Most consumers take it for granted that food and beverages containing antioxidants are a shortcut to healthy living, cancer prevention, and beauty--a wonder-molecule of sorts. The Nielsen Company reported that U.S. sales of food and drink containing an antioxidant claim topped $2 billion for the year ending November 28, 2009, up from $889 million for 2005. The volume of sales for antioxidant supplements grew 10% in the same period. In 2009, Vitamin Water reaped $500 million in sales, marketing drinks like XXX, a triple blend of acai, pomegranate and blueberry extracts containing a mega-dose of antioxidants. But is a triple dose of antioxidants any better than none at all?
The science behind antioxidants’ purportedly life-changing powers relates--as the name implies--to their ability to delay or reduce oxidative processes. The risk of many diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders like is thought to increase due to damage from free radicals. Free radicals stabilize themselves by oxidizing other molecules--fats, protein, DNA--and creating more radicals in the process. Chemical antioxidants generally stabilize radical molecules by donating an electron, thereby rendering them inactive.