Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding

by Daniel E. Lieberman

oxygen species, thus rendering them harmless. Some antioxidants like vitamins C and E come from food, but our bodies synthesize many other antioxidants in abundance. Similarly, mitochondria can be regenerated, and some products of glycation can be repaired by enzymes that scavenge or break down these compounds.37 Inflammation can be turned off by anti-inflammatory proteins produced by white blood cells and muscles; telomeres can be lengthened; DNA can be repaired; and cells can be induced to restore or repair dozens of functions. Indeed, almost every cause of aging in almost every tissue (with a few glaring exceptions like hardening of the eyes’ lenses) can be countered, fixed, or prevented by one mechanism or another.