If antioxidant supplement labels are to be believed, you should stop reading this article and gobble down some pills: Spurred by the rising sales of antioxidant supplements, Pom Wonderful, makers of pomegranate juice, now makes an antioxidant supplement that they claim has "extraordinary health benefits."

This proclamation is echoed by numerous health supplement ads in health food stores and on the Internet. For instance, Source Naturals Resveratrol advises on the General Nutrition Centers Web site that taking antioxidants "…may help prevent free-radical damage throughout the body and provide protective support to the cardiovascular system.*" Problem solved. Except a bit of a buzz-kill is delivered by the asterisked footnote: "These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease."

So, do the purported health benefits of antioxidants actually exist?

Here's the theory: Just as the name suggests, antioxidants slow down oxidation, a process that is part of normal bodily functions but can also damage cells. Oxidation can even increase the stickiness of cholesterol, upping the risk that it will block circulation and cause heart attacks or strokes.

So it at least theoretically makes sense that antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E and other antioxidant compounds found in carrots and other vegetables, are good for you. Ditto antioxidants found in pomegranates, red wine and licorice root. And early studies in the 1990s showed that people who ate more antioxidants had a lower risk of heart disease and stroke.

But those findings didn't hold up for antioxidant supplements. In later studies, such supplements did not affect risk of—and in some studies actually increased—heart attacks and strokes.

Nancy Cook, an epidemiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and a co-author of one of these studies, suggests two possible explanations for these results: It could be that studies of supplements are using the wrong doses and combinations of antioxidants. Or, people who eat lots of antioxidants—in foods, not supplements—are already doing the kinds of things that lower heart disease risk, namely exercise and, well, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Biochemist Michael Aviram of the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel, suggests another alternative. His research focuses on pomegranates. In a recent study, he found that mice bred to have blockages in their arteries and developed fewer blockages in their arteries after they were fed parts of pomegranates. Because such blockages can cause heart attacks and strokes, he says his studies suggest antioxidants work against such events. And although earlier studies found that vitamin E—another antioxidant—didn't clear such blockages, he found that the kinds of antioxidants in pomegranates do. His theory: there are many sources of oxidative stress—viruses, toxins, physical strain—and each antioxidant might be effective against a particular type of stress, but not the others.

14 Comments

1. 1. jacomus d'paganus-fatuus 11:28 PM 6/6/08

   Since when has scientific evidence had anything to do with how people eat? We pay premium money for filtered tap water that's not as pure or as tasty as tap water. Then we spray our homes with tons of "disinfectants" that create super-germs while causing our children to have asthma and allergies. Humanity was the dominant scavanger on the plains for 6 million years (or longer) eating half rotted meat and chewing on dandelion leaves and doing pretty well, thank you. This, my friends, is getting out of hand.
   
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   Edited by jacomus d'paganus-fatuus at 06/06/2008 5:16 PM

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2. 2. jacomus d'paganus-fatuus 11:37 PM 6/6/08

   If Buddha is right, and life is suffering, who wants to live longer anyway.
   
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   Edited by jacomus d'paganus-fatuus at 06/06/2008 5:17 PM

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3. 3. jacomus d'paganus-fatuus 11:37 PM 6/6/08

   As the baby boom lives longer, the freeways will fill with little old men and little old women driving at 45 mph in the passing lane with their right blinkers on. Who needs this?
   
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   Edited by jacomus d'paganus-fatuus at 06/06/2008 5:19 PM

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4. 4. quantumcipher 04:54 AM 6/7/08

   Most of the studies that contradict the health benefits of antioxidants use synthetic antioxidants, such as vitamins a and e. If you take an extensive look into studies & clinical trials conducted with Polyphenol antioxidants, those derived from plants, you'll see an interesting pattern. Polyphenol antioxidants, such as EGCG and Resveratrol, offer a plethora of health benefits with little if any adverse effects. If you decide to take an anti-oxidant supplement, you're better off with one containing polyphenols, such as Green Tea extract, Grape Seed extract Pomegranate extract, Cinnamon extract, Milk Thistle extract, etc. in addition to a general purpose multivitamin. Such supplements should be taken in addition to a well-balance diet and regular exercise, and not as a substitute for the latter.
   
