Most people think exercise is healthy despite stress. That’s wrong. Exercise works because it stresses you. Specifically, it creates oxidative stress. And that stress is the signal. In a human study published in PNAS, researchers ran a simple test. Everyone trained for four weeks. Same workouts. Same effort. Half took antioxidants. Vitamin C. Vitamin E. Half didn’t. Here’s what happened. The non-antioxidant group: - Became more insulin sensitive - Lowered fasting insulin - Improved metabolic markers - Upregulated mitochondrial genes The antioxidant group? Nothing. No benefit. Same work. Zero reward. Why? Because exercise creates reactive oxygen species (ROS). And ROS is not damage. It’s the message. ROS tells your body: “Adapt or fall behind.” So your mitochondria get stronger. Your insulin sensitivity improves. Your internal antioxidant system ramps up. But when you take antioxidants? You mute the message. No signal. No adaptation. This is called mitohormesis. Small stress. Big payoff. Remove the stress? You remove the payoff. Here’s the uncomfortable truth: If you block the signal, you block the result. Exercise isn’t about comfort. It’s about controlled chaos. Stress. Recover. Adapt. That’s the deal. --- Why this matters This explains why: - Antioxidant supplements often fail - Exercise feels hard before it works - Trying to eliminate stress makes you weaker Health isn’t built by avoiding fire. It’s built by learning to use it.