Anti Anti Oxidants

I am pretty damn tired of hearing about anti-oxidants, and how they are good for just about everything.

AS I suspected, there is very little evidence of this... and some evidence to the contrary. The main evidence seems to be that people who eat natural foods which homo sapiens evolved to live off of, get health benefits. Put this genius finding into the same category as sitting all day is bad for you, you walk better barefoot, and butter is better than margarine.

Disease prevention

Structure of the polyphenol antioxidantresveratrol.

People who eat fruits and vegetables have a lower risk of heart disease and some neurological diseases,^[146] and there is evidence that some types of vegetables, and fruits in general, protect against some cancers.^[147] Since fruits and vegetables happen to be good sources of antioxidants, this suggested that antioxidants might prevent some types of diseases. This idea has been tested in clinical trials and does not seem to be true, as antioxidant supplements have no clear effect on the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.^[146][148] This suggests that these health benefits come from other substances in fruits and vegetables (possiblyflavonoids), or come from a complex mix of substances.^[149][150]

Many nutraceutical and health food companies sell formulations of antioxidants as dietary supplements and these are widely used inindustrialized countries.^[159] These supplements may include specific antioxidant chemicals, like the polyphenol, resveratrol (from grape seeds or knotweed roots),^[160] combinations of antioxidants, like the "ACES" products that contain beta carotene (provitamin A), vitamin C, vitamin E and Selenium, or herbs that contain antioxidants - such as green tea and jiaogulan. Although some levels of antioxidant vitamins and minerals in the diet are required for good health, there is considerable doubt as to whether these antioxidant supplements are beneficial or harmful, and if they are actually beneficial, which antioxidant(s) are needed and in what amounts.^{[146][148][161]} Indeed, some authors argue that the hypothesis that antioxidants could prevent chronic diseases has now been disproved and that the idea was misguided from the beginning.^[162] Rather, dietary polyphenols may have non-antioxidant roles in minute concentrations that affect cell-to-cell signaling, receptorsensitivity, inflammatory enzyme activity or gene regulation.^[163][164]

For overall life expectancy, it has even been suggested that moderate levels of oxidative stress may increase lifespan in the wormCaenorhabditis elegans, by inducing a protective response to increased levels of reactive oxygen species.^[165] The suggestion that increased life expectancy comes from increased oxidative stress conflicts with results seen in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae,^[166] and the situation in mammals is even less clear.^{[130][131][132]} Nevertheless, antioxidant supplements do not appear to increase life expectancy in humans.^[167]

Potential of antioxidant supplements to damage health

There is evidence that antioxidant supplements promote disease and increase mortality in humans.^[81][82] It was previously proposed on a hypothetical basis that free radicals may induce an endogenous response culminating in more effective adaptations which protect against exogenous radicals (and possibly other toxic compounds).^[83] Recent experimental evidence strongly suggests that this is indeed the case, and that such induction of endogenous free radical production extends the life span of Caenorhabditis elegans.^[84] Most importantly, this induction of life span is prevented by antioxidants, providing direct evidence that toxic radicals may mitohormetically exert life extending and health promoting effects.^[81][82]