The whole story about antioxidants and your health
by Dr. Lonnie Lowery

Are Antioxidants (Gasp!) Dangerous?

Although it could make me roughly as popular as boiled-over microwave
oatmeal, I think it’s time I bring some emerging research to light.
Yes, perhaps it’s time we take a more cautious look at antioxidant
supplements and decide whether they're really all they're cracked up
to be.

A growing number of new studies are slowly getting many professionals
to revise their opinions on the stuff. Do you take vitamin E, C or an
antioxidant blend? Do you have strong opinions regarding your current
dose? If so, read on.

Mounting Questions

First, and perhaps the straw that broke squatter’s back, is the large
American Heart Association analysis (2) of several studies. This was
more than just a single research study with a small number of
subjects. Whether you consider it overblown by the media or not
(actually, I do), seeing an overall increase in death in those
subjects taking 400 IU or more of vitamin E daily should nonetheless
be enough to get your attention. Do we need this much when the RDA is
just 30IU (15mg) for adult men?

And what about co-ingestion with other anti-thrombotic (clot-reducing)
supplements like ginkgo, fish oils and NSAIDS such as aspirin or
ibuprofen? And let’s not even get into the addition of hypertensive
agents like ephedra. Would these combinations increase the risk of a
cerebrovascular accident ("blown hose") under a 400-pound squat
attempt? Is a 400 or 800 IU daily capsule (181-354mg synthetic vitamin
E) now considered harmful despite the "official" upper limit of 1000
mg per day? What are the alternatives?

Enter the other antioxidant big boy, vitamin C. As another vitamin
with a history of low-toxicity and a correspondingly high "tolerable
upper limit" of 2000mg per day, there’s nothing wrong with
supplementing a gram or two every day, right? Heck, it’s even water-
soluble and therefore more easily excreted.

Unfortunately, there’s more to it. Vitamin C supplementation (500mg
for six weeks) has been shown to actually induce pro-oxidant effects
in healthy humans, as measured by DNA damage. (31) Very high doses
(500mg/kg) in rats cause superoxide radical generation, induce P450
liver enzymes (particularly risky to even moderate drinkers) and,
again, DNA damage. (29, 31)

In fact, this DNA fragmentation thing is mentioned quite a bit in
academic publications. (29, 31, 26, 32, 33) A dose of 12.5mg per
kilogram of body weight, when given with NAC, has even been shown to
worsen eccentric muscle damage. (11) Then there's that new study
showing a dose-dependent worsening of osteoarthritis in animals — as
can also occur in veteran weight lifters — complete with a
recommendation not to exceed the current 90mg RDA. (24)

Vitamin C may also be involved in creating and preserving (not
protecting against) cancerous cells, (10, 25) thickening arteries at
500mg, (25) and worsening iron overload, particularly in persons with
this common genetic disorder — not good for oxidative stress. (11, 13,
14, 15, 18)

We also need to consider, however controversial, rebound scurvy
symptoms like bloody gums that occur when tablets aren’t at arm’s
length, and at least some conclusions that the common cold argument
has been "overstated." (20)

This isn't looking like a one-sided positive consensus in the
scientific literature anymore, is it? Hey, don’t shoot the messenger.
Recent findings are important, yes, but let’s also remember that they
don’t yet constitute unanimous condemnation among all healthcare
authorities. We can't be content with selective citations, either pro
or con. There’s just too much out there on both sides to ignore. At
the very least, we should stay abreast of new research, both positive
and negative. (Yes, there's a ton of positive research out there too,
even in this article’s references, but we already know a lot about
that.)

So, based on what’s now available, should we instead be turning to
"newer" antioxidants like pine bark, carnosine, green tea and grape
seed extracts? (Check out some interesting references below!) If our
old standbys, E and C, are "bad," what now?

Because of the above findings and still others, the American Heart
Association, the same group who actually broke the mold surrounding
dietary supplements and started suggesting fish oil capsules for
certain individuals (1), came forward this past August with an
advisory not to take antioxidant supplements. (3) Ugh! But what about
the decades of earlier data? Are all those studies that showed
benefits and low toxicity now wrong?

