Antioxidants – Foods To Consume and Risks of Antioxidants Supplements

There are a lot of benefits of Antioxidants in the body’s immune system. Antioxidants are those substances that protect our body on the cellular level form any kind of damage that may occur like exposure to radiation, smoking, pollution or other similar chemicals that may lead to some kind of radical damage. They are already present in our body but needless to say, they can also be consumed through a few outside carriers that are rich in antioxidants.

The most common carriers of antioxidants are quercetin, lutein, lycopene is among some of the phytochemicals, apart from Vitamins C, E and A, selenium also includes antioxidants.

Importance of Eating Antioxidant-Rich Foods

As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of benefits related to antioxidants so there are certain foods that you can consume to get your dose high and most of them are common like whole grains, nuts, vegetables and fruits, these items contain large amounts of antioxidants and. Other foods like fish, poultry, and meats contain lower amounts of antioxidants. Junk foods do not have any considerable amount of antioxidants.

Why You Should Not Consume Too Much Antioxidants Supplements?

Despite all these benefits, scientists do not recommend the excessive consumption of antioxidants supplements that are available in the market as dietary supplements. If Antioxidants are consumed through the foods that are rich in them, they can be really beneficial for your health as they reduce the risk of health diseases or some forms of cancer.

The results that come from studying the extracts of antioxidants are completely different as their natural benefits seem to diminish considerably. These antioxidant supplements do not possess the same beneficial qualities that antioxidant-rich foods have

Not just lack of benefits but having large doses of these supplements may also prove detrimental to your health as it is believed that they can negatively interact with some medications. As antioxidants contain Vitamin A, excessive consumption may lead to birth defects in case the supplements are consumed by a pregnant woman. This may also elevate the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Apart from Vitamin A, consuming excessive vitamin E may lead to a probable increase in the mortality but keep in mind that this particular benefit may not necessarily accrue to the person consuming antioxidant supplements as the amount of Vitamin E are very small in comparison.

All things aside, it is just like any other supplement, it has its benefits but there also exist a large number of health hazards if consumed in excessive dosages. If consumed through natural foods, then the benefits may very well overtake the threats. If you feel like you need to get these antioxidants supplements, we would recommend you to not do it before consulting your healthcare provider first to stay on the safe side and avoid any health issue.