People who eat extra antioxidants, or take them in supplement form, are not actually lengthening their lifespans compared to those who just eat well overall, according to a new study.
Researchers surveyed 14,000 older residents of the Leisure World Laguna Hills retirement community on their intake of 56 foods or food groups rich in vitamins A and C as well as their vitamin supplement intake in 1980, reported Reuters.
Over the next 32 years the researchers checked up on the participant's eating habits. During that time more than 13,000 of them died.
While the researchers accounted for smoking, alcohol intake, caffeine consumption, exercise, body mass index, histories of hypertension, angina, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer, there were no direct links between how soon they died and how much vitamins they consumed, reported Reuters.
"In the general population, health-promoting habits often cluster; e.g. those who take vitamin supplements often exercise, do not smoke, and are not obese," lead author Annlia Paganini-Hill of the Clinic for Aging Research and Education at the University of California, Irvine, told Reuters. "Thus, these factors may explain the observed association between longevity and vitamin supplements."
These antioxidants, including vitamins A, C and E, can be found in fruits and vegetables and are marketed as an essential to keep away cancer, heart disease and dementia.
"There is good scientific evidence that eating a diet with lots of vegetables and fruits is healthful and lowers risks of certain diseases," Paganini-Hill told Reuters. "However, it is unclear whether this is because of the antioxidants, something else in these foods, other foods in people's diet, or other lifestyle choices."
While it still can be healthy to consume these antioxidants, taking too much of them could be risk - high doses of beta-carotene may increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers, high doses of vitamin E may increase risks of prostate cancer and one type of stroke, and antioxidant supplements may also interact with some medicines, reported Reuters.
The study was published Dec. 29 in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
