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.

It’s About Environment Most people think vitamin C comes from oranges. That’s wrong. Oranges are average. Vitamin C density varies wildly. And the best sources aren’t the most common ones. Here’s the difference. An apple has ~5 mg. An orange has ~50 mg. A guava? Over 200 mg. Kiwi. Papaya. Strawberries. All higher than oranges. Not by accident. By design. --- Vitamin C Was Always Meant to Come From Food Humans don’t make vitamin C. That’s not an oversight. It’s a signal. Our physiology assumes regular intake from food. When that assumption is met, things work. When it isn’t, things break. Fast. Especially collagen-heavy tissue: Gums. Teeth. Skin. Joints. The body doesn’t depend on optional nutrients. If something is required, it’s required consistently. --- Why Tropical Fruits Are Higher in Vitamin C Vitamin C isn’t a vitamin to plants. It’s protection. It shields against: - Intense sunlight - Heat - Oxidative stress - Microbial pressure Where are those pressures highest? The tropics. So tropical plants make more vitamin C. Temperate fruits don’t need to. Apples and pears are built for storage. Durability. Shelf life. Not nutrient density. That’s why they last longer. And why they deliver less. --- Here’s the Part People Miss Vitamin C deficiency doesn’t show up quietly. It shows up where turnover is highest. The gums. The connective tissue. The immune system. That’s why early deficiency was first noticed in the mouth. Not the muscles. Not the brain. The gums. --- The Takeaway If vitamin C is the goal: - Stop chasing apples - Stop worshipping oranges - Choose tropical and subtropical fruit Guava. Kiwi. Papaya. Strawberries. The body expects vitamin C. It expects it from food. Remove the source, and the system fails. Same rules. Different nutrient.