Are Antioxidants Overhyped?
Main points:
Antioxidants are substances that prevent oxidation by donating their extra electrons to free radicals.
Free radicals cause oxidation by stealing electrons from healthy cells and tissues, potentially causing harm and instability.
Antioxidants seem to provide the most benefit when they are consumed from natural food sources.
When extracted and isolated, antioxidants appear to be less effective, putting into question the efficacy of manufactured products that contain them.
Eating a diet containing various colorful plant-based foods (vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, etc) may provide you with more than enough antioxidants to promote health.
Casual thoughts
I’m curious, when you see the word “antioxidant” on a product, are you more likely to buy it?
Like most “science-y” words, many of us associate a general feeling to it, without fully understanding what it means. I’m guilty of it as well, just part of how we’re wired!
For antioxidants, the general feeling is…Good! Healthy! Give me more! And that’s mostly correct. And that opens up the floodgates for products to capitalize on this sentiment.
Ever since the 90s, there hasn’t been a shortage of products boasting about their antioxidant superpowers. I did a simple google search for these products, and immediately I saw drinks like POM juice, Bai infused water, and V8 vegetable juice.
There were also beauty and cosmetic products such as antioxidant serums, creams, and balms! They’re touted to have wonderful health benefits, like preventing cancer, heart disease, and…wait for it…anti-aging! Profitable buzzwords galore!
So in this sea of health, wellness, and beauty products, how much can you actually believe? And how much of it is overblown hype??
What are antioxidants?
“Antioxidant” is a term classifying substances that have the unique ability to prevent oxidation. When something is oxidized, it basically means it lost one or more electrons.
This electron loss can dramatically alter the host’s original properties. You’ve seen many examples of oxidation in real life. It’s what causes an apple to turn brown after you cut it and leave it out. It’s what causes metal to rust.
Antioxidants prevent oxidation by “turning off” the reactive substances called free radicals. In your body, free radicals can damage healthy cells and tissues, setting up the stage for future larger scale breakdowns if left unaddressed.
You can think about free radicals like termites and pests eating away at a house’s foundation. Given enough time, they can do irreversible damage that threatens the stability of the entire structure!
In this example, antioxidants would be the exterminator and pest control. They do a simple spray down and voila – crisis averted! Thankfully, your body can make some antioxidants on its own, such as alpha lipoic acid and glutathione.
Most of the time, you get your antioxidants from your diet. There are up to thousands of different substances that have antioxidant properties. The main categories of antioxidants are Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, carotenoids, and phenols.
The minerals copper, manganese, selenium, and zinc are also critical pieces to certain antioxidant processes. By the way, preventing oxidation is not the only purpose of these nutrients. They do way more than that!
Where do free radicals come from?
Free radicals come from many different sources. Your body produces them on an ongoing basis as a byproduct of producing energy. Sort of like carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels.
Hmm…so is there really such a thing as clean energy if even our own bodies can’t produce it? Save us nuclear fusion!!
Anyways…back to the topic at hand.
Other internal sources of free radicals include mental stress, excessive exercise, infections, inflammation, disease, and the normal process of aging.
External sources of free radicals come from environmental pollutants (in the air and water), heavy metals, certain drugs and chemicals, processed foods, reused cooking oils and fats, smoke from tobacco and cigarettes, alcohol, and radiation (including sunlight).
So it’s safe to say…they’re everywhere! You can’t avoid them. You can’t see or feel these free radicals, but they’re there, doing…you know…radical stuff.
Free radicals cause oxidation because they are missing electrons. They are unstable reactive substances that are seeking stability themselves.
Aren’t we all looking for that too in life? Stability FTW!
But how they go about it is what’s problematic. Free radicals will steal electrons from other stable healthy cells, causing them to become unstable and dysfunctional. Basically robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Some of these newly unstable “victims” can then steal electrons from others, creating new victims, and causing even more instability. Unfortunately, this can become a destructive chain reaction of oxidation if nothing comes to the rescue!
**Cue superhero music**
Here come the antioxidants! They have extra electrons that they can donate to these free radicals. When free radicals receive these generous donations, they stabilize, and they no longer need to steal electrons from anywhere else.
