The Antioxidant Trap: What We Often Get Wrong About Oxidative Stress | E21

Functional Medicine for Real-World Impact

The antioxidant trap challenges the assumption that more supplements always mean better health. Tracy Harrison explains how oxidative stress, often seen as harmful, is also essential for normal physiology and for activating the body’s innate antioxidant defenses. She shows why hormesis, the right amount of stress in the right context, builds resilience, while too much can tip the body into harm.

Tracy challenges common myths, including the belief that compounds like curcumin or sulforaphane are antioxidants in themselves, when in fact they work as mild pro-oxidants that stimulate adaptive pathways. She also points to why whole foods, with their hundreds of synergistic phytonutrients, can never be fully replaced by capsules. Supplements have value in short-term, targeted use, but lasting health depends on diet diversity, lifestyle, and reducing hidden drivers of oxidative stress such as sleep apnea, food sensitivities, and blood sugar imbalance.

For practitioners, the takeaway is a more nuanced framework for clinical care. Oxidative stress is not simply something to eliminate but something to understand and work with. The key lies in knowing when to protect the body, when to challenge it, and how to identify the hidden imbalances that push patients into overload. When clinicians learn to see stress as both a risk and a tool, they can guide patients toward true resilience that extends beyond symptom management and into long-term vitality.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Introduction to Oxidative Stress and Antioxidants

01:16 The Antioxidant Trap: Five Myths for Practitioners

05:06 Hormesis and the Body’s Antioxidant Pathways

06:45 Bioindividuality in Oxidative Stress and Health

10:18 Why Antioxidant Supplements Act as Pro-Oxidants

15:25 Why Supplements Can’t Replace a Poor Diet

20:22 Whole Foods vs Supplements in Clinical Practice

25:05 The Role of Minerals in Antioxidant Defense

29:19 Lifestyle and Hidden Drivers of Oxidative Stress

38:16 Blood Sugar and Redox Imbalance

43:06 Key Markers for Assessing Redox Balance

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