From time to time, I warn you about the latest "designer health trends," like the ever-growing array of sports drinks and energy drinks that are promoted as healthy but actually push you toward disease. I thought you should know about one of the most recent "trends" that does nothing more than separate you from your hard-earned cash and offers no help to your health.

We all know that oxygen is essential to life, and if you don't get it for five minutes or so you will not be living very long. Unfortunately, too many Americans feel if something is good for you, more of it is probably better. That just isn't true for many things, and canned oxygen is one of them.

You see, oxidation can accelerate aging and DNA damage. That is one of the reasons why taking antioxidants can be helpful, as they prevent the development of free radicals that are formed from excessive oxygen exposure. It's also why you should place your vegetables and foods in near vacuum-packed containers: The oxygen in the air will actually accelerate deterioration.

If you tossed an iron bar into a river the oxygen in the water would start to oxidize or rust the iron bar. In a similar way exposure to excessive oxygen can cause damage to your tissues.  

Not all oxidation is bad. That is actually one of the ways your white blood cells kill bacteria. So we need some, but there is more than enough oxygen in the air you breathe to satisfy this requirement.

Using canned oxygen is not only unnecessary and expensive but it is also potentially harmful. 

So skip the expense and increase your oxygen by participating in aerobic exercise, as that is the only logical way to improve your oxygen intake that I am aware of. And, even then, it is still beneficial for you to take antioxidants to protect against possibly excessive oxygen exposure.

My absolute favorite antioxidant are the polyphenolic bioflavonoids found in grape seed extract.