When antioxidants become anti-health part 2

Photo courtesy of isc

The scene is picturesque (and a little melodramatic): A single human cell is soon to serve as the great battleground where antioxidant meets free radical.

Let us peek through the lipid membrane and take in a world of wonder and hazy memories of 10th grade biology. In perfect harmony, the tiny metropolis bustles with commerce, completely unaware of the danger lurking within.

The Golgi apparatus waltzes with macromolecules while ribosomes frolic in the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Without warning, a free radical appears raring its chemically unbalanced head. It scours the cell and within a microsecond advances towards an unsuspecting molecule laden with electrons. A shockwave of chemical uncertainty is about to be unleashed when out of nowhere the heist is brought to a halt by the ever watchful antioxidant. Vitamin E saves the day by donating an electron to the free radical and life inside the cell goes on as usual.
As mentioned in part one of this article, the reaction doesn't stop here. Vitamin E is no longer an antioxidant, it is a free radical. Does this take us right back to where we started? Not exactly; the kind of free radical it becomes is not as reactive as the thief it thwarted, though it is an unstable molecule that can no longer function as vitamin E.

That is, unless another antioxidant like vitamin C donates an electron to the vitamin E radical (tocopheroxyl radical), restoring its former glory. Nevertheless, now vitamin C is a free radical (ascorbyl radical) which needs an electron. Now enters one of the most important antioxidants produced in your body - glutathione (which can be given a boost by eating watermelon and asparagus). Naturally this leads to the glutathione radical calling on help from another antioxidant. See the pattern here? In this instance, an antioxidant can not donate an electron to a free radical of its kind (i.e. vitamin E can not donate an electron to tocopheroxyl). Consequently, by taking just one or two or even the "mega-ultra-mega" antioxidant supplements, you are in essence creating an electron looting environment where one antioxidant radical will eventually be left undermanned.

This is just one of the reasons taking large doses of various antioxidant supplements can set your body up for less than optimal health. So how do you protect your cells with the ideal balance of antioxidants? The answer may be less exciting than you'd hoped. It can not be found in a magic pill or powder or some super berry extracted from the great pyramids of Giza. The ideal ratios and most effective forms of antioxidants are found naturally in a plethora of readily available foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, tea (both black and green), dark chocolate, spices, red wine, along with a whole host of other nutrient dense foods. Now just like any proper trilogy, our final chapter will expose the shortcomings of the antioxidants found in many commercial foods and supplements.