Good point. But like it or not, it appears that the AHA isn’t
satisfied with the existing positive evidence. The new recommendation
is plain: avoid antioxidant supplements. If you’re getting hot under
your defensive collar by now, have no fear. I don't disagree with you.

Does It Apply to Us?

First, heart patients, like those who populated November’s rather
scary vitamin E review, are not bodybuilders. Hence, the research may
not be especially applicable. Not only are most of us free of their
multitude of cardiovascular medications, we also have our training
stress and recovery to consider!

Nor are we guinea pigs (at least not in a literal sense) or a group of
cells floating in a dish. We're mostly healthy adult males. Is there
anything out there directly pertinent to us? As one positive example,
a new study focusing on "our" population did recently find lower
systolic blood pressure after 12 weeks on large daily amounts of
antioxidants (1000mg vitamin C, 800mg vitamin E, 10mg folate). (36)
That’s cool. But we're even more than just "healthy adult males." We
are highly active athletes.

You're right in thinking that even a brief bout of exercise can
significantly kick-up oxidative stress. And this is to say nothing of
eccentric muscle damage and reperfusion injury (obstructed and re-
opened blood flow) that's possible during weight training. (26) As a
positive example here, 400mg vitamin C supplemented for three weeks
prior and one week post-exercise was indeed shown to reduce eccentric
force losses. (22) Hence, we definitely shouldn’t write-off all doses
of antioxidants just yet.

So What Can We Do?

As mentioned, we athletes aren't generally heart patients and aren't
even "normal" by sedentary standards. We have an increased need to
protect against oxidation (elevated metabolic rate during and post-
exercise), tissue damage (eccentric contractions or "negatives") and
arguably even fish oil intake (possible pro-oxidative effects despite
many benefits).

So what can we do if not take ongoing large doses of antioxidant
supplements? Well, for one, those who are concerned can tone down
their supplement doses and even use them cyclically. Dose and duration
of intake are huge factors in determining whether these compounds are
anti- or paradoxically pro-oxidant in nature!

We can also increasingly go to the natural source, whole foods.
Obviously many foods contain antioxidant vitamins, minerals and
phytochemicals (often in inimitable combinations). Imagine then, how
quickly the vitamin C (not E, so much) would mount-up considering a
mere 250mg tablet and a diet rich in fruits and vegetables!

So, let’s look at a few foods that are extremely fast to prep and eat,
and are convenient and portable:

   • Green tea, black tea, even a little medium roast coffee!

   • Plums! (A bag of dried plums [i.e. prunes] is handy as a car
snack.)

   • Citrus! Oranges (even "Mandarin" style in their own juice),
lemons and limes.*

   • Grapes (anthocyanins, reveratrol, etc.)

   • Berries! (more anthocyanins/ polyphenols)

   • Red bell pepper (a big time vitamin C source!)

   • Tomatoes, carrots, pumpkin (carotenoids can decline in the body
under stress)

   • Olive oil! (phenolics)

   • Even functional foods like orange juice with added E and C

Here’s an irresistible whole food quote from Sánchez-Moreno and
colleagues:

"In fact, in the present study, consumption of 250 mg vitamin C,
contained in two glasses of orange juice (500 mL), significantly
increased plasma vitamin C from a range of 30—50 to a range of 60—90
µmol/L in just three hours. The increased concentration was maintained
as long as the subjects were drinking the orange juice, which suggests
that this is an efficient means of increasing vitamin C concentrations
in the body.

"In other studies, blood concentrations of vitamin C were manipulated
through the use of high vitamin C intake in the form of tablets (2000
mg), and vitamin C concentrations reached 116 µmol/L two hours after
ingestion and 95 µmol/L after taking 500 mg, which suggests that high-
dose supplements might not be the most efficient way of increasing the
body’s pool of vitamin C."

This is by no means a complete listing. If you’re into scanning large
amounts of new scientific material and can interpret inferential
statistics, I’d love to hear your suggestions and conclusions on the
antioxidant supplement vs. food topic!

