What Is Oxidative Stress and Can It Be Reversed?

We’ve all heard health buzzwords like oxidative stress — but what do they really mean? Let’s dive in and break down the science in an easy-to-understand way. Find out how oxidative stress affects your body, what causes it, and steps you may take today to reduce it.

What is oxidative stress?

Oxidative stress is a state of the cells with way more free radicals than our antioxidant defense system can neutralize. Free radicals are various molecules that have unpaired electrons in their composition. Due to these unpaired electrons, these molecules are extremely reactive and are able to bind to virtually all types of molecules present in your cells: DNA, RNA, lipids, proteins, and even carbohydrates.

The change in the structure of these biologically active molecules occurs when free radicals bind to them. Due to free radical-induced changes, these molecules can no longer function properly, which results in the disruption of cellular processes, and when the damage is excessive, cell death can even occur.

Free radicals are naturally a by-product of physiologically important chemical reactions that involve oxygen, like energy production. They can even have beneficial functions, like helping to send informational signals in the cell, called cellular signaling. Antioxidant defense systems, comprised of enzymes, antioxidants, and other supporting factors, keep free radicals from damaging our cells. However, if this delicate balance is disrupted, too many free radicals can stack up, causing oxidative stress.

What causes oxidative stress?

The cause of oxidative stress is excess free radicals and the inability of the antioxidant defense system to neutralize them. It may be associated with many factors, such as:

• Environmental pollution. Heavy metals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals may increase the production of free radicals in the cells and inhibit the activity of the antioxidant defense system.
• Smoking. Tobacco smoke has been shown to cause oxidative damage and is one of the biggest health hazards.
• Alcohol. When your liver metabolizes alcohol, it generates free radicals as by-products, contributing to oxidative stress. Alcohol also impairs the antioxidant defense system by depleting key antioxidants like glutathione, making it harder for the body to neutralize these free radicals, thereby exacerbating oxidative damage​.
• Processed foods and malnutrition. Unbalanced diets high in sugars and unhealthy fats and lacking in fruit and vegetables don’t usually have the amount of nutrients and antioxidants that support our antioxidant defense system.
• Stress. Acute stress has been shown to increase the levels of oxidative stress biomarkers in human blood. Managing or avoiding stressors in your everyday environment may be beneficial in reducing oxidative stress.
• Intense physical activity. Over-exercising increases your body’s oxygen intake. This leads to increased production of free radicals as by-products of mitochondrial activity.
• Chronic inflammation. Many diseases may cause low-grade inflammation, which persists for a long time. With such chronic inflammation, your cells are constantly exposed to free radicals, which may reduce their functionality and negatively impact the health of your tissues and organs.

Can oxidative stress be reversed?

It depends on the cause, but you may be able to start lifestyle modification measures that are generally thought to aid in combatting oxidative stress. It is important to highlight that more research is needed to fully understand the impact of lifestyle choices on the reduction of oxidative stress.

Add more antioxidants

The more color and natural foods you add to your plate, the better. Studies show that dietary changes may increase the body's total antioxidant capacity and decrease oxidative stress marker malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Colorful fruits and veggies are often rich in antioxidants, like berries, carrots, or kale. Try adding an extra serving of veggies to lunch or dinner, and keep fruit handy for snacks or dessert.

Dark chocolate is another great antioxidant-rich option, along with nuts and seeds. These are foods you can slowly add to your day; just make sure to stock your kitchen regularly so you’ve got options.

Exercise regularly

Exercise can increase the biomarker levels of the body’s natural antioxidant defenses and reduce the biomarker levels of oxidative stress, especially when paired with dietary changes. Luckily, you don’t have to hit the gym four days a week or do intense runs.

Start small and simple, like lunch walks in the park or cycling or hiking on the weekends. Try something fun so you don’t get bored, like a dance class or a new sport. A great plus could be meeting new friends, which helps reduce stress, too.

Reduce alcohol and smoking

We all know smoking and alcohol are bad for our health. Reducing or eliminating alcohol and smoking may lower oxidative stress. New evidence suggests that even minor amounts of alcohol are detrimental to our health. If that doesn’t seem manageable, try to quit drinking with a gradual approach of minimizing the amount and frequency of alcohol consumption.