This stops oxidation dead in its tracks. This is Bruce Wayne writing a check to Paul, and Peter gets to keep his life savings. Thanks Batman…err…Mr. Wayne!
What I did there isn’t totally fair, because free radicals aren’t villains. Your body actually needs a low to moderate amount of free radicals for some important functions.
Your immune system uses free radicals to fight off pathogens, bacteria, and viruses. They also help your muscles adapt to exercise (gainzzz brah). Free radicals are also involved in boosting insulin sensitivity in response to physical activity. They’re involved in several cell signaling pathways.
For example, nitric oxide is a very important free radical that helps regulate blood pressure and blood flow. All this to say, we need them too! Yeah, but they cause oxidation…so what are we trying to do here??
Oxidative stress
Like most things in life, balance is the goal. You want a balance between free radicals and antioxidants. The harm that we’re concerned about comes when there’s an imbalance between the two – when there’s too many free radicals, and too few antioxidants to keep them in check.
This is a state that produces oxidative stress. Ongoing excessive oxidation. Unfortunately, modern life has nudged many of us towards this imbalanced state.
High mental stress, alcohol and drug use, abundance of processed foods, environmental pollution…need I say more?
This excessive oxidation can wreak havoc to the body, damaging several components of your cells: the DNA, membranes, proteins, lipoproteins, lipids and more.
Aging and breakdown of cells and tissues can accelerate under prolonged conditions of oxidative stress. It is a major player in the development of chronic disease across multiple body systems:
🛑 Increases risk of cancer and diabetes.
🛑 Significantly influences plaque development in blood vessels – a condition called atherosclerosis, which is a primary trigger for cardiovascular disease.
🛑 Linked to neuron loss, causing brain and nerve disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis, depression, stroke, and memory loss.
🛑 Forms scar tissue in kidneys, potentially setting the stage for kidney disease and renal failure.
🛑 Contributes to chronic inflammation of joints and development of rheumatoid arthritis.
🛑 Can cause vision loss, help form cataracts, and lead to retinal diseases.
🛑 Affects lung function, as it can lead to asthma, chronic bronchitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Identifying and seeing past the hype
After looking at that gnarly list of diseases, it seems like a good idea to be mindful of our antioxidant intake. And I completely agree with that! I think it’s wonderful that more people are aware and paying attention to antioxidants.
However, increased eyeballs creates a ripe playground for hype. You and I both see that in the vast amount of antioxidant products making bold health claims.
But just because a product has an ingredient that’s associated with good health, doesn’t necessarily mean that it’ll actually produce good health!
The strongest evidence for the positive benefits of antioxidants resides within their natural sources: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and other nutrient dense plants.
What happens when you isolate and extract the antioxidant? Does it produce the same results on its own? Well, it’s been done, and the answer is…no.
Antioxidants in isolation don’t appear to offer the same protection against cardiovascular disease, cancer and other chronic disease as nutrient dense whole foods.
The extent of positive benefits of these isolated antioxidants are modest at best…and downright bad at worst!
When it comes to antioxidant supplements, more may not always be better. In certain situations, antioxidants may produce the opposite effect, becoming pro-oxidant and acting like free radicals!
Some evidence has linked an increased risk of death and other negative health impacts with certain antioxidant supplements. Wild isn’t it? For me, this raises more questions: What’s doing most of the heavy lifting here? Is it the food? Or is it the antioxidants contained within?
Perhaps too much credit is being placed on antioxidants as the single wonder ingredient, instead of the total package of nutrients contained within the diet! There’s potentially hundreds or thousands of other compounds and molecules within food that contribute to the effectiveness of its antioxidants.
Inside of real, minimally processed, plant-based foods (most antioxidants are found naturally in plants), you’ve got macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, fat), micronutrients (vitamins, minerals), and phytochemicals (chemicals that are uniquely found in plants) all working together in ways that are still being researched to this day!
There’s still so much more to discover about food, and its effects on health and disease. If you follow sports, or if you’ve worked on a team before, you know that moving the top performer over to a less capable team will usually produce worse results.
Rarely can a team’s performance be completely attributed to one single individual. Take Jordan away from the Bulls, and put him on the Wizards. No more Pippen, no more Rodman, no more Phil. In their place you’ve got some forgettable dudes.
