Aging = Oxidation & Oxidation = Aging

Wade Yoder
4 min readJan 26, 2025

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If you can figure out how to slow down the oxidation process in your body, you can slow down the aging process as well as decreasing chronic disease formation. If your car gets scratched and loses the protection in this area, the resulting oxidation from the elements is what causes rusting. We need antioxidants in our diets to help protect our body, its parts and systems from oxidation.

We need food to sustain life, but metabolism of these calories into energy, and the extraction of nutrients, (as well as our exposure to other things in life such as food and environmental toxins), creates oxidation. This is a byproduct of all the processes that are happening in our body and its systems. Our body works like a factory and if we don’t help it to release the toxic byproducts, these toxins will build up and cause us problems, (imagine closing the smokestack on a factory).

Water, sweat, antioxidants, muscular movement and our waste elimination system are like a drainage system that helps us cleanse out and get rid of these toxins that cause aging and disease. If we don’t get these toxins out of us, an oxidative process will begin, causing constant inflammatory conditions that can lead to premature aging and disease!

Example: if our car gets a deep scratch, it will eventually begin to oxidize (if not taken care of) and will manifest itself as rust. In our body however this rusting can be translated to chronic inflammation, which is the source that almost all chronic diseases get their energy from. This inflammation is sort of like a clump of rust that continues to draw energy to itself and if the root cause of the rust is not stopped, the affected area will continue to deteriorate until it is ruined. In much the same way, if whatever is causing inflammation is not stopped and this oxidation continues, a medical specialist will eventually be able to diagnose and give a name for whatever it has prevailed itself to be, whether it’s a diseased body part, or a systemic disease affecting other parts of the body.

Free radicals: when we allow toxins to build up or continue to enter our body, free radicals are formed that cause oxidative damage to our eyes, skin, muscle, fat, vital organs, bones, ligaments, tendons etc. And though these body parts may still work, they hurt more and operate in a less efficient and aged manner.

Free radicals need electrons, so they steal electrons away from healthy surrounding cells, turning them into free radicals as well. This is how oxidation and disease grows in the body and whether systemic or in clusters, this can be the beginning of a chronic condition and if not neutralized can eventually turn into a chronic disease.

Immune system, free radicals, and oxidation: our immune system sometimes uses the oxidative process to kill viruses and bad bacteria, (this is a good thing), but if we continue to be exposed to the things that are triggering this reaction, we get what we know as chronic inflammation. This oxidative and inflammatory process leads to disease and premature aging in the areas it is happening at!

Example: we oft times worry about our skin aging as well as the smoothness and firmness of our fatty areas. The aging process of either is quite simple, oxidative stress causes the collagen in our skin to lose its elasticity, which in turn creates wrinkles. Oxidation also creates aged pitted looking fat we call cellulite (cellulite is to fat like a wrinkle is to the skin).

What we can do: since oxidation is a byproduct of free radicals, and antioxidants neutralize them, doesn’t it make sense to increase (antioxidant rich) fruits and vegetables in our diet? If you raise your own fruits and vegetables, (even though it may not have an attractive nutritional label or come in a pretty container) you have the best source at your fingertips for increasing your antioxidant levels!

If your only access is fruits and vegetables passed through modern logistic systems, I highly recommend fruit and vegetable extract powders to supplement your diet. However, research the company, and the science behind the product. I have personally been using Juice Plus+ over the past 30+ years.

In a nutshell: drinking adequate water every day along with a good diet that includes a variety of fruits and vegetables (they are the best source for antioxidants), along with sweat and proper waste elimination, will help you fight the oxidation process in the body.

Try this natural cleanse: Eat only fruits, vegetables, nuts, and beans for 5–7 days along with 1/2 your bodyweight in oz. of water. Fruits need to be eaten the early part of the day to assist with the body’s natural detox time period, which is for about 6 hours after waking. I highly recommend drinking unsweetened lemon water from fresh squeezed lemons during this time period as well.

Also use healthy oils, (like olive oil on salads, or supplement with fish oil caps), this will assist in waste removal and will help keep energy levels steady as well.

Premature aging and disease are an accumulation of oxidation that simply builds up enough to become a diagnosable problem. Let’s live an Anti-Oxidation lifestyle!

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Wade Yoder
Wade Yoder

Written by Wade Yoder

Master Trainer, Specialist in: Fitness Nutrition, Exercise Therapy, Strength and Conditioning, Senior Fitness, Youth Fitness Trainer

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