will be an imbalance causing more free radicals to roam free and produce damage throughout the body.
Oxidative stress may occur as a result of normal metabolic processes and energy making especially if there are not enough antioxidants present (1). Although some oxidative stress is normal, too much of this imbalance can increase inflammation and accelerate the aging process in cells leading to metabolic dysfunction and ultimately disease (2).
What causes Oxidative Stress?
Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants. Free radicals are potentially damaging byproducts of metabolic processes while antioxidants are "scavengers"which go around the body and neutralize these damaging free radicals. You have likely heard of the exogenous antioxidants in food like vitamins A, C, and E, as well as other plant polyphenols like resveratrol. The body also possesses it's own system of endogenous (made in the body) antioxidants including glutathione, superoxide dismutase, alpha lipoic acid, and coenzyme Q10. Together, these endogenous and exogenous antioxidants work to neutralize free radicals and prevent damage from oxidative stress.
Problems arise when too many free radicals and too few antioxidants are present leading to damage. Aside from normal metabolic processes, there are many things that can increase free radicals in the body like a poor diet (3), environmental pollutants (4), pesticides (4), and even excessive aerobic exercise (5). Some of these factors can be avoided and some can not and may need further assistance from increased antioxidant levels.
To simplify things, here is a list of some strategies that may help reduce oxidative stress, improve aging, and reduce the risk of chronic disease.
1. Decrease intake of high-sugar foods & refined carbohydrates:
High sugar and processed foods in the diet may be a major cause of oxidative stress leading to insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease. High levels of sugar can cause increased free radical formation. The main way this happens is by increasing metabolic workload and the free radical byproducts that come along with metabolizing sugar, as well as increasing insulin which then increases the amount of free radicals that are produced. This mechanism may be one of the main ways that insulin resistance and high blood sugar is related to cardiovascular disease (6).
2. Practice Good Cooking Habits & Reduce "AGEs"
A major source of oxidative stress especially for Americans on a standard Western diet comes in the form of direct ingestion of free radicals. The use of many unstable oils (especially vegetable oils) for cooking can cause the breakdown of the fats which may directly form reactive oxygen species. Cooking with stable fats like coconut oil, avocado oil, and ghee are an excellent option for reducing free radical ingestion. To read more about the oils that I recommend for cooking, check out the article here.
Another source of oxidative stress via food is the ingestion of Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs). AGEs are proteins or fats that become bound to sugar and travel through the body increasing oxidative stress and inflammation. AGEs have been shown to increase free radical formation leading the development and progression of aging and many diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. These substances can be formed in the body in individuals with constant high levels of blood sugar (one of the mechanisms for strategy #1), or may be formed by the browning process during cooking of animal products that are high in fat or protein. The best way to eliminate AGEs in the body is to decrease sugar intake and eliminate foods that have undergone this browning process during cooking such as processed meats, cheeses, dairy products, and any vegetables or grains that have been browned through the cooking process (7). For a more comprehensive list of foods that contain AGEs, check out this report here.
3. Eat Less
This one is pretty simple and due to the fact that an increased metabolism causes an increase in free radicals and oxidative stress. As mentioned before, free radicals are byproducts of normal metabolism which can increase oxidative stress; so slowing metabolism through restricting calories can be a major factor in reducing free radical formation. Studies have also pointed to caloric restriction (eating less) as the best known way to slow aging and reduce related diseases (8). One recent large study further solidified this idea showing that those who restricted calories and ate less had less oxidative stress leading to improved longevity and slower aging (9). To read more about caloric restriction and aging check out my article "The Absolute Best way to Prevent & Reverse Aging".
4. Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting may improve longevity and decrease oxidative stress through the same mechanisms as caloric restriction. It also gives the body a chance to clean up and destroy old damaged cells which may be causing oxidative stress themselves. Intermittent fasting undoubtedly has promise as a therapy for anti-aging and longevity but more research is needed (10). To learn more about the in's & out's of intermittent fasting, check out my article here.
5. Ketogenic Diet
Ketogenic diets are very low-carbohydrate diets that originated as a treatment for epilepsy, but are becoming extremely popular in the health and fitness community. These high-fat/low-carb diets have been shown to be an effective strategy for weight loss, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular disease (11). Further, more studies are showing the protective effects that a ketogenic diet may have by reducing oxidative stress through an increase in antioxidant levels and less free radical and harmful metabolic byproduct formation(12, 13).
6. Supplementation
Supplementation of antioxidant vitamins has not shown much success at reducing oxidative stress and it may be better off to get these benefits through whole foods. However, there are many supplements which may reduce oxidative stress through other mechanism. Without going too in-depth, here are three of the best supplements shown to help limit oxidative stress:
Nicotinamide Riboside: improves mitochondrial function (14)
Curcumin: increases antioxidant capacity (15)
DHA (from fish/krill oil): anti-inflammatory properties (16)
7. Reduce Stress
Constant levels of stress increase inflammatory hormones and neurotransmitters that are prone to cause oxidative stress. Emotional stress is associated with higher markers of oxidative stress (17) and incorporating stress reduction practices like mindfulness, meditation, yoga, and positive relationships may be beneficial.
8. Sleep More, Sleep Better:
When we are exposed to long periods of darkness and sleep, our bodies produce a chemical called melatonin. Melatonin is an extremely potent antioxidant that can cross into the brain and neutralize free radicals to reduce oxidative stress (17). For some awesome strategies to improve sleep, check out my article on sleep here.
Other Strategies:
Healthy lifestyle choices like exercise, eating nutrient-dense foods rich in antioxidants, and limiting exposure to environmental toxins and pollutants in the air and food are excellent additions to decrease the load of oxidative stress on your body (17). It is important to remember that oxidative stress is a process that is going to happen throughout life, but reducing it may be the key to longevity and healthy aging.