[송준호 교수의 진솔한 의학 이야기] Antioxidant Supplements Market

Quite a few people ask if taking 1000mg of vitamin C is good. It seems that they are still actively promoting it on the Internet or YouTube somewhere. The global market for antioxidant supplements, including vitamin C, is said to reach 4.2 trillion won by 2020. Is this really good for the body as rumored?

Living organisms burn oxygen to make energy. Mitochondria, the thermal power plants inside cells, are in charge of this task. Just as burning coal produces harmful substances, the oxygen combustion of cells also produces by-products. These are unstable ‘free radicals’ called reactive oxygen species. Like sticky glue, highly reactive free radicals oxidatively damage vital molecules in the body. As a result, organ damage and aging occur.

Denum Harmon, an American medical scientist who revealed this, is a person with a unique career who studied free radicals in petrochemicals for several years at an oil refinery before becoming a doctor. With this experience, Harmon created the theory in the 1950s that it was oxidative stress caused by the accumulation of free radicals, or active oxygen, that causes aging and disease. As soon as this theory became an important theory of aging and disease, and prominent scholars such as Linus Pauling began to say that antioxidants could prevent oxidative damage, pharmaceutical companies began to produce many types of synthetic antioxidant supplements, such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene. made them Antioxidant supplements have become the best egg yolk products.

In 1994, when a paper was published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the myth of antioxidant supplements began to crack. The higher the intake of beta-carotene, the higher the risk of lung cancer. Since the 2000s, studies have been published that show that the effect of exercise disappears when antioxidant supplements are taken after exercise. In a large human study, vitamin C and selenium were useless, and beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E actually increased mortality. In the animal longevity experiment, there was no benefit from reducing oxidative damage, and surprisingly, animals with increased active oxygen showed a longer lifespan.

The reason has recently been revealed. It turns out that the living body was using a small amount of active oxygen as a signal transmitter for defense. A small amount of free radicals generated by stress acted as a trigger that activates the built-in antioxidant mechanism in the body and enhances immunity to increase stress tolerance. In other words, active oxygen, which causes damage at high concentrations, restores the body and delays aging at low concentrations. Because positive effects such as exercise or phytochemicals are also shown through stimulation signals of active oxygen, antioxidant supplements rather offset them.

In the case of vitamin C, in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) last year, the mortality rate was high even if the serum level was too low, but the so-called ‘U’-shaped risk was confirmed. Eating too much is dangerous. Nevertheless, the industry is not withdrawing from the promotion of vitamin C 1000mg. These supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.

Well-informed doctors do not recommend taking antioxidant supplements unless you are at risk of heart disease or cataract, or are suffering from a medical condition or malnutrition. The minimum recommended daily amount of vitamin C is 75 to 90 mg, but it is recommended to take 200 mg, which is the amount contained in a medium-sized orange or tangerine. You can get this amount along with other natural antioxidants if you eat enough vegetables or fruits. In addition, phytochemicals such as flavonoids and dietary fiber that helps intestinal movement and prevents cancer are a bonus. If you still insist on synthetic tablets, it is better to avoid doses of more than 500 mg per day.

/Song Joon-ho, Inha University Medical School Professor

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