Are Antioxidant Pills Safe for You

We all know that antioxidants are good for health. No wonder, many people take antioxidant pills to derive essential health benefits. Scientists believe that antioxidants help you fight with “free radicals” present in your body. These free radicals often cause diseases such as heart ailments, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. But, the antioxidants neutralize the effect of free radicals and help you remain healthy and active.

You can get good amount of antioxidants from a diet containing beta carotene, vitamins C and E and selenium. For this, you need to include lots of vegetables and fruits in your diet. Therefore, people resort to antioxidant pills to find quick and effective way to get antioxidants. However, many new studies indicate that antioxidant pills may raise your risk of developing various other health problems. For example, you may develop lung cancer if you are a habitual smoker, or having beta carotene supplement can increase the risk of developing many other diseases. Do you know that Vitamin C supplements have literally no effect on your body if you already have normal levels of Vitamin C in your body? Also, a high quantity of Vitamin E is likely to elevate the risk of early death. Though many scientists doubt these theories, but they are alarming.

Another study indicates that vitamins A, C and E supplements can not help you prevent stomach and bowel cancers. In fact, taking these supplements may shorten your lifespan. Though these studies cannot be taken as conclusive studies and we may require many supporting
studies, but the thought is really worrisome.

Scientists agree that a diet rich with antioxidants is the best solution to deal with free radicals in the body. Also, a nutritious diet helps you develop immunity against several diseases. Therefore, you must include nuts, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, almonds, and pistachios in your diet to boost antioxidant production. Include various fruits such as cranberries, blueberries, plums, prunes, dates, raspberries, blackberries, and apples in your diet. Eating lots of beans such as red kidney beans, pintos, black beans, and black-eyed peas also help you increase antioxidants in your body.

You can easily get these fruits and vegetables from supermarket, and can even cook or eat them raw. If you are taking vitamin C supplements, you must check their labels to check the amount of each antioxidant. But, the best way to get antioxidants is through your diet.