Antioxidant Vitamin Supplement Pills: the Bad News

They are sold all over the place under different names in different formulations – power pills that are supposed to cure many of the diseases plaguing us today from cardiovascular disorders, to high blood pressure, weight problems, and even aging. But do they really work?

The American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association (AHA) in their 2002 Guideline Update for the management of chronic angina did not encourage the use of antioxidant supplements in treating angina patients.

Three years ago, the AHA science advisory board
, based on a review of several studies, declared that “scientific data do not justify the use of antioxidant vitamin supplements” synthetic or natural, to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

A recent systematic review of clinical trials has even more disturbing news: not only are the benefits of antioxidants suspect, they can actually be hazardous to your health. In this meta-analysis by Bjelakovic and colleagues . Vitamins A and E and beta-carotene, used singly or in combination, can actually result in increased mortality but not Vitamin C and selenium.

This recent review was not clear in several aspects.

For example, it discourages the use of synthetic vitamin supplements but should rely on natural sources such as fruit and vegetables. However, the term “synthetic” is not clearly defined. Many of the antioxidants in the market claim to be 100% natural, with ingredients ranging from grape skin, nuts, and raspberry leaves. To pack and concentrate these vitamins into a 500-mg pill, however, entails chemical and industrial processes, probably using excipients that may not be described as “natural.”

The review only covered studies on Vitamins A, C and E, and selenium (singly or in combination) but not the antioxidant cocktail pills that include all of these vitamins plus other supposedly antioxidizing ingredients ranging from resveratrol, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, ellagic acid, polyphenolic bioflavonoids, and hydroxyquercetin.

But what makes antioxidant vitamins so popular?

In this era of “lifestyle change”, more and more people are actually cognizant of the health risks that poor diet bring. Vitamin supplement pills are the “fast food” equivalent of vitamins, with the big difference that the users of these pills are actually health-conscious individuals who are fully convinced of their benefits.

As some manufacturers claim, a cocktail of vitamin power is packed in a little compact pill that is easy to swallow. No need to pack a huge lunch box of fruit and vegetables. The pill has it all – compacted in bigger doses. It easily fits in your handbag or laptop bag.

It’s health power that can be taken on the go. For the fast-paced professional, time is gold and can’t be wasted shopping for fresh produce and washing and peeling carrots and oranges. The pill has it all – in powerful doses that don’t spoil easily.

Clearly, more antioxidant research is needed and should going beyond the mainstream antioxidants. The scientific community should moved fast in looking into the risks and benefits of antioxidants. The manufacturers are always one step ahead: more “natural” and “organic” products are cropping up, new and stronger antioxidants are being introduced.

In the meantime, take it easy on those pills. A lifestyle change is more than just swallowing vitamin supplements each day. A real natural, healthy diet, with all its inconveniences, is still the way go. Remember, those pills just might be hazardous to health and the next pill you take might actually be your last.