Oxidative Stress Explained: How It Ages Your Skin, Joints and Muscles

It is 9.30 am and you have just survived 90 minutes of Bengaluru traffic, window down because the car AC broke. You join the morning video call, catch your own face in the little square on the screen, and wince. Dull skin. Dark circles. You look, as your wife put it last night, "tired even when you are not."

You slept six hours. You drink green tea. So why does your body feel like it is ageing on fast-forward?

One quiet reason has a name: oxidative stress. It sounds like lab talk, but you see it every day in your own tiffin box.

What is oxidative stress? The tiffin box explanation

Cut an apple in the morning, and by lunch the slices have turned brown. Oxygen in the air reacts with the fruit and slowly damages it.

Something similar happens inside you. Every cell uses oxygen to make energy, and that process throws off unstable molecules called free radicals. They grab bits from nearby cells, damaging fats, proteins and even DNA, much like the browning apple.

Your body has its own defence: antioxidants. Squeeze a little lemon on those apple slices and they stay fresh far longer. Antioxidants work like that lemon juice, calming free radicals before they do harm.

Oxidative stress is simply what happens when free radicals outnumber your antioxidants. A small amount is normal and even useful, because your body uses free radicals as signals, including during exercise. Trouble starts when the balance stays tipped for too long.

What tips the balance in city life

Air pollution, strong sun, smoking, poor sleep, constant stress and a diet low in fruits and vegetables all push free radicals up. Research links air pollution with oxidative damage and visible signs of ageing in skin.

Remember that face on the video call? The traffic fumes and the drive in the sun were already working on it before the meeting began.

How oxidative stress affects your skin, joints and muscles

Skin

UV rays and pollution create free radicals that speed up collagen breakdown, which shows up as dullness, uneven texture and fine lines.

Joints

In joints, oxidative stress and low-grade inflammation feed each other, adding to the wear on cartilage over time.

Muscles

Hard exercise creates free radicals too. That is useful for training, but too much with too little recovery adds to fatigue and soreness.

One process, three places. That is why the answer is about your whole body, not one face cream.

Oxidative stress is simply what happens when free radicals outnumber your antioxidants.

How to reduce oxidative stress, starting this week

Eat the rainbow

Amla, guava, oranges, tomatoes, carrots, spinach, beetroot, nuts and haldi all bring different antioxidants to your plate.

Protect your skin

Sunscreen in the morning and a proper face wash after your commute.

Sleep and move

Regular, moderate exercise trains your body to make more of its own antioxidants, and good sleep gives it time to repair.

Skip the smoke

Every cigarette floods your body with free radicals.

Antioxidants your body knows well

Young in you includes three antioxidants that each work a little differently. Glutathione is one of your body's own main antioxidants, and oral glutathione has been studied for supporting the body's stores. Astaxanthin, the red-orange pigment that colours salmon, was studied at 4 mg a day, the same amount as in each sachet, for helping protect skin from sun stress and supporting skin moisture. Maxicuma turmeric extract brings curcumin, studied for its antioxidant and soothing effects, in a form designed to be absorbed better than plain turmeric.

Alongside them sit 5 g of marine collagen for skin and 40 mg of type II collagen for joints, so the antioxidants and the collagen they help protect arrive together, in one tropical orange drink. It contains fish and chicken collagen; if you have a seafood allergy, take blood thinners or have a medical condition, check with your doctor first.

The next video call

Two months on, the AC is fixed, the sunscreen lives in the car and there is a box of cut guava in your bag. At the 9.30 call, a colleague asks if you have just come back from a holiday. You have not. You have just been looking after yourself, a little at a time.

Your one step today: add one fresh fruit to tomorrow's tiffin, and squeeze lemon on it if it is an apple.

Written by: Dr. Indraneel

DISCLAIMER

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for medical advice. Young in you is a nutraceutical supplement and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Speak to your doctor before starting any supplement, especially if you have a medical condition or take regular medication. Individual results may vary.

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