Saturday Quack – So Long, Antioxidant Supplements

Sales volumes of prescription drugs are down, while those of supplements, vitamins, and antioxidants are up – way up. This accompanies a gradually decreasing confidence in traditional medicine over the last 30 years. But every now and again a convincing report comes along that suggests that widely-touted alternatives to recommended preventive treatments really don’t work. (One example is the recent publication on the absence of benefits of garlic on cholesterol levels). I’ve always insisted that only well-designed, well-controlled studies can be used to demonstrate (or refute) effectiveness; an example is that of herbs shown to be useful in low back pain.

A comprehensive analysis of possible long-term benefits and side-effects of antioxidant supplements has just been reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association. They collected together data from 68 high-quality studies on beta-carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium, looking at mortality as the end-point. There were no apparent health benefits from taking these supplements, and beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E were linked to an increased mortality rate. There were almost a quarter of a million participants in the trials, which were done five continents. Pretty conclusive, I’d say.

It’s important to realize that these findings were obtained with supplements, not antioxidant-rich foods. Evidence shows that eating plenty of fruits, veggies, fish, and so on, does have beneficial effects. So save your money on supplements and spend it on good (i.e. healthy) meals.