Study Says Antioxidants Don’t Slow Aging

Let’s start with something complicated and work backwards. The Scientific American reminds us that the antioxidant theory of aging states that some of the oxygen
molecules used by the body become negatively charged, making them
reactive. As a result, the theory goes, they compromise health and age the body by
damaging cell structures, proteins and DNA.The theory, originally proposed in 1956 (yikes!), argues that cells have a natural defense—superoxide dismutase (SOD), a special
class of antioxidant that neutralizes the chemicals and prevents them
from harming cells.
Yet in 2009, Sciam reports, two McGill University researchers are now persuaded that removing SODs from tiny soil worms
has the exact opposite effect—the worms live longer. In a recent McGill experiment, each
of the worms’ five SOD genes, which primarily work in the mitochondria
(the cells’ energy-producing organelles), was disabled, hampering the worms’ ability to make the antioxidant.
When the researchers turned off one SOD gene, the
nematodes actually lived 30 percent longer. When four were disabled in
follow-up work, the worms still had a normal life span.
What’ up with that? As one researcher sees it, in SOD-deficient worms, free radicals damage the mitochondria, which produce less energy and thereby slow the organism down.So when, exactly does this get less complicated? Not for a while, but curious readers might try reading this explanation from the Scientific American.