Question
Love the discussion about anti-oxidants and would like to know more about how long they stay in your system? Does it differ for all of them, or does it even matter as long as you’re taking them?
Answer
A very astute question, and to be totally honest this is something I’m still trying to work out.
First, it’s important to understand how and why oxidation occurs.
Oxidation is actually a very natural process that’s going on all the time (and not necessarily all bad BTW). For example…
When the immune system musters to fight intruders, the oxygen it uses spins off an army of free radicals that destroy viruses, bacteria, but can also damage body cells during that oxidative burst.
Notably, production of free radicals also occurs during exercise. That appears to be necessary in order to induce some of the beneficial effects of regular physical activity, such as cultivating better insulin sensitivity of muscle cells.
So as you can see whether you’re fighting something off or just training intensely, oxidation is needed for proper metabolic functioning.
How The Body Deals With Oxidation
It’s also vital I establish this, because it’s very rarely mentioned in any discussion concerning the topic: Your body already has a powerful and efficient way of dealing with oxidation – primarily intracellular glutathione.
But, like everything else it gets less powerful and efficient with age. It’s also dependent upon how well you take care of yourself: Who do you think is going to have higher intracellular glutathione stores: Someone who trains regularly, sleeps and eats well OR someone who doesn’t sleep, doesn’t train and they spend most of their time hanging out with the Keebler elves? Exactly.
Fact: After satisfying the fundamentals, you CAN boost the body’s anti-oxidant levels via supplementation.
NAC will build glutathione levels. Good ‘ole Vitamins C and E can boost anti-oxidant levels. Alpha Lipoic Acid is both water and fat soluble, can re-generate C and E and is an excellent anti-oxidant in its own right. The Catechins and Polyphenols from Green tea, tannins, fluorotannins and mucopolysaccharides from certain algae and various carotenoids can all do so as well.
Timing
It’s his question regarding timing though, that’s most intriguing IMO. So what do we know?
Well, one thing we know is that their various half lives can vary tremendously.
For example, the half life of EGCG is around 30 minutes. Conversely there’s something from the sea I cover in the BP Bulletin who’s anti-oxidants have a 12 hour half life (and they’re actually stronger than the EGCG in Green Tea).
Now, that doesn’t mean EGCG doesn’t have benefits. On the contrary, it’s a great Zinc ionophore, so taking both in that instance would make plenty of sense.
Quercetin OTOH has a half life of 2.3 to 4.7 hours in humans, depending upon oral composition (liquid, solid, gel). There are simple ways of extending that though, such that frequent dosing to keep blood level consistent isn’t necessary.
Finally, I look at my anti-oxidant strategy in a similar fashion to nootropics: I start with a good “base”, then build out from there. And there’s no better “base” in the anti-oxidant world to build from than C60.
FINAL WORD
Not towing the line, just telling it like it is. If you’re serious about your anti-oxidants (and you absolutely should be, IMO), you need to give Revive C60 a go.
