The vitamin controversy

More confusion enters the mix on vitamin and antioxidant supplementation. If you remember the last we had heard, vitamin E supplementation was deemed as potentially damaging. Before that we saw a study that suggested vitamin
popping may be useless. So what study do you believe? Good question!?!?!

It could be that there are more things at play here. For instance, vitamin supplements may be good for some and neutral (or worse) for others. That is the tack that a new paper in the Journal of American Medical Association. The conclusion?

Low-dose antioxidant supplementation may reduce the risk of cancer among men, but not in women. According to the new research, antioxidants including beta carotene, ascorbic acid, vitamin E, selenium, and zinc may prevent some of the harmful effects caused by free radicals -- reactive molecules produced by metabolism in the body. It has also been suggested that a low dietary intake of antioxidants increases the incidence of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

So antioxidant supplements seem good for men, but the study found no impact on women's health. Why? again a good question. Note the last sentence of the abstract--it suggests at least one reason for the findings. Namely that already are getting the necessary antioxidants from their diet. So eat your fruits and veggies!!