Is the Free-Radical Theory of Aging Dead?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=is-free-radical-theory-of-aging-dead

Interesting findings in these studies.

Here's where the article fails to mention some important details:

Oxidation therapy (moderate exercise) helps augment the body's redox system (a balance of oxidation and antioxidant activity).

Over doing it on the garden variety of basic direct antioxidants, such as C and E during moderate exercise is when this system fails to deliver.

However, the "indirect" antioxidants from plant based sources improve both exercise and non-exercise periods.
A win-win.

I think we need to also address oxygen utilization here. If we go back to some basic biology 101, oxygen wasn't always present while life was. In fact, the accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere forced single celled organisms to evolve rapidly in order to deal with it, because oxygen is fairly toxic in certain states. Well eukaryotic cells which eventually gave way to more advanced forms of life had a particularly useful adaptation, endosymbiosis. They literally absorbed a prokaryote who was capable of utilizing oxygen via aerobic metabolism. Now they could use this new organelle to mitigate the threat of oxygen. These became the mitochondria.

These vastly important organelles, we all know as the furnace of the cell, are often not looked at for this property: they protect you from the damaging effects of the atmosphere you live in. The ability to utilize oxygen and prevent it from wreaking havoc in the body is incredibly important. Oxygen radicals are a factor in aging and anything that prevents the proper utilization of oxygen will not only lead to symptoms of aging (think apnea), but also lead to mineral imbalance and calcification, a major feature of aging. Now, I'm not saying that oxidation levels are the strongest predictor of lifespan. That isn't the same, but they do lead to problems in the body that I believe contribute to processes that lead to death.

So what is the number one way of ensuring proper utilization of oxygen? Adequate carbohydrate consumption (has to be utilized though, i.e. get into the cell) and also adequate levels of minerals.

Think of metal left outside. It rusts correct. Oxygen is so electronegative that it could be generally considered corrosive to certain modes of life. Oxidative metabolism was an evolutionary adaptation to produce "slow rusting" in living things, rather than death. Oxidative metabolism slows down the process but it doesn't stop it, that's where our antioxidant enzymes come in and they don't even completely stop it. So it makes absolutely no sense to me to not consider oxidation as a factor in aging. Look at evolutionary history as evidence. I mean, we had to evolve major life processes to combat it, obviously it is a potent biological challenge. Of course, I think there are others. I think aubrey de gray has it right. There are other factors. But we can't count out oxidation.