Antioxidants 'cannot slow ageing'.

[Darryl Shaw]

It looks like the free radical theory of aging has died of old age.

The tiny Nematode worm, despite appearing to be far-removed from the human species, is a useful tool for scientists who want to explore how our bodies work.

They share many genes with humans, and, crucially, have a lifespan measured in days, which allows scientists to get clues about long-term changes.

The UCL team, led by Dr David Gems, genetically manipulated nematodes so that their bodies were able to "mop up" surplus free radicals.

This in theory, should give them an advantage over normal nematodes in terms of ageing and lifespan.

However, these worms lived just as long as the others, suggesting that "oxidative stress" is less of a factor in the ageing of our cells and tissues as some have suggested.

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."

He said a healthy, balanced diet was important for reducing the risk of many "old age" diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and osteoporosis, but there was no clear evidence that eating antioxidants could slow or prevent ageing, and even less evidence to support the claims made by antioxidant pills and creams.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7754644.stm

[Mike ODonnell]

Interesting....although I would still say that exposure to more free radical/oxidative damage through our environment can accelerate the ageing process through increased cell destruction....but at some point more is not always better when it comes to anti-oxidants.

In the end....we can spend 1000 years researching to understand that eating real foods is the key to long term health....or we can save time and just do it ourselves.

[Steven Low]

IMO, biggest factor is... STRESS.

There's a reason why cortisol increases as you get older.. and GH decrease. Especially during normal sleep cycle. Also, people who are under lots of stress look and feel older than they are.... because they are.

Long distance running... catabolic for hours on end. Maybe some oxidative damage but probably minimal to the amount of stress you're putting on the body.