Oxidants and Antioxidants: How Much is Too Much Antioxidant?

Living a healthy, happy life is all about the antioxidant, according to many natural supplement manufacturers. Antioxidants can help to treat nearly every disease and condition if marketing claims are taken on faith. A search into the realities of antioxidants and the oxidants they fight off may reveal a deeper story.

What Do Antioxidants Do?

Antioxidants are crucial to health because they fight oxidative stress caused by free radicals. Free radicals are created during normal body functions like metabolism so the body is prepared to keep things in a healthy balance without the help of supplementation, as long as a healthy diet and exercise program is followed. Athletes tend to have higher free radical levels due to increased metabolism and the effect of intense exercise. Smoking, eating processed foods and drinking alcohol also increase free radical levels in the body.

To combat increasing free radical levels due to unhealthy or extremely healthy lifestyles, antioxidants are commonly used. Antioxidants are typically consumed through foods rich in vitamin E, vitamin C and beta carotene. But normal food consumption may not be enough to fight off the increased number of free radicals. Supplements like green tea, goji berry and acai berry are strong antioxidants that help fill the gap.

Life Changes May Lead to an Overabundance of Antioxidants

While antioxidants may help to improve overall health by fighting free radicals, life changes may cause an imbalance between antioxidants and oxidants. Only two percent of oxygen used by cells escapes as free radicals; the remaining 98% converts to water. This two percent is used for several healthy functions in the body, including, toxin detoxification and maintenance of vascular tone.

If a person quits smoking and drinking and starts eating a healthier diet and plans regular exercise, eventually the body will balance out antioxidants and oxidants. Continuing antioxidant supplementation can prevent oxidants from performing necessary functions in the body thus decreasing health instead of improving health. A study published in Cell revealed too many antioxidants can lead to heart failure.

Maintaining a Healthy Antioxidant / Oxidant Balance

The key to keeping things balanced is to choose foods wisely and prevent building free radicals by quitting smoking and excessive drinking. Foods should be rich in vitamin E and vitamin C, two natural antioxidants. Supplementation beyond natural consumption may need to be limited to extreme athletes and people trying to lose weight - during the weight loss process. After reaching weight loss goals, normal consumption of antioxidants may be enough to maintain the antioxidant / oxidant balance.

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