Dietary Antioxidants or Dietary Supplements: Which is Better for Your Heart?

Alvin B. Lin, MD, FAAFP
 
Dr. Lin is an associate professor of family and community medicine at University of Nevada School of Medicine and an adjunct professor of family medicine and geriatrics at Touro University Nevada College of Medicine. He also serves as an advisory medical director for Infinity Hospice Care and as medical director of Lions HealthFirst Foundation. Dr. Lin maintains a small private practice in Las Vegas, NV. The posts represent the views of Dr. Lin, and in no way are to be construed as representative of the above listed organizations. Dr. Lin blogs about current medical literature and news at http://alvinblin.blogspot.com/.

If you are what you eat, do you look more like Ronald McDonald or the Pillsbury Doughboy?  Or do you look more like some of the Olympic athletes?  Isn't it unfortunate that we can't bottle up their efforts, pop a pill, and look just as good as they do?  Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work that way, at least not yet.  Worse, modern day snake oil salesmen have preyed on our need for a quick fix by marketing any number of pills designed to make us look, feel & perform 20 to 30 years younger than our current chronologic age.

Unfortunately, you can't yet bottle these findings into a handful of pills, although that's probably not going to stop any manufacturer from making unsubstantiated claims generalized from this study. Recall that this study is one of dietary antioxidants, not dietary supplements. We just don't have the evidence to demonstrate much benefit from popping pills. So go out there and eat healthy.