Are Anti-Oxidants Overhyped?
Posted on 23 July 2010
We often hear about the power and strength of anti-oxidants and their ability to stave off cancer and help us recover from things like muscle soreness and illness. So what is the real story? are these anti-oxidants really as magical and effective as we are led to believe? well firstly we need to differentiate between anti-oxidants that are:
- Man made
- Occur naturally in the food we eat
So firstly there are man made anti-oxidants like the ones we see added to foods or in Vitamin pills, take for instance Vitamin C which can easily be found in doses of up to 1000mg. This is a huge amount when you consider an Orange contains around 60mg of Vitamin C and a Bell Pepper contains around 120mg of Vitamin C, these are two of the foods highest in Vitamin C. What this indicates to me at least is that maybe we are not supposed to be ingesting such high quantities of anti-oxidants like the doses that are contained in modern day supplements.
This is something I have always had suspicions about but was compounded recently after reading some interesting research. Which basically tested the effects of supplementing Resveratrol in an attempt to kill off cancer cells and what the study showed is that:
At first, the tumor cells in the resveratrol-fed lab animals grew slower. But as the animals continued to consume resveratrol, there was an increase in blood vessels developing around the tumors of the resveratrol-fed animals, effectively setting up a system of feeding the tumors.
Unfortunately the good results do not always seem to continue and eventually do a 180 and end up feeding the cancer cells. Now this was an experiment done using resveratrol which was fed in huge doses and not from the doses you would normally find by drinking a few glasses of red wine a week or eating some red grapes.
I think we can liken anti-oxidants to Vitamin D which is the vitamin our skin synthesises when in the sun. It is well known that we can overdose on Vitamin D if we take it orally via supplements, this can have many negative effects- one of which is hypercalcemia which can be pretty dangerous. On the other hand when we synthesise Vitamin D naturally from the sun our bodies have a natural mechanism which means once we hit saturation there is a natural halt on absorption stopping any ill consequences, putting a Vitamin D overdose out of the question.
In the age of pill popping and the huge supplement market, we are constantly sold the benefits of this or that anti-oxidant cocktail or super cancer fighting supplement that we should all be taking. When really the truth could be that we are actually causing more harm than good by taking supplements especially those in a high dose and over a long period. Recently I have been reading some of Dr. Ray Peat’s work and came across his perspective on supplements.
Because the quality of commercial nutritional supplements is dangerously low, the only supplement I generally advocate is vitamin E, and that should be used sparingly. Occasionally, I will suggest limited use of other supplements, but it is far safer in general to use real foods, and to exclude foods which are poor in nutrients – Dr. Ray Peat
This seems to be a pretty safe way to approach supplements and a way that will allow us to get maximum benefit without causing harm. As the study showed, supplements have a strong initial benefit but that soon tapers off and turns against our bodies.
- Get your Anti-Oxidants from real food
- Vary your diet (strive for colour and flavour)
- Avoid processed and nutritionally devoid food
- High dose anti-oxidants and vitamins may have benefits when used short term
- Use high quality supplements
If your diet is high in naturally occurring vitamins and minerals from things like fruits, vegetables and many other unrefined carbohydrates I feel there is no need to supplement. It maybe of benefit to take high doses of anti-oxidants a few times a year or maybe when you are ill (colds and allergy season) or have been exercising extra hard, but the evidence points against consistent and long term use…..
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Comment by Alyssa
23 July 2010
Oh man it bugs me to no end when products like body washes are blueberry scented and say on the bottle “antioxidant” and people buy it!!! People don’t even realize what it means.
But I’ve learned in my nutrition classes that the supplements will have such high levels of vitamins and minerals like that because the body does a really poor job absorbing the nutrients from supplements like that. Even though it may have 1000 mg of something or sometimes you’ll see 300% of the DV your body really isn’t absorbing anywhere close to that. So when you eat that orange or pepper, hopefully as soon as possible after it is picked and not cooked too much, you will be absorbing the most of the nutrients it has to offer. It is hard for your body to break down vitamins (I think people say to break it up before you swallow it) and there are many different substances that your body will make into the nutrient you need, and some are more availible than others. For example heme and non-heme iron. Heme iron is much better absorbed. But if you have enough non heme iron (as vegans should if they are eating a lot of vegetables) you’ll still get enough… you just need a lot more!
