Antioxidants: Panacea or Marketing Propaganda

Sometimes the most accepted medical theories turn out to be wrong. Bloodletting was standard practice for 3000 years. Not until the late 19th century, was it discredited. Such errors are not confined to the distant past. In all likelihood, you actively participate in a false medical belief that could be harmful.

More than 4 in 5 American adults (86%) take vitamins. One motivator for this remarkable trend is the notion that antioxidant supplements (vitamin C, vitamin E, alpha and beta carotene, selenium) prevent disease and slow aging. This firmly held belief by many doctors and the public, is completely unsubstantiated.

Clinical research over recent decades, studying hundreds of thousands of people, has repeatedly concluded that there is no evidence of a beneficial effect from supplements on all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, cancer or cognitive function.

The lay press and nutraceutical marketing have not been deterred by the widespread publication of these findings. In fact the use of vitamins continues to grow. A Google search for “benefits of antioxidant supplements” yields more than 28 million results. Revenue for the US supplement industry in 2018 reached 31 billion dollars.

Ironically these antioxidant supplements are not only ineffective in treating or preventing disease…