Hypoxia and Medicine

Would living at high altitude reduce oxidative stress on the body?

. . .considering the reduced pressure of air (and thus oxygen) at high altitudes. My hunch is that in much the same way calorie restriction is thought to reduce oxidative stress, "oxygen restriction" may have the same effects.

Public Comments

1. No. The body responds by increasing the # of red blood cells and the amount of hemoglobin carried on the RBCs --- to an extent. Athletes frequently train at altitude so as to increase the oxygen carrying capacity of their blood. In preparation for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City (altitude around 6000 feet), an Olympic training camp was established at Lake Tahoe (altitude around 5300 feet). If that is true, then training on Mt. Everest would be the best! Nope! The oxygen molecules are so far apart at 29,000 feet that there is so little oxygen life cannot be sustained. So, at REASONABLE altitudes (like Lake Tahoe), the amount of oxygen carried by the blood would increase and oxidative stress (free radicals) would remain.