Anyway sorry for the ramble! I think the biggest thing is do not take supplements and get all of your nutrients from whole, unprocessed foods!!
Even if supplements say they get their nutrients from whole foods, I don’t see how that could make them any more available because we all know that as soon as a food is harvested the nutrients already begin to diminish. Then when you cook them, even more are lost! So if they are just sitting there, not even close to being in their original state, so processed, and able to store in a container in the store and until you take them home and finish taking all of them, how is that even close to a real, honest nutrient from the source?!
@ Alyssa: Really good point you bring up, the truth is most people are suckered into buying products when they know very little about what they are buying and whether or not the product holds real benefits. As for supplements not being as effective as real foods it is something I strongly believe in and this has made me cut back on my supplement intake drastically in comparison to a few years back. Right now I am just trying to eat a nutritious diet and I occasionally take Brewers Yeast (something I want to post about soon) and the occasional Zinc/Magnesium other than that I maintain an open mind with supplements but still think they are largely useless…..
Comment by Samantha
23 July 2010
Stumbled on your site due to your fantastic post over at http://www.ZenHabits.com. Will definitely become a regular over here now as well. Thanks for the great posts!
Thanks Samantha, I am glad you are enjoying it. Please subscribe and spread the word………
Comment by Grok
23 July 2010
Although most people reading this site will, many people don’t know what real food is.
Real food does not include vitamin enriched cereals and bars. If it came from a bag or box, chances are it’s not real food. Newbies will be well served to read the last paragraph more than once
Comment by Ken Rogers
24 July 2010
Yep yep, natural, and I mean, really natural foods are always the best for you. Fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats are all rich in vitamins and obviously all humans lived on just those things at some point, so we must have been on to something!
Ken Rogers
Comment by Adam | SEE
24 July 2010
The body is a complex system, which means there are variable factors that are different every time.
I agree with Grok. The word supplement does not equate to substitute. Eating real food should be the starting point / baseline.
Meanwhile, probing, testing, and double checking via science provides useful information.
No one supplement can be a cure all, but at certain times and under certain circumstances different supplements may improve the probability of a positive outcome.
Comment by renato
24 July 2010
about vitamin C, try acerola berries. One tiny berry (about the size of a cherry) contains more vitamin C than 2 oranges. it is also packed with vitamin A, folic acid (B9), and potassium, making it an outstanding food.
i don’t know how easy it is to find acerola bushes or fresh berries in the US, for it is a tropical plant. here in brazil they grow like grass. i do have a bush, and when it’s the season, i gather some 2 berries a day – one in the morning and one with dinner or tea.
leaving the link for whoever gets interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malpighia_emarginata
Comment by Deb
26 July 2010
I found your article to be very refreshing. Too many people seem to believe that, if a little bit is good for you, than more must be better! Balance is what we should strive for, not overkill!
Comment by Tim - The Lean Look
27 July 2010
Great post! I never really thought about getting backdoored by overuse of a supplement. Maybe just a multi, a vitamin e and a fish oil would suffice. This study definitely opened my eyes though.
- Tim
Comment by Luke M-Davies
29 July 2010
As I write this comment, I have a bowl of frozen cherries with greek yoghurt dusted with lots of cinammon in front of me …I really buy into the berry and cherry benefits but am also aware that we can OD on anti-oxifdants and upset our bodies natural balance. As ever with the body it is a case of balance.
Thanks for flagging the warning signs for us Chris – very useful.
I will continue to munch on cherries because I love them………
But I wont buy a super anti-oxidant supplement again!
@ Luke: I love frozen berries, always throw some into my yoghurt and let them defrost…… I still keep a bottle or Vit C and Zinc on hand for times when I feel a cold coming on but Anti-Oxidants aren’t a daily staple anymore and for good reason….