 There’s
been a lot of excitement about antioxidants — nutrients
that protect the body from all sorts of damage, including heart
disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Vitamins C and
E, beta-carotene (vitamin A), and the mineral selenium are well-researched
antioxidants. Early studies showed that people who ate lots
of fruits and vegetables — foods rich in antioxidants —
were less likely to develop such diseases than those who shunned
these foods. Next, people already taking antioxidant pills were
compared to others who weren’t taking such supplements.
Again, the antioxidants seemed to be protective. But
were they really? Taking a closer look at these studies, it’s
likely that people who choose to eat lots of fruits and vegetables
or take supplements are more health-conscious than those who
don’t; this may explain these impressive results. Also,
fruits and vegetables offer many more nutrients than the few
antioxidants we know about.
The best studies are "clinical trials," where people
are randomly assigned either antioxidants or a placebo (a dummy
tablet). That way, the only difference between the two groups
is whether they’re getting the antioxidant or not —
and participants don’t know which group they’re in.
As it turns out, the latest clinical trials on vitamins C and
E and beta-carotene supplements didn’t find that they protected
against heart disease and cancer. In several studies, smokers
in the group taking beta-carotene pills had a higher risk of
lung cancer than smokers taking a placebo.
There’s still so much research going on to settle this
question. Meanwhile, Mom was right — eat your fruits and
veggies, because they’re good for you!
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