Did the Wizards win another six championships? Nope. They didn’t even make the playoffs! Even a legendary individual talent such as Michael Jordan wasn’t enough to overcome the mediocrity of the team!
So why do we assume differently when it comes to manufactured health and wellness products? It only makes sense that removing an antioxidant from its optimal natural environment, and transferring it to a fabricated shell devoid of its friends and trusted colleagues will yield worse results!
My opinion is that unless a product can:
1️⃣ Fully replicate the mix of all nutrients, in the appropriate amounts, found in real food and
2️⃣ Undergo rigorous studies and trials to evaluate its efficacy,
Then we’re probably better off eating plain old vegetables! Manufacturers have a short term profit motive and will make the claims and show the testimonials that put its product in the best light.
The cost it takes to undergo the two conditions I’ve stipulated will likely bankrupt companies before they even get off the ground! I’m not saying you should never buy a product that contains antioxidants.
Just be aware that it may not be as good as eating real food!
Practical takeaways and food lists
Antioxidants work best when they’re consumed in their natural sources. So I’ll boil this down to three steps:
1️⃣ Eat a colorful variety of vegetables and fruits.
The color is indicative of its antioxidant makeup. Different colors = different nutrients, and the darker the pigment, the more antioxidant rich it is. Eat the rainbow! Once you get that down, then…
2️⃣ Eat other plant-based foods such as whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, potatoes, herbs, spices, and tea.
3️⃣ If you intend on taking supplements, or using products that contain isolated antioxidants, consider how you can get them naturally from food.
Talk to your doctor too. It’s always a good idea to test your nutrient levels prior to taking supplements.
Here’s a food list split up by each main category of antioxidants:
Vitamin A:
Animal liver, cod liver oil, green red and yellow vegetables (kale, collard greens, carrots, squash, mangos, oranges, goji berries, apricots, watermelon, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, tomatoes, bell pepper, beets), eggs, and milk.
Vitamin C:
Citrus fruits (orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime), berries, cantaloupe, honeydew, kiwi, papaya, leafy greens, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, snow peas, sweet potato, tomatoes, and bell peppers.
Vitamin E:
Nuts (almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts), sunflower seeds, whole grains, leafy greens (swiss chard, spinach, beet, mustard, turnip), avocado, red peppers, and broccoli.
Carotenoids:
Dark leafy greens (kale, turnip and collard greens, spinach, spirulina), tomatoes, guava, goji berries, salmon, squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, apricots, asparagus, beets, broccoli, cantaloupe, bell peppers, mangos, oranges, peaches, pink grapefruit, pumpkin, tangerines, and watermelon.
Phenols:
Green tea, black tea, cocoa, red and white wine, berries, herbs, spices, vegetables, coffee, olives, extra virgin olive oil, apples, onions, grapes, and peanuts.
Copper:
Liver, oysters, salmon, green leafy vegetables, mushrooms, potatoes, beans, and cashews.
Zinc:
Beef, poultry, oysters, shrimp, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, chickpeas, lentils, cashews, shellfish, spinach, mushrooms, and whole grains.
Selenium:
Brazil nuts, shellfish, beef, poultry, barley, brown rice, tuna, salmon, eggs, beans, and lentils.
Manganese:
Black tea, nuts, legumes, brown rice, oatmeal, shellfish, green leafy vegetables, berries, and pineapple.
See any foods that you’d like to try?
Jot them down. Make a grocery list. Buy one or two new ones from your list every 1-2 weeks. Try them out. Figure out how they can fit into your regular diet.
Pause on the antioxidant products for a while, save some money, eat plants, and observe if this makes a difference!
If you want to chat about anything I’ve written here, anything you think I could add or revise, you can reach out to me newton@newtonkwong.net.
Thank you for reading until the end. As a token of my appreciation, I’ll leave you with this nonsensical pithy statement:
Live free, be radical, and oxidize with care!
Whoa you made it to the end!! Thanks for reading 🙂
If you found this article helpful, please check out my other ones!
Also, if you need help with any of the following:
⭐️ Losing weight ⭐️
⭐️ Gaining muscle ⭐️
⭐️ Managing your stress ⭐️
⭐️ Improving your nutrition ⭐️
⭐️ Increasing your daily energy levels ⭐️