Constantly hearing about how good a fruit or vegetable is for its antioxidant values seems to be a constant occurrence in daily life.

But have you ever come to a moment in your life where you find out something you believed for so long, is simply not true?

That’s what I came across when I found out that the heralded, mighty, and powerful antioxidant may not be all what it’s claimed to be.

According to the scientific literature, supplemental antioxidants may or may not reduce or eliminate aging and disease.

Frankly, this is shocking news to me.

Many of the foods I buy from the store are chosen because I know they have a high antioxidant value, are supposed to help prevent diseases, and are supposed to allow me to live a longer, happier life.

For example, I know the potent water-soluble antioxidant Vitamin C found in oranges plays an important role in the activation of the B vitamin, folic acid, the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids and the conversion of the amino acid, tryptophan, to the neurotransmitter, serotonin.

Vitamin C also protects the body from free radical damage, is used as therapeutic agent in many diseases and disorders, protects the immune system, reduces the severity of allergic reactions, and helps to fight off infections.

But according to one study, the effect of vitamin C on human disease such as cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes, neurodegenerative disease and metal toxicity remains inconclusive.

In reading this, my mind was blown.

Shouldn’t there be more concrete evidence on the effectiveness of antioxidants with regards to disease and longevity?

Does it mean you don’t need to eat your fruits and vegetables? Not at all.

For one, fruits and veggies provide an abundance of bodily benefits.

And for two, it just means that the antioxidants found in these foods may not be doing what society has claimed them to do.

Let’s dig into the information, history, and claims surrounding antioxidants a little further…

What Is an Antioxidant?

Antioxidants are substances that may prevent or delay some types of cell damage, caused by free radicals and unstable molecules produced by the body.

Free radicals are byproducts of chemical processes, like those that occur when our body turns food into energy.

Free radicals steal electrons from lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins, slowly damaging genetic material, causing many chronic health problems such as cardiovascular and inflammatory disease, cataract, and cancer over time.

Antioxidants intervene by providing electrons to the free radicals, so they stop taking them from other important things in our bodies.

What are Antioxidants Good For?

The word antioxidant gets loosely thrown around by the drug, pharmaceutical, and food industry because of its amazing reputation.

Its use is often associated with the overall health benefit of the food you are eating.

For example, people will tell you to eat blueberries because they are full of antioxidants.

Others will tell you to take vitamin C because it will prevent you from getting colds and disease in the coming winter.

Countless people have bought one thing or another because the word antioxidant has been drilled into their head, proclaiming their food or product is superior to anything else they are buying.

The antioxidant and the prestige associated with the word has been subtly misused.

The thing is, the health foods that the food industries promote are not only high in antioxidants, they are often packed with other vitamins and minerals that provide a great deal of health benefits themselves.

So, is it really the antioxidants that are providing many of the health benefits our bodies see from certain foods?

You may have thought to yourself or have been told over the years to some extent…
“Your cells are being bombarded by free radicals and oxidative stress. You need to be eating foods high in antioxidants to eliminate these free radicals, reduce the effects of oxidative stress, and counter the continual breakdown of your body. In doing so, you will live a longer, disease free life!”

The thin line lies in the controversial abundance of research and the general acceptance of antioxidant supplementation by the public.

One study claims that even if antioxidant supplementation is receiving growing attention and is increasingly adopted in Western countries, supporting evidence is still scarce and equivocal.

The Antioxidant Fad

The food industry, stemming from the 1990’s, has glorified the power of the antioxidant in a variety of different health foods.

Its led to a series of ads, promotions, and products that are important for your body, because of their antioxidant capacities.

These promotions, consequently, had a big impact on the foods many, including myself, would choose at the marketplace.

For many years, I would formulate my meals on the basis that I would be getting a certain concentration of antioxidant capacity from certain foods.

I would look for antioxidant rich foods, antioxidant rich drinks, fruits with antioxidants, and antioxidant supplements including:

Foods Rich in Antioxidants:

Blueberries

Dark Chocolate
Walnuts
Spinach

Kale
Cabbage
Beans

Vitamin C
Vitamin E

Antioxidant Drinks:

Coffee

All those antioxidants would surely get rid of all the free radicals my body was producing daily.

