Web Exclusive > 'Superfood' Debunked
'Superfood' Debunked
Antioxidants aren't all they're juiced up to be
By Emily Garber
Antioxidants are everywhere these days. Nutritional supplements, breakfast cereals and tea appear to have taken over the “antioxidant” trend. Vitamin Water released an antioxidant flavor, and Lipton developed and marketed the “AOX Seal.” Even the cosmetic industry now boasts antioxidants, claiming wrinkle and sun damage fighting benefits. Antioxidants have been heralded as magic health bullets.
Despite the high price tag, pomegranate juice advertised heavily for its antioxidants grew almost 88 percent over the last three years, and blueberries saw sales of its frozen product grow almost 30 percent with no advertising.
The dollar volume of these “superfoods” might have increased by 19 percent over the last two years, according to ACNielsen Label Trends, but the actual volume of antioxidants consumed decreased by 6.1 percent. This might be because we’re gobbling up health food differently than we ever have before. As more non-vitamin products touted their free radical fighting powers, sales of the “antioxidant rich” multiple vitamins declined — over 14 percent — or almost $16.5 million in just one year.
But there’s growing evidence that antioxidants aren’t all they’re juiced up to be. A new review of data by Cochrane, a health research institute, that included a quarter of a million people reveals antioxidants do not reduce the risk of dying earlier in healthy people or in patients with various diseases. People in trial groups who were given the antioxidants beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E actually showed a higher rate of mortality.
Kathleen Zelman, director of nutrition for WebMD, reviewed the study and told CBS News, “This is a very comprehensive, to-be-respected analysis. This isn't just another study coming out. The bottom line is that antioxidant supplements are not a magic bullet for disease prevention. We hoped maybe they were, but they are not.”
In a supermarket landscape where vitamins are most easily accessible in a can of Coke, many nutritionists and researchers worry that too many people will jump to antioxidant-enriched food instead of leading an overall healthy life.
If you are interested in protecting your health, Zelman says, pills aren't the answer. “There is no single food or nutrient that is going to be the answer. The
secret really is lifestyle,” she says. “And the most important things about lifestyle are being at a healthy weight, being physically active, and eating a healthy diet.”