Nutrition experts have long been advising us to get our antioxidants—cancer-fighting compounds mostly found in fruits and vegetables—from real food not supplements. Now a new study indicates that food may not only be a better source, it may be a safer one.
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles found that high doses of antioxidant supplements, including vitamins C and E, can cause genetic abnormalities in cells. The authors of the study, led by Eduardo Marban, M.D., Ph.D., director of the institute, believe that the cell abnormalities can make supplement-takers more prone to developing cancer.
Taking one multivitamin daily is fine, but a lot of people take way too much because they think if a little is good, a lot must be better,” says Marban, who is also the Mark Siegel Family Professor at Cedars-Sinai. “That is just not the case. If you are taking 10 or 100 times the amount in a daily multivitamin, you may be predisposing your cells to developing cancer, therefore doing yourself more harm than good.
The researchers actually made the discovery accidentally while looking for a way to multiply human cardiac stem cells. To counter oxidation that occurs when cells are grown in a Petri dish, they added high doses of antioxidants directly to the cells. Genetic abnormalities ensued.
While excessive amounts of antioxidants derived from supplements might be problematic, Marban stresses that eating foods rich in antioxidants, such as oranges, blueberries, sweet potatoes and broccoli, is still a healthy way to go.
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