Therefore, antioxidants must slow aging, prevent cancer, and generally promote health, right?
Get extra in your dietor take a shortcut by popping pillsand youll be a better person for it.
But thats not the whole story.
All of the molecules in our bodiesthings like DNA and proteinsare made of atomsheld togetherwithpairs of electrons.
In general, electrons are happiest and most stable when they are in pairs.
So its too bad thatfree radicalsmolecules with odd numbers of electronssometimes end up in our cells.
This is a problem: Too much damage from free radicalscan kill a cell.
Cell membrane damage can lead to cells not functioning properly.
DNA damage can lead to cancer.
For example, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, and glutathione reductasework together as an antioxidant team.
Glutathione contains selenium, a mineral we get from our diet.
Thats why these vitamins and mineralsare considered essentialfor us to eat.
Fruits and vegetables, in general, contain a ton of antioxidants.
Its probably not fair to lump them all together.
Antioxidants Work In the Lab…
So far, antioxidants are sounding pretty awesome.
We can do some simple experiments to show that antioxidants work, at least in the lab.
you might do them at home, too.
The act of stealing electrons is called oxidation (whether free radicals are involved or not).
When metal rusts, thats a form of oxidation.
When apples or avocadosturn brownfrom exposure to air, thats also oxidation.
Its such a slam-dunk idea you canbuy vitamin C by the jarif you do a lot of apple slicing.
This explains why antioxidants like vitamin C are in so many processed foods and cosmetics:theyre preservatives.
Plus the makers get to put contains Vitamin C!
on the label, whichmakes you think its healthier.
So, while antioxidants do help fight free radicals in your body, they arent a miracle cancer prevention.
(That study also looked at prevention of heart disease, and likewisefound no benefit.)
In one famous trial, smokers took beta-carotene to lower their risk of cancer.
Instead,those who took the supplement got more lung cancer.
And were more likely to die of all causes.
Meanwhile, research on reactive oxygen speciesthose nasty free radicalshas turned up evidence that theyre not even all bad.
They seem tohelp in wound healing, for example.
(The Telegraph has areport on that research here.)
The New York Timesbreaks it down here.
Blueberries and green tea are still good for you, even if theyre not cancer-preventing superfoods.
Before you worry about extra antioxidants, fix that likely flaw in your diet.
If you like chocolate, eat itbecause its delicious, not because its healthy.
Disappointed by the uncertainty?
Flip-flopping of scientific opinionis a good thing, even though its frustrating for us sometimes.
What could explain the contradictions were seeing?
Perhaps antioxidants are helpful against some diseases but worsen others, and well have to make some tough decisions.
Illustration by Tara Jacoby.
