Today tea packages, dietary supplements, and even cosmetics proclaim themselves to be bursting with beneficial antioxidants that will fight off chronic disease and help keep you young. And people now often think “antioxidant” means “something that’s good for you.” But as recent research suggests, including an analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Association, too many antioxidants can sometimes do more harm than good.
To understand antioxidants, you have to know what a free radical is. Free radicals are formed in normal cellular processes of the body, but also are generated in other events at the cellular level - including the effects of ultra-violet light, air pollution, trauma, excess heat, intense physical exertion, and smoking.
Antioxidants help deactivate free radicals. Some of these antioxidants are familiar - vitamin C and E, beta carotene and other polyphenols; they are found not only in vegetables, fruits, and grains, but also in chocolate, tea, coffee, and wine.
According to current thinking, free radicals probably play a role in many chronic diseases. They can promote arteriosclerosis, leading to heart attacks and strokes. They can damage the basic genetic material of cells in ways that may lead to cancer. They contribute to the aging process.
Though they are troublemakers, free radicals sometimes come in handy. Our own cells actually produce them: for example, certain immune cells, including white blood cells, manufacture them and use them as weapons against bacteria and viruses. They help form some useful compounds in the body, including the prostaglandins, which are hormone-like substances with a variety of effects, including cell growth and regulation of pain.
Antioxidants are not always good. For example, studies have found that beta carotene, an antioxidant, can increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers. Moreover, it’s thought that very high doses of vitamin C can promote free radicals, whereas low doses suppress free radicals. It’s a delicate balance.
There were early hopes that a single antioxidant, such as C or E or beta carotene, would help prevent chronic diseases. However, in recent years most studies have failed to show a benefit for these supplements. There are different types of antioxidants, and having enough of them and the right ones in proper proportions is essential to health. We know that free radicals play a role in some chronic diseases. We know that a healthy diet, rich in fruits, whole grains, and vegetables (the sources of nearly all antioxidants) can help reduce the risk of many chronic diseases. We know that smoking, too much exposure to sunlight, and other processes that generate free radicals can promote cancer. Consuming adequate amounts of vitamin C and E, carotenoids, and selenium is necessary.
Years ago many physicians advised patients to take beta carotene as well as vitamin C and E supplements. We changed our minds when studies showed that beta carotene might actually be harmful, at least to smokers. Soon afterwards we stopped recommending supplementary C and E because good studies had failed to find that they prevented disease. Get your antioxidants from foods, which contain a wide array of them. The combination found in foods may be what does the most good. And foods also contain many other nutrients your body needs. Antioxidants are part of the chemistry of life, not something in a bottle that can miraculously prevent or cure disease.
To understand antioxidants, you have to know what a free radical is. Free radicals are formed in normal cellular processes of the body, but also are generated in other events at the cellular level - including the effects of ultra-violet light, air pollution, trauma, excess heat, intense physical exertion, and smoking.
Antioxidants help deactivate free radicals. Some of these antioxidants are familiar - vitamin C and E, beta carotene and other polyphenols; they are found not only in vegetables, fruits, and grains, but also in chocolate, tea, coffee, and wine.
According to current thinking, free radicals probably play a role in many chronic diseases. They can promote arteriosclerosis, leading to heart attacks and strokes. They can damage the basic genetic material of cells in ways that may lead to cancer. They contribute to the aging process.
Though they are troublemakers, free radicals sometimes come in handy. Our own cells actually produce them: for example, certain immune cells, including white blood cells, manufacture them and use them as weapons against bacteria and viruses. They help form some useful compounds in the body, including the prostaglandins, which are hormone-like substances with a variety of effects, including cell growth and regulation of pain.
Antioxidants are not always good. For example, studies have found that beta carotene, an antioxidant, can increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers. Moreover, it’s thought that very high doses of vitamin C can promote free radicals, whereas low doses suppress free radicals. It’s a delicate balance.
There were early hopes that a single antioxidant, such as C or E or beta carotene, would help prevent chronic diseases. However, in recent years most studies have failed to show a benefit for these supplements. There are different types of antioxidants, and having enough of them and the right ones in proper proportions is essential to health. We know that free radicals play a role in some chronic diseases. We know that a healthy diet, rich in fruits, whole grains, and vegetables (the sources of nearly all antioxidants) can help reduce the risk of many chronic diseases. We know that smoking, too much exposure to sunlight, and other processes that generate free radicals can promote cancer. Consuming adequate amounts of vitamin C and E, carotenoids, and selenium is necessary.
Years ago many physicians advised patients to take beta carotene as well as vitamin C and E supplements. We changed our minds when studies showed that beta carotene might actually be harmful, at least to smokers. Soon afterwards we stopped recommending supplementary C and E because good studies had failed to find that they prevented disease. Get your antioxidants from foods, which contain a wide array of them. The combination found in foods may be what does the most good. And foods also contain many other nutrients your body needs. Antioxidants are part of the chemistry of life, not something in a bottle that can miraculously prevent or cure disease.
Tags: air pollution, antioxidants, arteriosclerosis, beneficial antioxidants, beta carotene, cell growth, chronic disease, deactivate free radicals, free radicals, heart attacks, intense physical exertion, Journal of American Medical Association., prosaglandins, vitamin c and e