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   Edited by quantumcipher at 06/08/2008 7:47 PM

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5. 5. r.c.dohare 10:12 AM 6/8/08

   " not only supplement antioxident but also certain coenzymes are required such as CoQ10 which rectifyed the malfunctioning of mitochondria i.e. controlling of free radical generation"
   rcdohare25@yahoo.co.in

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6. 6. kuastar 10:11 PM 6/8/08

   Before you change your life from reading a headline, read a rebuttal at
   
   Excerpt:
   "This negative report attacking supplements is fatally flawed because it:
   
   Omitted 91% of the studies that measured the effects of these vitamins on human subjects including all studies for which there was no mortality!
   
   Included studies that used doses far below or far above what health conscious people actually supplement with.
   
   Chose to bias the reporting of the results by emphasizing one type of statistical model that showed a significant effect rather than another statistical model that did not show a significant effect.
   
   Failed to account for the 14 mechanisms involved in aging and premature death. For example, it is absurd to think that taking 1,333 IU to 200,000 IU of vitamin A is going to have meaningful impact when there are more than one hundred individual components to a science-based death reduction program.
   
   The final shocker is that this meta-analysis report attacking vitamin A, beta-carotene and vitamin E is not new. It was in fact published last year and drew a lot of criticism for the obvious flaws it contains. Perhaps the reason this story was quickly removed from media websites on the day it appeared is that the broadcasters realized they were not relaying “news”, but instead regurgitating anti-supplement propaganda."
   
   Needless to say, even this brief exposure was a public relations score for pharmaceutical interests, as millions of people worldwide may be frightened away from supplements that could reduce their future need for expensive prescription drugs."

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7. 7. quantumcipher 02:40 AM 6/9/08

   That's interesting, Kua, and something I've suspected since I began reading these sensationalistic headlines regarding the 'dangers' of antioxidants. Though I would still think twice before taking Vitamin A or Vitamin E supplements again, as I have in the past, unless of course you have a deficiency of those specific vitamins and require them. You also have to remember too much of anything can cause deleterious effects, even water or oxygen. It's best to consume a balanced variety of antioxidants, rather than a mega-dose of just one or two.

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8. 8. quantumcipher 02:45 AM 6/9/08

   And as I stated previously, Polyphenol antioxidants generally have more health benefits and fewer if any risks. EGCG & Resveratrol are still at the top of my list, particularly if you're looking to extend one's lifespan and increase one's overall health & well-being. Of course, as I also previously stated, if you do decide to take such supplements it's essential that you take them with a well balanced diet and exercise regularly and not use them as a substitute for the two. It's also best to research any supplements extensively prior to taking them and to discuss them with your primary care physician to ensure that they do not interact with any medications you're currently taking.

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9. 9. DEATH TO IDIOTS in reply to jacomus d'paganus-fatuus 07:57 AM 8/4/08

   http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6030443037963555139
   
   done..

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10. 10. curious57 03:08 PM 6/10/09

    Thank you. This was very helpful, and an answer to my question.

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11. 11. walterw 09:42 PM 8/9/09

    I am interested in hearing from anyone knowledgeable about the efficacy of a supplement sold by Pharmanex, "lifepak nano" dietary supplement. It is expensive!
    Thanks

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12. 12. walterw 09:45 PM 8/9/09

    Pharmanex markets a dietary supplement named "lifepak nano". Are there any independent scientific studies regarding the efficacy of this supplement?
    If so, please suggest where I might find these.
    Thanks

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13. 13. godsaveus in reply to quantumcipher 11:33 AM 12/27/09

    absolutelu rtue.

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14. 14. trissyperfy 11:25 PM 6/14/12

    Hi guys! to answer your concerns regarding antioxidants visit this site to help add to your knowledge.
    
    http://bloom.tophealthproductsreview.com/
    

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