Antioxidants Best From Food, Not Pills

by Diane Lofshult

Food for Thought:

According to a recent scientific advisory issued by the American Heart Association (AHA), there is no justification to fork over money for expensive antioxidant dietary supplements to help prevent or treat cardiovascular disease (CVD). Instead, the AHA says, get all the antioxidants you need from a diet high in plain old fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants are molecules that reduce the damage to cells and DNA caused by free radicals, unpaired (and therefore unstable) atoms created by everyday biological processes.

The advisory, which was published in the August 2 issue of Circulation: The Journal of the American Heart Association, was issued after AHA researchers reviewed various antioxidant studies conducted between 1994 and 2002. After reviewing the studies, the researchers concluded that recent clinical trials have failed to demonstrate a heart benefit from antioxidant dietary supplements. In fact some studies under review suggested that these supplements could have harmful effects.

“At this time, the scientific evidence supports a diet high in food sources of antioxidants and other heart-protecting nutrients, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nuts, instead of antioxidant supplements, to reduce the risk of CVD,” according to the scientific advisory, which was posted on the AHA website (www.americanheart.org) on August 2.