[Dr. Praetoria]

I was wondering how taking antioxidant supplements effect the body's own ability to produce any of its own, natural antioxdants?   [xx(]
That is, could taking antioxidant supplement (say in tab form) reduce the body from producing similar antioxidents that fight diseases?
Doc

[iko]

I was wondering how taking antioxidant supplements effect the body's own ability to produce any of its own, natural antioxdants?   [xx(]
Doc

Hi Dr.Praetoria,
I'm Dr. Iko, cofactor-vitamins enthusiastic supporter
and cod-liver-oil maniac around here.
 
Our body seems to be partially able do produce 'naturally' antioxidant substances and renew oxidized ones in its biochemical cell factories. The body itself would 'naturally' die from starvation without proper food.
So most of the vital compounds needed to survive (including so called antioxidants) must come from our diet.
The term antioxidant is too vague and inconsistent...for a proper discussion.
We should talk about specific substances and properties, to avoid that a serious scientific issue as this one sounded just like the usual 'natural' crap.

iko

Post Scriptum:
I quote for you my previous post in the 12/08/06 topic: "Anti-oxidants, are they really good for you?"
The very same word anti-oxidant is so vague (anti-freeze for cars, anti-oxidant for people!) that makes the whole thing sound like crap.
But vitamins and cofactors, flavoinoids and other natural substances are being extensively studied again these days.
Vitamins were "the thing" in 1960-70 when biochemistry was the top of medical research.  Cofactors could cure every disease...Now we almost forget the "real" deficiency diseases and cite one cofactor meaning another one. Wernicke encephalopathy, a form of beriberi (vit.B1 deficiency discovered over 120yrs ago) is often diagnosed at autopsy.
Modern medicine has a problem here:
- some molecules are inexpensive or cannot be patented, so money is not readly available for the expensive proper clinical trials needed to demonstrate clinical efficacy.
- some natural substances could work "in the long run" and increase the difficulties and costs of the studies.
Times are changing, anyway, and the extraordinary high level of communications we can keep these days may help even these neglected and "poor" drugs.
Thanks to this forum, for example, and all the rest.
iko

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