Scientific American: The Myth of Antioxidants page

[Grokkette]

I read Scientific American a lot at work, and last night I came across this article that really got my attention.

Here's a link to the article if you happen to have site access:

http://www.nature.com/scientificamer...an0213-62.html

Here's a link to a couple of the diagrams featured in the article if you don't:

Box*1 : The Myth of Antioxidants : Scientific American

Basically, the article covers studies showing that, unlike previously thought, free radicals cannot be shown to increase the cellular aging process. Conversely, experiments involving worms and rats show that increasing the production of free radicals in the body actually increased life span on average.

To make things even more confusing, further studies showed that people who took supplements were more likely to die of things like cancer and heart disease and have a shorter life span than people who didn't. They specifically linked these increases to beta-carotene and another vitamin... I believe Vitamin A, but my magazine is at work, so I'm not positive.

Here I was feeling proud that I was finally getting into the habit of taking my multivitamin daily, and now, I'm not so sure I should be...

Any thoughts?

[magicmerl]

I think it's a good idea to take your supplements in whole food form where you can.

[peril]

Yes, retinol is Vitamin A. I think I've seen this study discussed elsewhere, but can't remember any of it. Will search later.

Note that Vitamins A & D are sympathetic. Increasing consumption of one increases one's need for the other. Chris Masterjohn has a bit to say about this.

Agree with merl - retinol is best taken naturally. Liver and shellfish are very good sources, as is grass-fed dairy

[Dragonfly]

The only supplements I take are ones I can't get enough of via sun or current diet: D3, Magnesium and Krill Oil.

[primalrob]

i try to get everything i can from food, sunlight and dirt, but i keep some supplements on hand to round out what i might be missing...one of which is a multivitamin, but it's food based. then it's usually just D3 and magnesium, and i skip any and all of them when my diet and outdoor time seem to get the job done.

[StephenHLi]

What I feel should be made clear is the meaning of "life span" and "aging" in this context. What I mean is if lifespan is extended are these worms and mice living longer and thriving or are they living longer and still "aging" despite the presence of free radicals (absence of antioxidants)?

Edit: I am fairly confident I found the full (SA) article, but not the research study.

After reading the full article, I do not feel we can draw any final conclusions on this topic. I do find it some what hilarious looking at the charts comparing population groups: "heavy smokers", "smokers exposed to asbestos", "normal worms", "mutant worms"....maybe our aim should not be focusing on antioxidants with all these other confounding variables at play.