Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Thiosulfate Dietary Supplement?

hodges - 10-11-2019 at 16:54

Okay, this is probably going to sound like a joke, due to my limited knowledge of biology, but it is not intended to be.

Supposedly oxidation contributes to health issues and aging. Vitamins such as Vitamin C are anti-oxidants.

Sodium thiosulfate is a reducing agent (thus anti-oxidant), and is not poisonous. So why wouldn't taking a small dose of it, much like people take vitamins, be helpful to health?

Fery - 10-11-2019 at 23:58

Taking artificial vitamins/minerals/microelements/supplements is not so much advantageous as their producers try to persuade us. Eat various food instead, you will save money and be more healthy. Also don't sit for hours at your computer and have appropriate physical activity. If you are diagnosed some vitamin/mineral/etc deficiency, then of course take medicals prescribed by your doctor (the question is whether the deficiency is caused by a deficit in your food or by some disease which causes its malabsorption / redistribution in your body / loss via kidney etc).
Every cell in your body has mechanisms for capturing/neutralizing oxygen radicals.
Putting proteins into reducing environment could cause their malfunction.
Your body is in balanced stated. Trust evolution, it tuned everything in your body. We human try to improve it further but it should be done very carefully.

Metacelsus - 11-11-2019 at 05:00

Quote: Originally posted by hodges  

Supposedly oxidation contributes to health issues and aging. Vitamins such as Vitamin C are anti-oxidants.

Sodium thiosulfate is a reducing agent (thus anti-oxidant), and is not poisonous. So why wouldn't taking a small dose of it, much like people take vitamins, be helpful to health?


There's an important distinction between reducing agents and anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants inhibit oxidation reactions, usually by trapping radicals. Reducing agents (such as sodium thiosulfate) don't necessarily do this.

For example, sodium thiosulfate isn't going to prevent lipid peroxidation (or reverse it). Your body has plenty of reducing agents already (for example, NADH).

Also, high doses of antioxidants (especially vitamin E) may not be good for you. The immune system needs free radicals to kill things.