It is really annoying how for so many people marketing is taken for science more readily than science is taken for science.
I was in a store the other day and overheard a person explaining to another person why they were buying a ridiculously overpriced bottle of pomegranate juice.
鈥淚t鈥檚 full of antioxidants,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e really healthy for you.鈥�
Because of marketing, this has become common knowledge. People accept it because of that. But is it true?
There is very little evidence that taking antioxidants in the form of food and/or supplements has any health benefits at all.
Like most clever marketing schemes, however, there is a kernel of scientific truth.
Oxidants are chemicals sometimes called free radicals or reactive oxygen species. They naturally occur in the human body as the result of metabolism. And they can cause damage to proteins and cells. This damage is a major contributor to aging and disease.
It is therefore a perfectly valid hypothesis that adding antioxidants to the body to neutralize these chemicals might prolong life and prevent disease.
For scientists a hypothesis is the beginning of many years, if not decades, of rigorous research and testing. There was, in fact, legitimate hope that antioxidants might have therapeutic value.
For marketers a hypothesis it is a golden opportunity to make unproven claims to cash in on scientific illiteracy. If oxidants are bad, then antioxidants are good and the more the better, right?
Just look at the overblown hype from just one website, www.drfuhrman.com, about pomegranates:
鈥� Most powerful anti-oxidant of all fruits
鈥� Potent anti-cancer and immune supporting effects
鈥� Inhibits abnormal platelet aggregation that could cause heart attacks, strokes and embolic disease
鈥� Lowers cholesterol and other cardiac risk factors
鈥� Lowers blood pressure
鈥� Shown to promote reversal of atherosclerotic plaque in human studies
鈥� May have benefits to relieve or protect against depression and osteoporosis
Many studies show that the pomegranate is one of the most powerful, nutrient dense foods for overall good health. These clinical findings clearly show a correlation between pomegranate compounds and their positive effect on both human and animal cardiovascular, nervous, and skeletal health. This is one fruit that you can鈥檛 afford to exclude from your diet.
What does the science say?
One average size pomegranate has 234 calories. It is low in saturated fat, high in dietary fibre and a good source of Vitamins C and K. In other words, it is probably not a bad addition to a balanced diet although you probably want to eat it in moderation because most of the calories are from sugar. Is it the miracle food hyped by the marketers? Probably not.
And even if ingesting antioxidants did prove to be the panacea they say it is, eating and drinking all that sugar is probably not ideal.
The fact of the matter is that 20 years of research has not produced much evidence that ingesting antioxidants is beneficial to healthy individuals. It has shown that a healthy body naturally maintains a balance between oxidants and antioxidants.
Whenever I point things like this out to people who don鈥檛 want to hear it, they almost inevitably end up saying something like, 鈥� oh well, it can鈥檛 hurt.鈥�
Actually, it might. There is still hope that further research may lead to specific therapeutic applications of antioxidants in patients with degenerative diseases, but for the average person, overindulging may do the opposite.
One comprehensive research review concludes: 鈥淲e found no evidence to support antioxidant supplements for primary or secondary prevention. Vitamin A, beta-carotene, and vitamin E may increase mortality鈥� (Bjelakovic et al. 2008).
