WARNING Don't Take AntioxidantsWARNING Don't Take Antioxidants Did You Know... ...that taking high doses of antioxidant supplements -- such as beta carotene, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) and selenium -- does not reduce the risk of acquiring diseases, but has also been shown to be poisonous to the human body and may even increase the risk of death? As long ago as the 1950s, antioxidants became known as miracle supplements because they "reportedly" promoted good health and prevented a host of diseases, including cancer and age-related diseases. According to some estimates, approximately 50% of the adult population in the U.S. take antioxidants on a daily basis for this reason. Here's a wake-up call: Every long-term study involving antioxidant supplementation provides proof that people get sicker -- not healthier -- when they take antioxidants. In fact, beta carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E, taken individually or in combination with other antioxidant supplements, are associated with increased all-cause mortality. [Source: The Journal of the American Medical Association - based on 68 randomized trials with 232,606 participants (385 publications).] In case you were wondering ... this information is not just another propaganda employed by the medical and pharmaceutical industries to prevent people from using natural therapies, or to deceive people into thinking that drugs are the only solution to disease. Over the last several decades, supplement manufacturers (and even health practitioners) have urged people to take large amounts of antioxidants such as Vitamin C and Vitamin E because scientists had observed that people whose diets were rich in fruits and vegetables had a lower incidence of heart disease, diabetes, dementia, stroke and certain types of cancer. They formed the hypothesis that since fruits and vegetables are a rich source of antioxidants (which neutralize free radicals in the body), then taking antioxidant supplements would have the same effect. That hypothesis has been proven wrong. Here's why: Fruits and vegetables produce antioxidants for good reason -- that is, to protect themselves from oxidative stress. Without antioxidants, oxygen destroys food by combining with elements and burning them up -- hence, vitamin destruction in food (or decay) occurs. However, dietary antioxidants have virtually no nutritional benefit to the human body. Antioxidants such as ascorbic acid and tocopherols, for instance, are not essential nutrients -- and as such, they should not even be called vitamins at all. While antioxidants serve their purpose WITHIN a fruit or vegetable, in the human body, they only disrupt normal oxidative reactions in the cell. This is why they are dangerous to consume (except in the minute amounts ingested from food). In summary, if you want to stave off disease and premature aging, there is no substitute to eating fruits and vegetables that are rich in antioxidants instead of taking antioxidant supplements. I thank you for taking the time to read this short report |