How to Supercharge Your Antioxidant Supplements

I don’t want you to waste either your time or your money on remedies that don’t work. I am on a mission to get the truth out in a world filled with ever-increasing marketing misinformation designed by those who are more interested in your money than your health.

One such completely bogus concept is that of antioxidant supplements. Antioxidant supplements are heavily promoted as a way to support overall health and prolong life.

Here’s the news, my friend. They do neither – by themselves.

Why does almost everyone get antioxidants wrong?

It is related to a phenomenon known as “oxidant stress.” Oxidant stress results from a battle going on all the time in every one of our cells. On one side of the battlefield are molecules called oxidants. Oxidants are molecules that are produced from the processing of oxygen into energy. Oxidants are essential for our health. No oxidants, and you die immediately. Having less-than-healthy levels of oxidants can lead to health problems and accelerate the aging process. The other side of the battle involves antioxidant enzymes.

Antioxidant enzymes are proteins that cells produce to regulate the activities of oxidants generated within them. As important as oxidants are for our health and well-being, when they are not adequately controlled by our antioxidant enzymes, they can damage and destroy cells. That’s “oxidant stress” — a serious problem. Excessive oxidant stress can lead to cell death and accelerate aging. So it becomes critical for us that the interaction between our oxidants and antioxidant enzymes is balanced so that oxidant stress does not occur. And that’s where antioxidant supplements come in.

Antioxidant enzymes balance out and control oxidants by reacting with them. In the reaction, the antioxidant enzyme becomes oxidized and loses its effectiveness. Antioxidant supplements can reactivate the oxidized antioxidant enzyme, making it effective once again. To the degree that there’s an insufficient amount of antioxidant supplements in the body, the antioxidant enzymes won’t get reactivated, and a deficiency will develop. This would lead to oxidant stress.

So the antioxidant supplement theory goes like this. Since oxidant stress is so damaging, and since antioxidant supplements help control it, taking large amounts of antioxidant supplements may help us live longer and resist health challenges. Sounds good, doesn’t it? The problem is that it doesn’t work.

Here's the proof: The authors of the study reported on the results of 78 different studies that examined whether taking antioxidant supplements prevented health problems or extended life. That’s a lot of studies on one topic!

Overall, they studied almost 300,000 men and women. The average duration of use for the supplements was three years. Some studies focused on a single antioxidant supplement, while others examined various combinations.

The results clearly showed that taking antioxidant supplements has no effect on either healthy individuals or those with health challenges. In either case, they worked no better than taking a placebo! But there’s more to this story.

Why doesn’t the antioxidant supplement theory work? It seems like it ought to. The reason is simple. It’s because, by themselves, antioxidant supplements do nothing. What do I mean by that? As discussed above, the mechanism by which antioxidant supplements work is by reactivating antioxidant enzymes. So they are only effective when interacting with antioxidant enzymes. But here’s the problem.

As we get older. As we become more toxic. As our circulation becomes worse. As our hormones become deficient. As we become less fit and out of shape. As our livers don’t function as well. As we start taking medications. As we get more stressed. As our diets lean more toward processed and high-carb foods. As we get sicker. As all of these things happen, the amount of our antioxidant enzymes decreases. And when the enzymes themselves are deficient, there is nothing for the antioxidant supplements to reactivate. They become useless. It’s like watering a plastic plant. There is nothing there for them to work on! There’s nothing wrong with the water. The problem is that the plastic plant has nothing to work with the water.

At this point, you’re wondering if you should continue taking your antioxidant supplements. Before you decide, let me say that there’s one surefire way to ensure the antioxidants you take will work. All you have to do is increase the amount of antioxidant enzymes in your body. Once you do this, the antioxidant supplements you’re taking will have enzymes to activate, and you’ll find them to be very effective. So, how do you increase your antioxidant enzymes?

The most effective way is regular vigorous exercise. Read the chapter on exercise in my book, Bursting With Energy” to get the details on what is meant by that. Study after study shows that those who are at the highest levels of cardiovascular fitness have the highest levels of antioxidant enzymes. One study involved nine sedentary young men, who ran for an hour every weekday for 12 weeks. During that short period, the antioxidant enzymes in these young men increased significantly. This effect is even more pronounced in older men and women, whose levels are already lower. But that’s not all exercise does. It’s also a great way to detoxify, improve circulation, regulate hormone levels, and enhance liver function.

Once you have established your exercise program, we can discuss antioxidant supplements. Because as your antioxidant enzymes increase, your body will need more of the antioxidant supplements to reactivate them. A great way to do that and also to get an extra boost for your immune system is to take my Super Immune QuickStart every morning. However, taking antioxidant supplements, including QuickStart, without a vigorous exercise program to accompany them has been proven to be completely ineffective. In fact, it’s just another form of exercise — an exercise in futility. But if you do the exercise, the antioxidants can work miracles.

Yours for better health,

Frank Shallenberger, MD