Questions about Antioxidants!

[cameronsmith12]

Hi all,
What are antioxidants and their role in human life? I need your opinions, so please drop me your lines that can help me out. It would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

[samax64]

Bro do a search here and you will find alot of info but I think they are to help get rid of free radical in the cells ...

[drwost]

they remove oxidized particles in the cell. these oxidized particles or free radicals result from normal functions of the cell. ie energy production and metabolism. Oxidized particles will be greatly increased with the intake of toxins coming from processed foods, smoking, alcohol, pollutants and other chemicals we are exposed to in our daily life. Anti-oxidants help combat these free radicals to extend the life of the cells. Free radicals contribute to cellular death...and the increase the aging process.

	energy

[Zakari]

Hi, I recently read an article and felt that “The amount of antioxidants in your body is directly proportional to how long you will live.” antioxidants are the nutritional equivalent of man's best friend - they are loyal protectors and nurturers of our cells, repelling disease, and promoting good health. Antioxidants can come from healthy eating or in the form of supplements, and they include a family of naturally formed components like vitamin A, beta-carotene, lycopene, vitamin E, and more. They are believed to protect cells from free radicals, harmful oxygen molecules thought to damage cells that result in cancer, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and rheumatoid arthritis, and they may be the underlying reason why we age. view article about antioxidants…

	Supps

[bordeaaj]

Originally Posted by Zakari

Hi, I recently read an article and felt that “The amount of antioxidants in your body is directly proportional to how long you will live.” antioxidants are the nutritional equivalent of man's best friend - they are loyal protectors and nurturers of our cells, repelling disease, and promoting good health. Antioxidants can come from healthy eating or in the form of supplements, and they include a family of naturally formed components like vitamin A, beta-carotene, lycopene, vitamin E, and more. They are believed to protect cells from free radicals, harmful oxygen molecules thought to damage cells that result in cancer, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and rheumatoid arthritis, and they may be the underlying reason why we age. view article about antioxidants…

The studies are actually kind of up in the air, here are a couple more recent articles for you. This includes an objection from a supplement company rep but remember that, unlike the pharmaceutical industry, the supplement industry is completely, totally unregulated.

1) BBC NEWS | Health | Vitamins 'could shorten lifespan'
2) JAMA -- Abstract: Mortality in Randomized Trials of Antioxidant Supplements for Primary and Secondary Prevention: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, February 28, 2007, Bjelakovic et al. 297 (8): 842

I continue to use antioxidants including the more common vitamin supplement variety and SuperFoods Supreme concentrated fruit and vegetable powder-type based on conventional wisdom that they provide at least some benefits...limited though they may be. Now I am not so sure.

	Supps

[Quantum]

Really yea , doing some research doesn't harm.
for me :
Vit-C 1000 4 x 1 / day. one of them is post w/out
Vit-E 400 Iu 1 x 1 / day post w/out

[FoxyDawn555]

Really good info, i got here about Antioxidants.Thanks to let me know about this.

[chrismortimer66]

Just so you know a scientist I think in the 80's got addicted to taking high strength vit c tabs, believing them to be the key to immortality, he got very sick, think he was taking 10 1000mg tabs a day or something. Anti-oxidants are important, but just as important as other nutrients.

[BITTA]

ACAI berries thats all I have to say, I found the hook up on frozen ACAI berries at this store nearby and they screwed the price up and ive been buying them for like 3bucks for 48oz bag!! I put them in oatmeal or sometimes some ice a little vanilla protein powder and a bit of h2o. Supposedly the most powerful antioxidant found in any fruit in the world

	protein

[bordeaaj]

Originally Posted by chrismortimer66

Just so you know a scientist I think in the 80's got addicted to taking high strength vit c tabs, believing them to be the key to immortality, he got very sick, think he was taking 10 1000mg tabs a day or something. Anti-oxidants are important, but just as important as other nutrients.

I think that was the godfather of vitamin C himself, Linus Pauling. He was a hugely famous and respected double Nobel prize winning scientist who began denying his scientific roots and developed a single-minded, irrational obsession with real and imaginary benefits of vitamin C. Here is an interesting article on The Dark Side of Linus Pauling's Legacy.

THE BOTTOM LINE (paraphrased from above)
Although Pauling's claims regarding the benefits of megadose vitamin C lacked the evidence needed for acceptance by the scientific community, they have been accepted by large numbers of people who lack anything resembling the scientific expertise necessary to evaluate them. Not only were his claims of benefit increasingly and wildly irrational, he denied the results of any medical studies showing outcomes different from his expectations. He also denied any evidence of risk associated with megadose supplementation. Pauling also played a key role in the health food industry's successful campaign to actually weaken FDA consumer protections laws and the supplement industry remains entirely unregulated even today. Thanks largely to Pauling's undeniable early prestige, annual vitamin C sales in the United States have been in the hundreds of millions of dollars for many years based largely on disproven claims. The Linus Pauling Institute that bears his name has evolved into a respectable organization and has revised his original recommendations according to actual medical evidence. But Pauling's irrational advice about supplements continues to lead people astray many years after his death. Ironically, he died of cancer, one of the many diseases he claimed could be postponed indefinitely or even cured by megadose vitamin C alone.

	Supps