Excessive use of antioxidants ..is it safe?
 

There is a trend today to push high doses of antioxidants.
While I believe SOME are helpful, I hesitate to endorse the new
massive doses of some of them until more information is forthcoming.

Here is one example: Astaxanthin
http://www.berkeleywellnessalerts.co...ents409-1.html

This is being promoted on Dr. Oz's show in very high doses by Dr. Mercola (who happens to sell it also). 12mg a day.
The typical capsule comes in 4mg. I am leary of 12 mg a day, until more good human studies appear.

Also some information is coming to light like this article:
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/564232/

http://metamodern.com/2010/09/26/ant...k-cell-repair/

Some of the new papers coming out discuss pro-antioxidants.
Here is a discussion of what those are:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro-oxidant

Therefore up until now, antioxidants have become very popular.
What we see however are conflicting studies showing too much is not necessarily good.

The bottom line? Choose your foods well, and don't go overboard on antioxidants as promoted on many websites. We did not evolve consuming massive doses of anything.

My antioxidants are mostly Vit C 500mg, and grapeseed extract during allergy season, 200mg a day. We use Krill oil, which contains some astaxanthin, but I do not take it extra at this time. I use Ubiquinol (still an experiment here) and R-lipoic acid 100mg a day for my neuropathy. The rest of my antioxidants come from food sources.

The first article you cited is about vitamins A & E, which are also considered antioxidants, and there are problems with too much A or synthetic E. That's not the same as astaxanthin or resveratrol.

As a pharmacist who has researched vitamins and supplements thoroughly, I do not believe you can overdose on astaxanthin. It's not present in many food sources, so you can't rely on food for it. Up to 12 mg a day is great--beyond that, your fat storage becomes saturated and you eliminate excess, so it's a waste of your money. I take 8 mg daily, in split doses, and I don't sunburn anymore because it's a natural internal sunscreen.

If you're only taking 500 mg a day of vitamin C, I'd tell you to take 1000 mg daily in divided doses.

Sadly, food quality, even organic, is not what it used to be. Our soils are depleted and not as nurturing as in the past. In the 1940s, you could get all the vitamin A you needed from 2 peaches....now it takes 40 peaches. So I believe in supplementation even with a great diet.

I agree that there comes a point where you're taking too much, but I don't believe it hurts your body to take a lot of antioxidants (just not A or synthetic E), but it sure hurts your wallet. I think everyone should take at least one fat-soluble antioxidant and one water-soluble antioxidant daily.

The first article I cited here is about astaxanthin. Not Vits A, C or E. Those remain controversial, still, and the studies pro and con are confusing still/
If one wants to be orange like Dr. Mercola MD..as he has appeared on Dr. OZ now twice, then yes, do the high dose.
People here who read are entitled to both sides of any medical topic. My take is that we did not evolve on high dose astaxanthin, and therefore, we should be cautious with it.

High dose Vit C in patients with diabetes is not recommended in some studies. Many of our readers here are over 50 and this would be an issue.
There are some new studies to suggest no more than 250mg.
If you have read any of my posts, you will know that I am borderline with this risk, and only control it with lipoic acid, and diet.
I've been insulin resistant for many years with PCOS.

Highly acidic environments in the body also are connected with chronic pain. Many of our posters have chronic pain in one form or another. Pain is now known to be mediated by acid reactions. Using an EsterC product would reduce the acidic load, IMO.

I AM investigating the new liposomal forms of ascorbic acid which allow for less dose, and more response. Haven't tried them yet, but may do so shortly. As of now I only recommend Ester C for those going for 500mg or above.

Vit C is an essential nutrient, and can help with collagen disorders and arthritis. But one has to be careful with it under some circumstances.

Yes I do agree about organic being less reliable. I saw this over a decade ago in my own town, where the organic grocer was seen in a Kroger's buying lettuce in bulk when he ran out of his organic product.(this was years before Kroger's started carrying "organic" and other health food products).
I don't think honesty in retail is that reliable for food. And recently a new article about organic meats raised the concern for increased toxoplasmosis infections.
http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/20...site-risk?lite
Organic does not always mean better!

I do think people should investigate carefully whatever supplement they are interested in before actually using it. The papers on supplements tend to be very conflicting...and the controversy on Vit D is an example of that. And the link with high dose folic acid, to colon cancer has not yet been clarified fully.

I am still looking for that article I saw recently... I am just striking out trying to find it again...

Always good to thoroughly COOK all meats whether organic or not. We grow our own organic veggies/berries, own a cow share for clean dairy and cook all organic meats until done.

The only problem I have is the price of bison: $10 a pound! :eek:

Ostrich can be more or less depending on the cut. I've tried bison and beefalo, and if it were more readily available, I think I'd still go with ostrich.

Of course, everyone has their own preferences/tastes.

Doc

Ostrich...you're the first I know that has commented on it. Might give it a try. Thanks.:D

I first tried it at a food vendor booth/cart at a festival. Best "Italian" sausage I have ever had, but that likely had as much to do with the recipe as the meat.

Ostrich is so lean that for some things fat must be added to it to keep it from burning. ;)

Since most suppliers are small local operations, flavor can vary considerably depending on what the birds are fed (think free-range corn-fed chicken vs. mass-produced) and other factors. Many of these small operations welcome visitors and offer tours of their facilities. (Moral: If looking for a regular/steady source, it's worth trying a few.)

Doc

As usual.......
 

I must agree with Doc. I have friends who have a resource for range fed ostrich in the Nashville area. When they make their pilgrimage there, I give them some money and an ice cooler to transport it. I get ready made sausages and ground meat. It does not make a good burger in my opinion (even on the grill ) unless mixed with something else to give added fat content and flavor. I keep the ground meat on hand for meat balls, spaghetti sauce and meat loaf. The grandkids can't tell the difference and that tells me a lot. Stay cool, y'all.

I have just found this thread.

I worry about the very issue of how "much to take." With regard to my magnesium use, for example, my recent lab test was 2.0 mg/dl. But if I take less than 800-900 mgs. per day (600 in multi-vitamin as "Oxide & Glycinate," 200-300 as citrate), I start getting horrible foot and leg cramps. In addition, I am thinking of adding a completely new anti-oxident, resveratrol. It seems that opinions are divided on the effectiveness and safety of this. Like mrsD, I take ubiquinol, r-lipoic and krill oil, but I wonder about the safety of those, too.

Im not an expert or anything but I have read magnesium is safe to take until it gives you stomach flu.... you can take the maximun dosage before having stomach flu....

About the antioxidants.... it depends on your whole body status as far as understand.... why are you taking them ?