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> Remember all the talk about how we should all eat lots of anti-oxidants to prevent cancer? It turns out it's more complicated than that, and an anti-oxidant r
by Alex3917 3y ago
> Remember all the talk about how we should all eat lots of anti-oxidants to prevent cancer? It turns out it's more complicated than that, and an anti-oxidant rich diet can actually increase cancer risk.
Which is probably because Mitochondrial Complex 1 inhibitors work by producing radical oxides in the mitochondria.
I definitely agree with you that it's inherently very risky to mess around with them, but I also don't think it's at all obvious that being exposed to them will increase your all-cause mortality. It may even reduce it. We just don't know.
- lazide 3y agoI think their point was - don’t do something daily with potentially powerful but unclear effects until we have some evidence on it’s long term safety. Unless there is a pressing, specific need (like cancer that may be worth the risk). Which seems reasonable?
- Alex3917 3y agoWhich I agree with. I'm definitely not advocating that people take this stuff. Only pointing out that it's not completely obvious that it's harmful.
- lazide 3y agoSure, but no one will take cyanide every day (they can’t). Folks were around Asbestos for decades before we figured out it was cancer causing. There are some areas where being conservative can be a wise decision. It could pay off though. That’s always the gamble, right?
- dist-epoch 3y agoThe explanation I saw was that radical oxides do a bit of damage to the cell and this triggers alarms which cause the cell to initiate repair mechanisms or kill itself. By taking anti-oxidants you are messing around with this alarm system, and basically make the cell live longer than expected, which increases cancer risk.