Controversial report: Antioxidants

Controversial report: Antioxidants

"We are all chemistry," said one. "And physics, and mathematics," I would add, but let's stay in chemistry and specifically in oxidation reactions, those that we studied in school in which the molecules seemed to have special affection in getting close to oxygen. These reactions are part of life, of metabolism, of energy exchange. And also oxidation is the mechanism by which we age, our cells die, and cancers develop.
In these processes, free radicals, molecules with special affinity for oxygen, have a leading role ... and a very market-like name. Because it looks good to "fight free radicals" in an advertisement for creams or miracle pills. And if those antiradical compounds are called antioxidants, another guachi name, we already have the advertising spot mounted; written sufficiently convincing but prudently imprecise, just in case: "Our product with antioxidants, which help fight free radicals, responsible for aging."

Does it sound? There are natural antioxidants in fruit, vegetables and many other places, so it would be enough to extract them, repack them and take them in comfortable doses. It sounds logical, right?

Or rather, it sounds like business, because these arguments are too crude, the chemical processes of an organism are very complex, with infinite interactions and synergies between them and can not be simplified so much. Antioxidants as supplements or vitamin supplements are not worth anything, indeed, it seems that they could even be negative. I do not say it, says a recent study published in the most important medical journal in the US, JAMA, a meta-analysis (a study that analyzes thousands of other studies) that says to take pills of commercial antioxidants par excellence (beta carotene, vitamin A or vitamin E) can cause an increase in mortality. The newspaper El País has published an interesting article in Spanish on the subject, with an explanatory headline: "Antioxidants, worse than useless".
The study refers to food supplements, pills and others, so do not stop taking foods that, among many other things, provide natural antioxidants and are much tastier: Fruits and vegetables. These do provide proven benefits.