When digging through hardcore literature on Medline or other
databases, however, we need to be careful regarding the methodology of
whole food studies. Since the assays used to assess total antioxidant
capacity of common fruits and veggies differ, you’ll find different
conclusions among studies as to which are "best." The obvious
recommendation is to eat as large a variety as possible.

The Cyclical Use Theory

Regarding supplements, let’s examine the cyclical use theory. Just
like the natural cycles surrounding seasonal foods, we might consider
supplemental antioxidant support only during periods of accelerated
training stress. I’m not referring to periodizing low-rep negative
training with higher-rep functional training, but rather I’m
considering those times of the year that you're specifically gearing
up for an event.

Even non-competitors often gear up for early summer with added cardio
and even stimulants (fat burners.) A boosted metabolic rate, however
attractive for fat loss, does jack-up oxidative stress. Hard training
can outstrip the body’s endogenous (internal) up-regulation of
antioxidant enzymes, too. (26) And I'd be remiss not to at least
mention that 1,500mg of vitamin C could potentially reduce
overtraining effects. You see, this dose can even lower cortisol
levels. (30) But considering this fairly whopping amount, there are
probably better ways to do it, like meditation (38) and coffee
reduction, if excessive.

So, in addition to a daily multi-vitamin/multi-mineral (many now have
150-200% vitamins E and C anyway), here are some err-on-the-side-of-
caution supplemental suggestions during ramped-up training times:

   1) Low dose E (200 IU daily) or the lowest dose of tocotrienols
you can find. If necessary, take a half-tablet.

   2) Vitamin C (250mg once or maximally twice daily, AM and PM)*

   3) A simple one-shot approach would be Protegra or related off-
brands (a moderate-dose mix of antioxidant vitamins and minerals) on
alternating training weeks.**

   4) Pine bark (pycnogenol), grape seed extract (proanthocyanidin)
and miscellaneous antioxidant-related compounds like MSM and SAMe:
limit intake to a half-dose or weekends-only intake until more
research arrives.

* Beware vitamin C’s ability to increase iron absorption,
contradictorily increasing oxidative tissue damage! (See my Keep the
Iron on the Bar article for more info.)

** Now here’s a practical quote: "…the well-known reversibility of the
inductive phenomenon responsible for O2.- over-generation, suggests
that human risk following typical vitamin C supplementation may be
easily controlled by providing a discontinuous supply (e.g. alternate
weeks)." (29)

Cutting Edge vs. Recklessly Overdone

Does all the seemingly conflicting research presented in this article
frustrate you? Welcome to nutrition. It’s a world where consensus
forms slowly and we have to think for ourselves based on as much
scientific evidence (not emotional conviction) as we can scrounge.

Thank God for the Think Tank! Without a constant flow of new data and
discussion, we might get excited enough to sailor’s dive into things,
head-first and prematurely, only to ruefully come around to more
moderate decisions later. Our purpose here was just to reveal that
there's indeed a darker side to all the cool antioxidant research we
usually hear. Maybe it'll even help you make decisions a little more
slowly in the future.

We can walk a balance between cutting edge and recklessly overdone.
The concept is as old school as one can imagine. Aristotle’s 2300 year-
old "moderation in all things" is as true of supplements as it is of
whole foods. Mild recovery enhancement isn’t worth blowing a hose
under the squat bar or needlessly damaging your DNA or ending up with
early arthritis. I sincerely doubt these things will actually happen
to you, but any sane person at least performs a risk-to-benefit
analysis.

They say the passions of youth become the regrets of maturity, so just
decide how close you're willing to cut it. With a balanced research
perspective (pro and con), it’s time to determine how you will gain
some benefits without the repercussions of overdoing it.

References and Related Reading

   1. AHA Scientific Statement: Fish Consumption, Fish Oil, Omega-3
Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease, #71-0241 Circulation.
2002;106: 2747-2757.

   2. AHA.org Meeting Report: High doses of vitamin E supplements do
more harm than good. www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3026060.
Nov 10, 2004; accessed Dec. 12, 2004.

   3. AHA.org Scientific Advisory: Get antioxidants from food, not
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www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3023709. Aug3, 2004;
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SOURCE: http://www.tmuscle.com/portal_includes/articles/2005/05-047-diet.html