Should you really consume Antioxidants or Multivitamins?

Cranberry capsules, green tea extracts, Effervescent Vitamin C , Pomegranate concentrate, Selenium, Grape seed extract, Vitamin E, Pine bark extract ! They all were supposed to be wonder-drugs, but now there’s evidence that antioxidant supplements don’t help your health. In fact, they may actually be linked to an increased risk of dying while taking them.

You name it and if it is an oxidant , we will swallow it by the bucket load, in the belief that it will promote good health and stave off diseases. But is it really the case? Well, evidence suggests that the best antioxidant supplements do little or nothing to benefit our health. At worst, large doses could have the opposite effect , promoting the very problem they are supposed to stamp out.

How did Antioxidants become popular?

It’s a little surprise that antioxidants have acquired a reputation as Miracle health supplements. Decades ago, scientists found that highly destructive Chemicals called free radicals, were linked to many conditions including heart disease, stroke, cancer ,diabetes, Parkinson’s ,Alzheimer’s ,cataracts and arthritis. Free radicals are compounds with unpaired electrons that stabilize themselves by oxidizing other molecules ,including proteins carbohydrates, lipids and DNA. In the process they often create more free radicals , sparking off a chain of destruction. Antioxidants work by fighting free radicals, which if left unchecked, can damage the cells and impair their function

Free radicals and other reactive oxygen species(ROS) are byproducts of respiration and therefore an unavoidable hazard of being alive. Exposure to X-rays ,Ozone, tobacco smoke, air pollutants, microbial infections and industrial Chemicals also triggers free radical production as does intensive exercise ! Yes you read it right !

Scientists have long known , that people who’s diets are rich in fruits and vegetables have low rates of heart diseases, diabetes, dementia, stroke and certain types of cancer -the very diseases associated with free radical damage. Now there was an explanation . Fruits and vegetables are a rich source of antioxidants that can neutralize free radicals.

A hypothesis was born, that scientist assumes that these antioxidants were protective and that taking them as supplements or in fortified foods should decrease oxidative damage and diminish disease.

So the simple rule emerged that free radicals are bad and antioxidants are good.

The best-known antioxidants are Vitamin E , Vitamin C and two broad classes of plant Chemicals called polyphenols and carotenoids(including beta carotene and lycopene). Most Supplements touted as antioxidants contain at least one of these, often as pure chemical and sometimes as a concentrated plant extract . However, time and again the supplements  have failed the test . While they knock the wind out of free radicals in a test tube, but once inside the human body the same strangely powerless. 

Which antioxidants work and which don’t?

Vitamin E had shot to fame ,after two large study involving more than 127000 people was conducted and found that those with a diet high in vitamin E, were significantly at less risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Evidence was emerging that one of the causes of heart disease was free radical damage to LDLs- tiny packages of lipids and proteins that circulate in the bloodstream delivering fatty acids to the cells. It turned out that adding Vitamin E ,to blood samples in the test tube, in lab conditions, made LDL more resistant to oxidation . Perhaps this was how Vitamin E prevented heart diseases. Thus, the market for Vitamin E supplements skyrocketed and rose to estimated 23 million Americans consuming it. However, most of the experiments have resulted in inconclusive impact over health improvement.

To the contrary , studies suggest that at high doses:
•    Beta-carotene may actually make cancer-causing chemicals more dangerous
•    Vitamin A causes DNA damage
•    Vitamin E actually becomes a pro-oxidant, increasing cell damage

Why don’t the antioxidants work?

Other trials to test whether Vitamin E supplement could prevent cancers and Alzheimer’s were also negative . Scientists couldn’t even find the evidence, that Vitamin E protected LDL against oxidation in the body ,except in people with vitamin E deficiency . Scientists claim that Vitamin E exists in eight different forms in the nature all of which function as antioxidants in the test tube. However, the body uses only one form, alpha-tocopherol ,which is pulled out of the bloodstream by a highly specialized protein in the liver. All the other forms are largely excreted.

Vitamin E is an essential part of the diet and deficiency leads to neurological problems, but whatever its role in the body , its not an antioxidant .

Vitamin C is another disappointment . People are still trying to defend, but you don’t get any effect on free radical damage unless you start with people with the vitamin C deficiency . One class of antioxidants, that is still relatively unresearched is polyphenols .These again act as antioxidants in the lab in test tube, but it is not clear how long the stay in the bloodstream.

Some scientists believe that because the polyphenol and carotenoids and vitamins in fruits and vegetables are bound into tough fibrous material, they hang around in the stomach and colon, where they can neutralize free radicals -the gastrointestinal tract is constantly generating ROS from food . Supplements may be digested too quickly to replicate this effect . Antioxidants should not be expected to perform as drugs, that is simply not how nutrients really work.

When to Take a Supplement

Scientists are still learning about all of the effects antioxidant supplements can have. But based on these results, it’s a bad idea to take antioxidant supplements alone unless your doctor says you have a deficiency.

The threat from free radicals is far greater if you’re under extreme physical or emotional stress: If you’re getting divorced, training for an endurance event, or working long hours on critical project, then you should consider taking a multivitamin supplement. But that too should be strictly within the daily requirement levels.

The secret ingredient ?

The conclusion is becoming  clear by the day, that whatever is behind the health benefits of a diet, rich in fruits and vegetables, you can’t reproduce it by taking purified extracts of Vitamin , and supplements. Just because a food with certain compound in it ,is beneficial to health ,it does not mean that the pill will act in the same way. The fact remains that people with diets abundant in vitamin C , Vitamin E, polyphenols and carotenoids are less likely to suffer heart attacks, vascular diseases, diabetes and cancer . One explanation is that these people have a generally healthier lifestyle.

Final verdict on Antioxidants ?

Another intriguing explanation, is about tea and coffee . The conflict is that the tea(green tea) and coffee are bursting with ROS, so how can they be beneficial in the radical busting enzymes such as catalase ? Cells are very good at protecting themselves, against stresses, as long as they are not excessive. The questions is should we even consume free radicals at all ?

If antioxidants in food work, because they generate health-promoting quantities of free radicals, that would be an Ironic turnaround. In supplements it could be that the doses are too high, producing too many free radicals .

For now, the advice is simple: “Stick to flavanoid rich foods, red wine in moderation ,Fruit and Vegetables .Don’t start taking supplements or heavily fortified food  until we know more.

Here’s what to stock up on for your antioxidant dose

•    Vitamin A and beta-carotene: Sweet potatoes, carrots, and spinach
•    Vitamin C: Citrus fruits, red and green pepper, tomatoes
•    Vitamin E: Safflower oil, peanuts, and almonds
•    Selenium: Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, brown rice