Antioxidants Demystified

Recently, a collaboration among Norwegian and US scientists released a ranking of foods and their antioxidant content. Now, I want more of these rankings…don’t you? But, do we know WHY we want more? Just what are antioxidants anyway? And, why do we hope to maximize our ingestion of these little organic dynamos.

As a group, antioxidants include several organic compounds, like Vitamins C and A, selenium, and the carotenoids. Let’s take carotenoids. They’re behind the intense colors we see in fruits, vegetables, and other foods. Their somewhat mysterious job is to seek out and deactivate free radicals.

Free radicals? Free radicals sometimes are by-products of normal cell processes — they’re formed from oxidized oxygen molecules. But, they’re also created by environmental toxicities, tobacco smoke, radiation, some foods, and, no doubt, many of the yet-to-be-identified ills our society is persistently creating. More importantly, free radicals are carcinogens. Free radicals damage cell walls.

And that’s where those friendly antioxidants come in. A number of studies have correlated a decrease in certain types of cancer with an increase in antioxidant intake. Other studies show that antioxidants prevent the development of arterial blockages by preventing the oxidation of cholesterol.

Okay, so give me the antioxidant list, already.

Well, spices top the list, with cloves leading the pack, followed by oregano leaf, ginger, cinnamon, and turmeric. Moving on to foods, Oregon residents will be thrilled to find blackberries topping the list, followed by walnuts, strawberries, coffee, raspberries, pecans, and blueberries. Grape juice, followed closely by cranberry, led the juices. Bran flakes led the breakfast cereals, while canned chili (Sorry, I’m just reporting!) led the processed foods.

How do we get more of these wonder-foods into our mouths? I sip on cranberry water and walnut tea throughout the day. (Walnuts, by the way, have the highest level of natural serotonin of any food.) Berries, I eat fresh in summer and freeze for the winter. In fact, all fruits and vegetables have antioxidants. Coffee…well, it’s the number one antioxidant consumed in America. Say no more.

But do keep in mind: these are just the top ten on the antioxidant-rich list. If you aren’t eating them consider one of our supplement drinks that include ten servings of fruits and vegetables in one tasty cup. They give a whole new meaning to “big gulp.”

So, steer your kids toward grape juice, nuts, and berries. Consume them yourself. And, OK, yes, if you can bear to, serve up the canned chili.

...and a Side of Suffering

Today, I’m thinking about how bad we sometimes feel as a result of misguided efforts to get “healthier.” I regularly see patients who come in with “laundry lists” of drugs they’ve been prescribed, and who are suffering from the known and published side effects and interactions of these medications. And, when we take a closer look, I often find myself angry.

Take statins, for example. These cholesterol-lowering drugs — while certainly beneficial for some — can be devastating for many. I’ve seen lots of patients suffering from system-wide trauma (i.e. “It hurts everywhere!”), from peripheral neuropathy, and from “unexplainable” muscular problems. Frequently, these symptoms arise soon after the patient begins taking statins, but sometimes the effects are delayed. It depends in part on how fast and furious is the drug’s depletion of the body’s natural stores of coenzyme Q, and on the overall health of the individual patient.

Muscular problems, for instance, are listed as a “rare” side effect by statin drug manufacturers. But Beatrice Golumb, M.D., has been researching the effects of statin drugs, and she finds this particular “rare” side effect to be quite common. Golumb’s work is very interesting, and an online interview with her is available here.

To me, the most distressing cases are those with borderline cholesterol numbers, which would have improved with simple nutritional and lifestyle changes. If you’re on statins, ask yourself whether you absolutely need them, or whether dropping twenty pounds and walking a half hour each day might achieve the same result. (And don’t forget — this drug-free regimen has an even longer list of known “side effects,” ALL of them beneficial!)

So, satisfy yourself that any prescription drugs you take are necessary and are doing more good than harm. And don’t dismiss the potential of any drugs you’re taking to produce unwelcome side effects.