Warren Matthews explains why "MORE IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER!" regarding
antioxidant supplements.
©  Warren Matthews May 19, 2004

Do Anti-oxidants Contribute To Heart Disease?

" Study shows that vitamins raise levels of bad Cholesterol in Mice"

This article was written by Sid Kirchheimer of WebMD Medical News and reviewed by Brunilda Nazario MD. Although it is factually correct it will be misleading and somewhat alarming to many readers, especially those who use both Vitamins C and E!

I say misleading because the findings and the assumptions made in this article will not apply to everyone who takes vitamins C and E... I say alarming, because what they say in the article does indeed apply to many people who do take these supplements.

That sounds like contradictory talk doesn't it? Let me try to explain:

The gist of the article was that when you take Vitamin C, E and even beta carotene in a supplement that these nutrients will stimulate the liver to increase the production of very low density lipoproteins (VLDL's). These in turn convert to low-density lipoprotein (LDL) which is the "bad" cholesterol that builds up along artery walls and can lead to atherosclerosis.

"This study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, is reportedly the first to link antioxidant vitamins with increased VLDL production. And that's what makes it important, says one expert."

"The bottom line of this paper is that you shouldn't assume that taking antioxidant vitamins is only going to have beneficial effects on cardiovascular disease," says Ronald M. Krauss, MD, director of atherosclerosis research at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, who was not involved in the study but wrote an accompanying editorial to it.

"There is no human clinical information -- the research was done on animals -- so this study doesn't offer a recommendation of whether or not you should take antioxidant vitamins," Krauss tells WebMD. "But it provides good background into what may be occurring when one does take antioxidants and helps explain some previous findings."

OK... what does this study mean to you?

Likely very little... UNLESS you are taking high doses of Vitamin C, E or Beta Carotene! Then it is important. This is where we come to the "MORE IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER!" statement. To help me better explain this statement to you and also what this study means I discussed the subject in detail with Prof. Dr. A Munem who researches and directs our R & D!

I have always known that he is totally against mega doses of supplements, especially Vitamin C and E... but I have never really completely understood why. He was patient with me and explained in detail what happens when you take high doses of some supplements and in particular Vitamin C and E.

I have to confess that much of the explanation was far too technical for me to fully understand, so I will give you the bottom line only. Here it is:

High doses of some supplements, especially Vitamin C and E will do you more harm than good, especially if you are basically healthy.

High doses are considered to be amounts in excess of 400mgs per day for Vitamin C and 600IU's of Vitamin E. Many people take well in excess of these amounts, particularly Vitamin C which is normally sold in 500mg or 1,000mg tablets or capsules.

An exception to these limits applies when a person is sick or the body is in a diseased state. At these times the doses of Vitamin C can be much higher, in fact when given intravenously the dose rates may be even 20 times higher.

Why are high dose rates dangerous?

In simple terms this is what happens:

Most people's bodies will happily accept up to 400mgs a day of Vitamin C in supplement form... if they are healthy! Up to this amount the Vitamin C acts as a free radical scavenger which is beneficial. However, unless the body is diseased or has an infection at the time, doses in excess of 400mgs per day will have the opposite effect. The Vitamin C will actually start generating free radicals and bring about undesirable actions in the body such as they found in the study with mice.

Another way of looking at it, is if you are basically healthy and you are taking high doses of Vitamin C for anti-aging purposes you will actually be getting the opposite effect!

The same principle applies to Vitamin E.

We are often asked why we have comparatively low doses of some vitamins in our Total Balance. This is the reason... more, is not always better and in some cases 'more' can be worse than none at all!

The 'ACTIVES' in each ingredient have to be carefully considered to ensure that the optimal dose rate is achieved and ONLY benefits are derived from them. In addition, the metabolic pathways of each have to be examined at molecular level and their interaction with other actives considered. Combined correctly and the efficacy of the ingredients are increased manifold. This however is a very complex science and unfortunately one that only a small number of scientists understand... I certainly don't.

This is the reason why some people who buy single vitamins or supplements are usually doing themselves more harm than good, not to mention the money that they are wasting. I often see supplements advertised which contain dose rates which will put their bodies out of balance, but the people who buy them are thinking that they are doing themselves good. These types of supplements are designed to cater for public perception of what they think is good and not necessarily what is good.

It is because of these reasons why we will see more and more of the type of articles that I have been addressing today. I find it a bit frustrating because it gives readers the wrong impression of the facts... which quite simply is that it is possible to slow down the aging process and have vibrant health, but you won't get it by overdosing on a few popular vitamins or minerals...

Until next time,

Warren Matthews

P.S. You might like to note that the full dose of Vitamin E in 6 tablets of our Total Balance is 100IU's, (which is the natural form) which when combined with the 10mgs of Tocotrienols in Total Balance will give much more benefit than much higher doses of Vitamin E without the risks. Tocotrienols are a form of natural Vitamin E, but about 40 - 60 times more potent.