Antioxidant dietary supplements are in style and generally thought of wholesome.
Partially, it is because fruit and veggies, that are wealthy in antioxidants, are related to many well being advantages, together with a decreased threat of illness (1).
But, there’s robust proof to counsel that you could be be doing all of your well being a disservice by supplementing with antioxidants.
This text explains what antioxidant dietary supplements are and why it’s higher to get your antioxidants from meals.
What Are Antioxidant Dietary supplements?
Antioxidant dietary supplements include concentrated types of antioxidants, that are substances that stabilize free radicals.
Your physique naturally produces free radicals once you train and digest meals.
Environmental components, comparable to UV publicity, air pollution, tobacco smoke and industrial chemical compounds like pesticides, are additionally sources of free radicals (2).
If free radicals exceed your physique’s capacity to manage them, a situation known as oxidative stress happens. Over time, this contributes to getting older and the event of illnesses, together with most cancers (3).
The principle antioxidants that assist regulate free radicals in your physique are the nutritional vitamins A, C, and E and the mineral selenium.
Antioxidant dietary supplements include 70–1,660% of the each day worth (DV) of those key vitamins (4, 5).
It’s generally thought that taking antioxidant dietary supplements prevents the harm brought on by free radicals to the physique’s cells, thereby selling longevity and keeping off illness.
Nevertheless, taking antioxidant dietary supplements in excessive quantities can do exactly the other.
Taking Excessive Doses Can Be Dangerous
The well being detriments related to taking antioxidant dietary supplements outnumber its potential advantages.
Taking antioxidant dietary supplements in giant doses just isn’t really helpful for a lot of causes.
Might Lower Train Efficiency
Your physique naturally produces free radicals as a byproduct of power metabolism throughout train. The tougher and longer you train, the extra free radicals your physique produces (6).
As a result of free radicals can contribute to muscle fatigue and harm, it’s been proposed that taking antioxidant dietary supplements can blunt their dangerous results, therefore enhancing train efficiency and muscle restoration (7).
Nevertheless, a number of research have proven that taking antioxidant dietary supplements — particularly nutritional vitamins C and E — can intervene with how your physique adapts to train and even get rid of among the well being advantages related to train (8, 9, 10, 11).
Might Enhance Most cancers Threat
The oxidative stress brought on by free radicals to the physique’s cells is regarded as a serious contributor to the event of most cancers (12).
Since antioxidants neutralize free radicals, taking antioxidant dietary supplements have been alleged to lower the chance of creating or dying from most cancers (13).
A number of meta-analyses, nevertheless, have proven that taking antioxidant dietary supplements does neither scale back the chance of many varieties of cancers nor scale back the chance of dying from them as soon as identified, In reality, they might even enhance the chance of sure cancers (14, 15, 16, 17).
As well as, a number of meta-analyses have discovered that beta-carotene dietary supplements, a precursor of vitamin A, will increase the chance of bladder most cancers, and, in individuals who smoke, the chance of lung most cancers as nicely (18, 19, 20, 21).
The exception is selenium, which can assist stop most cancers in folks with low ranges of the mineral or in folks with an elevated threat of most cancers. Nevertheless, extra analysis is required earlier than selenium might be really helpful for this function (16, 22, 23, 24).
Might Trigger Delivery Defects
Vitamin A is vital for fetal development and improvement, however at excessive doses, vitamin A dietary supplements can enhance the chance of beginning defects (25, 26).
Due to this fact, ladies who is likely to be or are pregnant mustn’t take excessive doses of vitamin A dietary supplements (27).
These dietary supplements are solely really helpful for pregnant ladies in areas the place vitamin A deficiency is prevalent, comparable to in Africa and Southeast Asia (28, 29).
Beta-carotene, the precursor of vitamin A, just isn’t proven to result in beginning defects. However since taking the complement long-term is related to most cancers, pregnant ladies ought to seek the advice of with their doctor earlier than taking beta-carotene dietary supplements (30, 31).
Vitamin C Might Profit Some Individuals
Although antioxidant dietary supplements are typically not really helpful for a wide range of causes, the antioxidant vitamin C could profit folks with the widespread chilly or those that smoke.
Vitamin C for the Widespread Chilly
Vitamin C has not been proven to stop the widespread chilly, however it could scale back its severity and length.
In a meta-analysis in additional than 11,000 folks, taking vitamin C dietary supplements was proven to lower the length of colds by 8% whereas additionally lowering its severity (32).
It’s greatest to take vitamin C in smaller doses — often lower than one gram — as its absorption decreases with greater doses. As well as, greater doses could trigger abdomen upset (33).
Smoking Will increase Vitamin C Wants
Smoking causes many varieties of cancers, largely as a result of cigarette smoke incorporates toxins that trigger oxidative harm to your physique’s cells (34, 35).
Due to this elevated publicity to free radicals, analysis means that individuals who smoke want 35 mg extra of vitamin C per day than individuals who don’t smoke. Equally, publicity to secondhand smoke additionally will increase vitamin C wants (30).
But, this extra want for vitamin C might be simply met by weight loss plan and with out taking antioxidant dietary supplements.
Get Your Antioxidants From Meals
Getting antioxidants from meals moderately than dietary supplements is way safer and more healthy.
All meals include completely different antioxidants in various quantities, so it’s vital to incorporate a wide range of meals in your weight loss plan.
Whereas animal-based merchandise, comparable to eggs and dairy merchandise, have antioxidants, plant-based meals are significantly excessive in them (36).
These plant-based meals embody:
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Antioxidant dietary supplements are generally thought of wholesome however might be problematic when taken in extra.
They could lower train advantages and enhance your threat of sure cancers and beginning defects.
Usually, it’s a lot better to get the antioxidants your physique wants by a nutritious diet.
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