Antioxidants: Effective or Not? :

The last 15 years of research have been unkind to this once-promising theory of antioxidant vitamins (C, E, Beta-carotene) and chronic disease.

The latest dagger in this hypothesis was released in the August 13th issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine , which concluded that there was no overall benefit or risk of taking vitamins C, E and Beta-Carotene when it comes to cardiovascular disease in women.

So is it useless to take these vitamins? The answer is a resounding... maybe.

This study (or at least the interpretation of this study) has predictably drawn the ire of those who support natural health options, particularly Mike Adams (aka the Health Ranger ), who claims that people who actually took the vitamins as instructed reaped considerable benefits.

This prompted me to do a little digging… I contacted the study’s lead author, Nancy Cook – who very graciously provided me with a detailed explanation of the results. Dr. Cook confirmed that those who took the vitamins did actually show some benefit in terms of reduced cardiovascular risk, HOWEVER she cautioned that there were other factors to consider, most notably the “self-selection bias”, which may skew the results.

If I were to formulate this study into a take-home message, here’s what it would look like;

• Recent literature does not appear to support antioxidant supplementation to counter heart disease.
• Studies HAVE shown that eating foods high in antioxidant content has a marked benefit on cardiovascular health and averting other chronic diseases. There seems to be a synergistic effect of nutritionally dense whole foods that is simply not there with a single capsule.
• Like most other things, genes play a prominent role as to who may and may not respond to antioxidant therapy.
• While the research sorts itself out, keep exercising and eating a variety of colorful veggies and other high-nutrient foods. Consider adding a multivitamin to supplement your healthy eating.

Special thanks to Nancy Cook, ScD of Brigham and Women's Hospital for her insight into the study and to PhD candidate Andrea Corcoran from the U. of Alaska Fairbanks for helping me sift through the technical jargon.

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