Thursday, March 01, 2007

Scientists refute claims that antioxidant intake in pill form increase life span

Scientists at Copenhagen University Hospital recently published an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association stating that antioxidant vitamins may not be as beneficial to health as previously thought. Vitamins A, E, C, beta carotene and selenium are among the most popular antioxidant vitamins that are taken as pill supplements by millions of people worldwide.
The scientists at Copenhagen University Hospital, known as the Cochrane organization, specialize in reviewing scientific evidence related to health. According to their research, which involved a total of 68 studies on over 232, 000 participants, the researchers’ found no significant correlation between antioxidant intake and decreased mortality rate among their experimental sample. Surprisingly enough, an opposite correlation was revealed statistically by omitting the results of a few studies (at the discretion of the researchers). Participants taking vitamin E pills had a four percent higher mortality risk, a seven percent increased risk for those ingesting beta carotene, and 16 percent increased risk for those taking vitamin A pills. I believe it is important to note, however, that the cause of death of this study’s participants is still unknown, and as such we cannot directly link vitamin pill intake with a higher risk of death, even though the authors of the study do not hesitate in doing so. Other studies performed on the effectiveness and benefits of antioxidant vitamins have showed conflicting results.
Nonetheless, studies have shown that antioxidants, naturally found in food and not in pill form, can prevent the harmful effects of oxygen on the heart, and certain types of cell damage that can promote cancer. It is important to further note that the correlation seen by individuals who ingest antioxidants and increased life-span can be attributed simply to improved health habits demonstrated by these participants. As such, the health benefits of antioxidants, in any form, has yet to be proven in a detailed, biochemical, cause-and-effect manner.

1 comment:

Liz said...

I was doing research for another class specifically about vitamin E and vitamin K. I surprised to find the same information. I also found that these vitamins only provide benefit in someone who is vitamin deficient. But, I also found that no one had become vitamin deficient through diet alone. The deficiency only occurred in people suffering from diseases that affect fat adsorption (because E and K are fat soluble).