Natural Medicines Newsletter

Volume 1, Issue 31, 08/20/2009

Question

Are there any data that support the hypothesis that antioxidant supplements have an influence on mortality?

Answer

Many patients feel that taking antioxidant supplements (such as beta carotene, vitamin A, C, E and selenium) can improve their health.(1,2)  This is largely due to the fact that antioxidants are known to act as a scavengers for free radicals generated in the body from normal metabolism.(3,4)  Instead of a highly unstable free radical damaging the surrounding intracellular structures (such as proteins, DNA, membranes, etc.) it will utilize an antioxidant to stabilize itself instead.(3,4)   The assumption is, then, that if antioxidants provide protective activity for the cell against free radicals, then having more antioxidants present will provide an even greater degree of cellular protection.  This assumption is also based in part on studies showing that people who had higher intake of fruits and vegetables (known to contain antioxidants) had a reduced risk of chronic diseases.(6)   

While patients getting vitamins and antioxidants from food sources may be beneficial, do these beneficial effects translate into clinically meaningful results when taking antioxidants in the form of supplements?
While a number of clinical trials have been done, a recent systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted by... 

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