Natural Antioxidants Cant Slow Aging

Trying to slow aging is a complex process that science is only just beginning to understand. What we do know is that there is no one “magic” answer no fountain of youth to keep us forever young and healthy despite what those late night infomercials want you to believe. You’ve been told that natural antioxidants can provide protection from aging perhaps from disease as well and it all certainly sounds logical, scientific and believable.

Except that it’s not true.

A research team from University College London, lead by Dr. David Gems, found “no clear evidence” that antioxidants slow the aging process. No clear evidence.

As a major part of the beauty and health food industries, antioxidant compounds are vital to our health and our youthful looks or so we’ve been told.

The surprise comes when you realize that this thinking dates back to the 1950’s, 1956 to be exact.

The theory considers aging to be caused by the build up of molecular damage that comes from reactive forms of oxygen termed superoxides circulating in our bodies.

Today we call them free radicals, and we’re told that antioxidants work to clean up these destructive free radicals so that the damage they’re able to cause is lessened. Research to prove this theory has brought inconclusive results.

In this most recent study, supported by the Wellcome Trust and appearing in the journal Genes and Development, used nematode worms to look at what antioxidants did in terms of aging.

Though you would think worms are a big step down the evolutionary scale from humanity, these simple creatures are a useful tool for researchers as they share many genes with people, and have a lifespan that lasts days, so it’s easy to get clues about long term changes.

The nematodes used in the British study were genetically manipulated so that their bodies were able to clean up free radicals, just as antioxidants are supposed to do.

This should have given the altered worms an advantage in terms of lifespan and aging. Only it didn’t. These altered worms lived just as long as the worms that hadn’t been altered.

This suggests that so-called oxidative stress (what free radicals are supposed to be doing to us) is less of a factor in aging than anyone had thought. And it might explain why there was never definitive evidence to back up the role of antioxidants in aging.

Dr Gems said: “The fact is that we don’t understand much about the fundamental mechanisms of ageing - the free radical theory has filled a knowledge vacuum for over 50 years now, but it doesn’t stand up to the evidence.

“It is clear that if superoxide is involved, it plays only a small part in the story - oxidative damage is clearly not a universal, major driver of the ageing process.”

Both the cosmetics industry and supplement makers insist that they carry out extensive research and rigorous studies to see that any claims about antioxidants are supported.

Spokespersons from these organizations doubt that the conclusion can be drawn that because antioxidants had no effect on worms, that they have no effect on people. Aging could be very different in higher animals.

Still this latest work gives us lots to think about.

Perhaps antioxidants may not provide the protection from aging that we’ve all been told they do.

There may be a simpler, more natural way to slow aging and keep our bodies young. A healthy, balanced diet, lots of exercise, regular medical care and an upbeat, positive attitude may do an even better job of keeping us young than natural antioxidants ever did.