Avoid pollutants

Find out about the most polluted zones in the area you are living in. Try to avoid being outside during peak pollution times, such as high-traffic hours. Also, try to get to nature as much as possible. Time in nature can reduce exposure to environmental pollutants, which contribute to the development of many health issues.

Manage stress

Meditation has been shown to help reduce the levels of oxidative stress. These methods may affect your overall well-being, including your mental health. Start slow, like downloading a mindfulness or meditation app and trying a quick morning meditation.

Symptoms of oxidative stress

Oxidative stress doesn't have specific, observable symptoms. Emerging evidence suggests that it may be assessed through laboratory tests measuring specific biomarkers, such as oxidized molecules and antioxidant levels in the blood. However, there's no scientific consensus on how to evaluate it and how it is connected to inflammation and various medical conditions in the clinical context.

Chronic inflammation, which may be responsible for the development of oxidative stress, might be regarded as an indirect indicator of oxidative stress happening in your cells. However, to this day, only inflammation and its severity are evaluated in the clinical context as the evaluation of oxidative stress still lacks robust methods to quantify it as well as clinical validation as being a relevant biomarker for specific conditions.

The difference between oxidative stress and inflammation

Inflammation is your immune system’s natural response to a variety of stressors, like injury, infection, damaged cells, or toxic compounds. Immune cells are activated and cause inflammation, which aids in removing the reason for the injury as well as resolving and healing affected parts of the body. An example of chronic inflammation could be inflammation in the arterial wall during atherosclerosis, which causes damage instead of healing your arterial wall and protecting it from excess deposition of lipids. Over time, chronic inflammation in the arterial wall damages it, so it is even less resistant to lipid infiltration and accelerates the thickening of the arteries.

During the inflammatory response, whether it is acute or chronic, immune system cells try to destroy the underlying cause of the damage. To do so, the immune cells produce free radicals, which can bind virtually to any molecules and destroy them. To do this efficiently, the immune system cells overproduce free radicals. In acute inflammation, this is short-term. Therefore, the damage caused by free radicals is usually contained in specific sites and is beneficial to us. Chronic inflammation occurs over a long time, and it may affect the injury place, surrounding tissues or organs, and even the whole body in some instances.

In short, inflammation and oxidative stress are closely related but distinct processes. Inflammation is caused by the immune system cells, while oxidative stress is caused by excessive amounts of free radicals. While oxidative stress may be observed as a product of the immune system cells and inflammation, it may also be a triggering factor that prompts such a response from the immune system. In any case, both of these processes are essential for our survival. However, if they persist for a long period of time, the effects on our health are detrimental.

How does oxidative stress affect the body?

Free radicals, abundant during oxidative stress, damage virtually all molecules in your cells. While short-term exposure may be biologically beneficial, long-term exposure may result in cell dysfunction or even death.

Over longer periods of time, the reduction of the number of healthy and functional cells in a specific tissue or organ may cause this organ to lose its function, giving rise to the development of many chronic diseases. It is important to recognize that oxidative stress may play a role in many health-related issues.

When to seek professional help

While oxidative stress cannot be seen directly or is not associated with specific symptoms, it's something to be mindful of, especially if you have chronic or acute conditions. If you’re experiencing persistent symptoms like fatigue, poor sleep quality, muscle or joint problems, or if you have underlying health issues, it's a good idea to regularly check in with your doctor. Addressing any symptoms early, especially those related to inflammation, may help reduce the progression of acute or chronic inflammation, which is associated with oxidative stress.

Taking small, manageable steps is important for consistency. Simple changes, like adding more vegetables to your meals, staying active, or managing stress through mindfulness, may lead to healthier habits that benefit your overall well-being. It’s not about making drastic changes overnight — start with one small step and let it build from there to create a domino effect of healthier habits.

Have you given healthier habits a try? What worked for you? Share experiences that might inspire other readers to give something new a try. While what works for one person may not work for the best, we can all learn from trial and error and unique ideas we may not have thought of before.