It's not totally off base though. Wait until you hear about reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress. Oxygen does cause damage to our bodies. Our bodies have protective measures against that and we need oxygen to live, but our utilization of it does cause damage.
Aerobic respiration - the evolutionary moment where our ancestors traded immortality for complexity
That was the phrasing used in a biology of death class I took many years ago. It lives rent free in my mind because ruminating on it so perfectly summarizes the "choices" made by natural selection and the way they echo throughout the history of life on Earth.
Central Nervous System Oxygen Toxicity is a big concern for tech divers. We train for dealing with divers going into convulsions on deep dives all the time.
Oxidation really will fuck you up though. Oxygen is super corrosive and toxic. It's useful for cellular metabolism, but if it isn't carefully controlled it starts to mess with your tissues through oxidation chains and free radicals. That's why people push antioxidants so hard.
Wait 'till they hear about what oxygen does to wood in a campfire.
This is why you need antioxidants, otherwise the iron in your blood with turn to rust! And that's a rock fact
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