Look for antioxidants in foods, not pills

DEAR DOCTOR K: What is an antioxidant? Should I be taking an antioxidant supplement?

DEAR READER:

The theory that vitamin pills with antioxidant powers – primarily vitamins A, C and E – could slow aging, fend off heart disease, improve flagging vision and curb cancer was beautiful and very plausible. As a result, some doctors urged their patients to take such vitamin pills daily.

To understand why the theory was taken very seriously, a few basics are in order.

As the cells in our body do their different jobs, they need food, and they produce waste. One kind of waste is a group of chemicals called “free radicals,” which occur naturally as byproducts of body processes, such as burning fat. They are also created by environmental factors such as tobacco smoke, ultraviolet rays and air pollution.

Free radicals are described as “unstable” because they lack a full set of electrons. This leads them to steal electrons from other molecules. When they steal these electrons, they damage those other molecules. The process of stealing electrons is called oxidation.

Antioxidants can chemically combine with free radicals, rendering them harmless. They prevent oxidation – that’s why they’re called antioxidants.

Since we know that oxidation can damage tissues – contributing to the aging and death of cells – it made sense that antioxidants might be good for our health. We also knew that many foods that are rich in natural antioxidants definitely were good for our health. That didn’t prove that it was the antioxidants in the foods that led to improved health; it could be something else in the foods. But it gave support to the theory that vitamin pills with antioxidant power would be good for our health.

Unfortunately, results from well-designed trials of antioxidant supplements have failed to back up many of the claims of benefits.

On the other hand, foods rich in antioxidants definitely can help lower your risk of many diseases. So get your antioxidants in the form that nature has provided them to us: in food, not pills.