Antioxidants

A decade ago, antioxidants -- nutrients such as beta carotene and vitamins C and E -- were taking the nutrition world by storm. These free-radical fighters, medical experts predicted, would extend human life by protecting us from environmental hazards, cancer and heart disease. Antioxidants began making headlines in the early 1990s, when several large medical studies showed lower rates of cancer in people who took vitamin E and beta carotene.

Long before hundreds of bottles of herbs, minerals and multivitamin concoctions lined drugstore shelves, vitamin C supplements were there. Considered a staple by nutritional supplement users, vitamin C has been thought a possible immune-system booster and preventive against heart disease and cancer. Then came a study released last month at a La Jolla meeting of the American Heart Assn. Those findings indicated that high doses of vitamin C could worsen heart disease.

It's expensive! It's exotic! It's superfruit! Meaning what, exactly? The term "superfruit" has been applied to acai berries, maqui berries, yumberries, chokeberries, goji berries, lingonberries, lychee berries - a lot of berries, in other words, but also baobabs, mangosteens, sea buckthorn, jujube fruit, cupuacus, pitayas, pomegranates ... the list keeps growing. You may wonder what is it about these fruits that lifts them out of the ranks of the ordinary into exalted superfruit status.

Adding to a growing scientific consensus, a large Danish study released Tuesday found that vitamin E and other antioxidant supplements provided no health benefits and might even produce a small increase in the incidence of death. The report in the Journal of the American Medical Assn.

You wouldn't last very long without oxygen. But just as rust slowly eats away at a nail, oxygen can age your body. As your cells use this vital element, they produce free radicals — unstable molecules that can damage your tissues and add wear and tear to your entire body, including your skin. Many anti-aging products promise younger-looking skin through the power of antioxidants, compounds that help neutralize free radicals before they can do any harm. Antioxidants such as vitamin E, vitamin C and beta carotene show up in a lot of sunscreens and lotions.

Maple syrup: It's sweet, it's calorific, and -- this just in -- it contains antioxidants and anti-inflammatories and stuff. Which must mean -- reasoning leap alert! -- that it is a superfood that can help ward off myriad health problems, like cancer and diabetes. In a study just reported at a meeting of the American Chemical Society, researchers analyzed the various compounds in maple syrup. They found 54 antioxidants, including five new ones. (One they've dubbed Quebecol, after the region where much maple syrup is produced.)

"Mastering Memory" (April 8) was an interesting and informative article--good food for thought. At 28, I thought I was losing my mind because my memory was not serving me well. Then a doctor suggested that "the art of retention is attention." I won't question whether or not memory enhancers including antioxidants will help in aiding the memory-impaired (I'm no doctor), but I will continue to give full attention to what I hear, see and read. At 49, this daily practice has served my memory well.

Is there a reliable way to check my antioxidant levels? A laser scan said I was running low. GAIL L. Riverside The products: When a fender oxidizes, it's called "rust." In your body, oxidation plays a key role in aging and disease. Antioxidants such as vitamin E, vitamin C and beta carotene can offer protection, but you may wonder if you have enough to keep the rust away. If you're concerned -- or just curious -- you can always try a high-tech palm reading.

Vitamins may greatly reduce the risk of heart attacks and the need for further surgery in people with coronary artery disease, according to new research released Wednesday. Two studies, published in today's New England Journal of Medicine, show substantial benefits from vitamins. In one, studying people who had undergone angioplasty to unblock coronary arteries, taking supplements of B vitamins helped keep the blood vessels from becoming blocked again.

When you slice a pear or an apple in half, that gentle blush of brown that spreads across the surface after a few minutes is called oxidation--a form of organic rust. And just like a sweet slice of fruit, our faces are oxidizing, albeit at a slower rate. The culprit behind this process is the highly reactive free radical, a molecular structure that interacts with skin cells and sets off a chain reaction that leads to the telltale signs of aging: wrinkled, sagging and stressed skin.