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• October 13, 2009 10:29 p.m.

  Due to stress,radiation from the sun, enviromental pollution and depletion of nutrients in our food supply,the cells in our body are being attacked by free radicals so we need to take antioxidants to counteract the damaging affects of free- radicals.In NZ there is no selenium in our soils.I believe the average person's diet does not supply the nutrition we require for good health. Reg Nurse with interest in nutrition.

  - Judy

• September 28, 2009 1:39 a.m.

  My mother was right! Eat your fruits and veggies; get plenty of exercise and sleep! She should know--she's 86 and an amazing specimen of physical health and strength, and sharper than many I know in their 60s. Yes, she spent most of her life eating "pure" food, working outdoors, etc....a lifestyle most of this generation has not even had opportunity to experience. But she overcame her genetics also by her lifestyle; my grandfather died of a massive heart attack at 45 and my grandmother succombed to cancer in her 50s (I never knew either one of them) I still believe that the "fuel" we put into this marvelous piece of machinery is the key to our health! (and of course the exercise we do) Fruits and vegetables are expensive, but what is your health worth? Many people do not realize how much they are spending on their junk food, soda, alcohol, caffe-lattes, and all of that every day. Also, a piece of fruit is just as easy to grab as a bag of chips. As my husband and I move through these mid-life years, we are grateful for the examples we had of healthy eating and living. Yes, we take multi-vitamins, C, calcium, fish oil, but, more importantly, we try to eat well and exercise. Many people often comment on how trim and young we look. Well, it takes a little more exercise and a little less food these days, but we will continue these disciplines. We only have this one body!

  - Michelle

• September 23, 2009 5:31 a.m.

  @Michael - this research doesn't involve original investigation because it is a meta-analysis: it grades and analyzes previous research in a field according to predefined criteria. As such, these are very useful exercises. To dismiss it as "just the opinion of ..." is to miss the point entirely.

  - Triath

• September 1, 2009 7:57 a.m.

  The thing to notice about this "research" is that it doesn't involve any original investigation itself: it's just the opinion of Bjelakovic G, Nikolova D, Gluud LL, Simonetti RG, and Gluud C.

  - Michael

• August 15, 2009 11:12 a.m.

  Very interesting information about the effects of antioxidant supplements beta carotene, and vitamins A and E actually (possibility) increasing the risk of death.

  - Harlon

• July 20, 2009 10:50 a.m.

  Is the same concluded from drinking products that claim to be made from fruit and vegetable extracts? My poor mother is tormented that, had she bought and faithfully consumed this product a year before she was diagnosed with colon cancer, it would never have happened. Now, she thinks her hair is falling out excessively (not from chemo, and it looks abundant to us) , and her friend who sells the product responds to an email re hair loss with these impressive reports: This morning I received a call from our Company, XXX, and the V. President in one of his messages said -- "we all know that one of the benefits of taking XXXX is hair growth and fingernail growth." So, there is your answer right from our Company. As you might remember, XXXX has profound research that shows: After 7 days your free radicals go way down. Your antioxidants go way up (this is important because if we don't neutralize free radicals, they destroy good cells and, according to Dr. Richard DuBois, when DNA cells become mutated is when people are diagnosed with cancer, that dreaded disease. Your DNA is less damaged by 66% after 80 days of consuming XXXX. Your homocysteine goes way down and you want it under 7. Your immune system becomes normalized, which means your T cells and B cells start functioning like they were designed to function. My mother believes all of this; how can I disprove these nebulous claims?

  - Terri

• May 9, 2009 9:32 a.m.

  How do you measure 1 serving of fruit or veggie? 1/4 cup? Isn't liquid calcium and coral or methylcrystalline calcium the most absorbable? Isn't oxalate excreted or harmful due to cooking [eg: as in spinach, etc.]? Finally, due to poor soil, pesticides and inorganic fruits/veggies, we need the boost from supplements...also due to declining health or enzyme and probiotic levels, as we age. So.. purest one can afford is best: EG: liquid and organic when possible, and/or fruit & vegie powders. Do you agree? My health has GREATLY improved on a 90% vegan diet w/supplements and exericise and above all, prayer and intimacy w/God. Have overcome osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, indigestion [GERD], morning fog, all of which were ongoing but have reversed. Instead of increasing with age, they've diminished. I also do veg. juicing but not consistently. I'm 69 years strong. Thankfully, the past five years into above measures have brought me these results.

  - Gina

• March 30, 2009 12:10 p.m.

  Pretty much everyone agrees that it's healthier to eat real food than to take supplements. If we would eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, there's little doubt we'd be healthier than if we eat few and take supplements instead. The trouble is, most people don't. Despite good intentions, and New Year resolutions, and nutritionist advice, and medical advice, and so on, most of us don't eat enough F&V to meet our nutritional needs. For the last couple of years I've been using a product called Juice Plus which seems to represent an intermediate step. It's simply powdered extracts of fruits ("Orchard Blend"), vegetables ("Garden Blend"), and berries (I forget what they call that one). According to the mfr this stuff isn't a supplement or a drug; the FDA classifies it as a food. Yes, it's dried stuff in capsules, rather than real F&G -- even the mfr says the real stuff is better -- but given the realities of the way most of us eat, it seems a reasonable compromise. Compared to supplements, it would seem likelier to retain more of the complexity of different antioxidants interacting with one another that Nelson and Zeratsky point out. I've checked out several of the published studies of efficacy cited by the mfr, and they seem credible enough, but of course a half-dozen relatively small studies can't tell the whole story. I sniffed around the net and couldn't find any negative info about Juice Plus. I wonder if the authors here, or anyone else

  - Dale Freeman

• March 12, 2009 3:54 p.m.

  I had prostate cancer surgery and took Selenium. My cancer support site states that there are several studies that show positive results for the "yeast" versions of selenium. The recent article that discounted selenium was evaluating a specific type. A agree that eating right is the best solution. But I also think that we must look closely at the various "studies" and and keep their results in context.

  - Tim

• March 9, 2009 12:30 p.m.

  along with natural antioxidents, say for instance a blueberry, comes a "higher power" philosophy of who or what created us and the food we eat. The blueberry has a balance of chemicals, which trigger multiple chemical reactions in our body at the same time. We do not, as we never will, really completely know about use of all of these chemical reactions and all of the digestive responses that happen under all diferent conditions of health. I think taking one or two chemicals from this and applying their usefulness is inappropriate. If you just go out and pick or buy some blueberries, and eat them, your body would automatically take what it needs. Using one refined supplement may throw other chemical requirements off in the body, and it may then wrongly take or not take something out of the next thing we eat. Then it won't take the good part of the carrot in your lunch because receptors are blocked by mistake. We have to learn that all we have to do is eat the food, preferably not treated with antimicrobials and chemicals,and we not only get the right balance when we need them, but they actually taste good. beats the vitamin taste. everyone has the right to choose their own lifestyle so don't force your beliefs on someone else. just make them aware that you simply don't need science to get the benefits of a blueberry, just eat it. Our science didn't create blueberries, and everyone knows they are good for you

  - rickymouse