1 reply to this topic

[thomasR]

Hello Longecity --

My understanding is that certain white blood cells produce oxygen free radicals in order to destroy cells such as invading microbes.

Perhaps they use this method to kill cancer cells too. Is there a risk, then, that by consuming an efficient free-radical quencher like C60 that one might disarm this process and thereby encourage cancer? Or would that only be a problem at very high dosages?

(Please accept my apologies if this question has been posed previously.)

-- Tom

[Junk Master]

"Furthermore, oxidants can modulate a number of cell signaling pathways and regulate the expression of multiple genes in eukaryotic cells. This oxidant-mediated change in gene expression involves changes at transcriptional, mRNA stability, and signal transduction levels. Furthermore, numerous products associated with oxidant-modulated genes have been identified and include antioxidant enzymes, stress proteins, DNA repair proteins, and mitochondrial electron transport proteins."

http://physrev.physi.../88/4/1243.full

I believe we've evolved to benefit from intermittent doses of exercise induced oxidative stress, and that free radical damage can cause beneficial adaptive response.

In theory, antioxidants should promote muscle growth and recovery, right? Instead, studies have shown high doses of vitamin c pre-postworkout can hinder performance gains in runners through the proposed mechanism of decreased adaptive response to oxidative stress.

However, intermittent dosing of anti-oxidants and or c60/oo, especially during rest days, easy weeks of training, where decreasing stress is the primary goal, seems likely to be beneficial.

Then again, Vitamin C has been shown to have inhibitory as well as facilitatory effects on COX, depending on the metabolic context, so who really knows?

The only thing I'd say for sure is I wouldn't worry about getting too few free radicals.