Careful

An easy post, this frosty Saturday, on antioxidants and vitamins. I came across a link to the abstract of an older study (1996) on the safety of antioxidant vitamins. Back then, when Bill Clinton was gettin him some in the Oval Office, and our country hadn’t yet pauperized itself and destroyed its reputation, the best that could be said about these supplements wasn’t that they were even mildly effective. It was “Despite a lack of clinical trial data, it seems that antioxidant vitamins are safe.”

So, with that ringing endorsement fresh in my ears, I tried to find some more recent studies that would show antioxidant supplements have some kind of beneficial effect on the human body. After all, 1996–so long ago! The Macarena was #1 and they made a movie out of Mission: Impossible!

My hurdle–that the studies be credible–pretty much disqualified all the results. Instead I came up with a very recent piece that tends towards damning these vitamins. Some doctor from Johns Hopkins is highly skeptical of the claims being made. Here’s the first few sentences of the abstract:

“The overwhelming preponderance of the lay and scientific literature speculates that so-called antioxidants are allegedly the cure-all for purported oxygen free radical induced human pathophysiologies, inclusive of aging.”

In other words, you’re being told, a lot, that antioxidants can cure a myriad of problems, even to the point of alleviating the effects of old age. Okay…

“For the free radical theory, as applied to oxidative stress and aging to be correct, antioxidant usage should prevent, reverse or eliminate these scourges of mankind.”

Translation: for those beliefs to be correct, antioxidants must be able to “prevent, reverse or eliminate” some or all of the problems the marketeers say they’ll help.

“To the contrary, large, randomized, controlled, double blind studies in man have repeatedly failed to confirm the predictions of the free radical theory as it relates to possible disease prevention or reversal.”

Translation: actually, properly done science has never once shown antioxidants can do any of these things!

“Actually, meta-analysis studies have shown that some antioxidants appear to increase the incidence of cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke and overall mortality.”

In fact, when you really take the numbers apart, it looks like they make things worse.

“As a consequence of their lack of effectiveness, many major health-related organizations do not recommend the use of antioxidant vitamins A, C and E.”

So don’t fucking take them.