Ray Peat on Antioxidants

 

Lifestyle Choices to Slow Aging and Promote Longevity

“Altitude and a milk-based diet are obviously two important thermogenic factors that slow the accumulation of harmful adaptations, but there are many other modifiable factors that could further extend lifespan. Reducing inflammatory factors is important, and personal choices can make a big difference – for example, choosing easily digestible foods to reduce endotoxin, avoiding polyunsaturated fatty acids that impair cellular respiration and form inflammatory prostaglandins, avoiding antioxidant supplements that create a reductive excess, and choosing foods that contain anti-inflammatory thermogenic compounds, like citrus fruits with their high flavonoid content that support cellular respiratory functions.”

– November 2020 – Ray Peat’s Newsletter

Effect of Altitude Therapy and Its Connection to Antioxidant Activity

“The changes Meerson’s group observed in altitude therapy resemble the changes seen with thyroid hormone and antioxidant intake. The lower oxygen concentration in tissues at high altitude would increase the body’s antioxidant reserves and make it more resilient to stress. A reduction in dietary unsaturated fat intake similarly protects against oxidative stress.”

– Mind and Tissue: Russian Research Perspectives on the Human Brain

The Therapeutic Effect of Vitamin D in Treating Autism

“Vitamin D has a wide range of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that likely contribute to its therapeutic effects in autism.”

– May 2018 – Ray Peat’s Newsletter

Questioning the Theory of Antioxidant Protection

“The enzyme that breaks down superoxide – superoxide dismutase (SOD) – is sold as a supplement, following the cultural narrative that aging is caused by oxidative stress and that antioxidants protect. This view is increasingly questioned as a reductive cellular state is recognized as a common factor in shock, stress, and degeneration.”

– July 2019 – Ray Peat’s Newsletter

The Antioxidant Benefits of Alcohol

“Small amounts of alcohol can have some good antioxidant effects.”

– Email Response from Ray Peat

Antioxidants and Their Role in Oxygen Utilization

„The biological value of antioxidants lies in allowing oxygen to be used productively rather than destructively. When something impairs the normal, productive use of oxygen, there is a strong increase in destructive oxidation forms such as lipid peroxidation, and antioxidant reserves become critical. That is: a reduction in productive respiration tends to increase the destructive use of oxygen.“

– 1997 – Ray Peats Newsletter

The role of vitamin E in preventing tissue-damaging oxidation

„Antioxidants, especially vitamin E, prevent tissue damage by promoting normal oxidation.“

– 1992 – June – Ray Peats Newsletter

The role of vitamin A in preventing tissue-damaging oxidation (repeated section)

„Vitamin A regulates lysosomes, and therefore a deficiency could promote the accumulation of intracellular waste. It is an antioxidant, so a deficiency might tend to induce stress-hypoxia proteins, and it is used in large amounts in steroid synthesis (for example, progesterone supplementation spares vitamin A). But perhaps most importantly is the dedifferentiation that occurs in many cells with vitamin A deficiency. In the skin and mucous membranes, a vitamin A deficiency acts like an excess of estrogen and promotes keratin formation.“

– 1992 – August/September – Ray Peats Newsletter

The importance of copper for mitochondrial respiration and aging

„Copper is an essential component of cytochrome oxidase, which holds the crucial final position in the mitochondrial respiratory system. Copper is a component of the cytoplasmic SOD enzyme, whose activity decreases with age. Ceruloplasmin, an important copper-containing protein, helps keep iron in its safe oxidized form. Copper is involved in the production of melanin (itself an antioxidant) and elastin. The loss of melanin, elastin, and respiratory capacity, which is so characteristic of senescence, is also caused by excessive cortisol exposure.“

– 1990 – October – Ray Peats Newsletter

Caffeine’s beneficial effects on the thyroid and inflammation

„I believe that some of the beneficial effects of caffeine are based on its stimulation of the thyroid and normal respiration. While it stimulates normal respiration, it has an anti-inflammatory effect that likely includes both prostaglandin regulation and an antioxidant effect. Chemically, it is very similar to our natural antioxidant, uric acid, and it raises uric acid levels in the blood …“

– 1990 – May – Ray Peats Newsletter
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Supplements according to Ray Peat

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