Little did I know, the antioxidant capacity of these foods, did not provide a big impact on my ability to live long and avoid disease.

In creating the antioxidant fad, the drug, pharmaceutical, and food industry led me to believe the foods with the highest number of antioxidants were what I should be eating.

I ate many of the foods rich in antioxidants on a daily basis, and to what avail, I may never know.

The Antioxidant Controversy

People are constantly looking for ways to live a longer, healthier, happier life.

Somewhere between the 50’s and the 90’s, researchers brought to light their free radical theory of aging.

In essence, the literature spoke to the fact that if we decrease or eliminate free radicals in the body, we can live longer, prevent disease, and avoid the inevitable breakdown of the body.

In 1956, Denham Harman stated that “aging and the degenerative diseases associated with it are attributed basically to the deleterious side attacks of free radicals on cell constituents and on the connected tissues.”

Harman pointed out that the mitochondria of the body produce free radicals and were thus key components to the aging process.

Controversial research stretching through the recent 2000’s had scientists claiming their results proved the free radical theory of aging, while other research claimed certain data called into serious question the hypothesis that alterations in oxidative damage/stress play a role in the longevity of mice.

Another study showed that antioxidants (Vitamin E and NAC) accelerated lung cancer progression in mice.

Controversially, a meta-analysis of research concluded that a diet with high antioxidant capacity might have protective effects against cancer.

So, which is it? Are antioxidants good or bad.

It would seem to me that it depends on the situation and more research still needs to be done.

In the meantime, if we cannot depend on antioxidants to decrease aging and prevent disease, is there something we can do instead?

What is the best way to live longer?

The most effective way to live longer is to prepare the body to fight the disease through hormetic stressors.

Hormesis, in the field of biology and medicine, is defined as an adaptive response of cells and organisms to a moderate (usually intermittent) stress.

You can achieve hormesis in variety of ways such as through ischemic preconditioning, dietary energy restriction and exposures to low doses of certain phytochemicals, but the one I recommend most is through exercise.

Exercise as a hormetic stressor does to the body what lifting weights does to muscles, it creates an “adaptive stress response”.

The more you work muscle, the stronger it becomes. When you stop working your muscles, you lose your strength and become weak.

And in the same way, the more you stress the body through exercise (to a certain extent), the more robust it becomes, initiating an adaptive stress response to fight free radicals, oxidative stress and disease.

In essence, it’s the resilience, strength, and health of the body that is the greatest asset to the prevention of disease and longevity of life.

Furthermore, the body is equipped with a defense system that produces endogenous antioxidant enzymes with the ability to efficiently eliminate free radicals, so it isn’t completely necessary to get the antioxidants from outside sources.

It only takes five workouts for the body to increase its production of antioxidant enzymes.

But if you want to shoot for the perfect amount of exercise, referred to as the “Goldilocks Zone” of exercise, try to get least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or 75 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, but not more than four to five cumulative hours per week of vigorous, heart-pounding exercise.

One study showed low doses and moderate doses of physical activity significantly reduce long-term risks for both total mortality and cardiovascular mortality.

Another journal shows that healthy adults who are the least fit have a mortality risk that is 4.5 times that of the most fit.

Other studies show exercise will:

Reduce your risk of colon cancer by 24% (study)

Reduce your risk of breast cancer by 12% (study)
Reduce your risk of incident coronary heart disease by 20-30% (study)
Reduce your risk of stroke by 10-20% (study)

And on and on…

The lesson is, add exercise to your weekly regimen, prevent disease, and live a longer, happier, healthier life.

Summary: What are Antioxidants Good For? (Antioxidants Benefits)

Research on antioxidants, free radical damage, and oxidative stress, has come a long way since the 50’s, and still has a long way to go. With the number and variety of antioxidants out there, it may take a while to disseminate which is best for the body and which is worst. One thing we can conclude, while waiting on the evidence, is that exercise is here to stay. One of the best ways to live a longer life and to prevent disease is to exercise daily. Keep eating your blueberries, keep drinking your antioxidant green tea, but just don’t forget to keep moving. It just may prevent disease and lengthen your life.

Have you had the same experience with antioxidants and exercise? Let me know below!