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supplements and functional foods

ANTIOXIDANTS THAT WORK BETTER IN TEAMS

In this day and age of the quick fix, consumers often look for a single tablet or pill that will cure what ails them. Scientists arc no exception, often conducting studies on single ingredients to determine how they individually contribute to health and nutrition. However, countless studies have shown that nature's mixture of nutrients is often healthier than single ingredients alone. Antioxidants, for example, frequently gain power when they're consumed in synergistic cocktails.

The public has followed the saga of antioxidants versus free radicals with growing passion, religiously taking antioxidant supplements in the quest to stave off chronic disease. "You've probably heard of free radicals as factors that contribute to disease and aging-and this is true, because these oxidative culprits cause chromosomal damage and impair cellular function," writes Gary Null, PhD, in Gary Null's Power Aging (New American Library, 2003). "On the other side of the battle lines are the antioxidants-substances such as vitamin K and selenium that we get from good food and that neutralize the damaging effects of free radicals."

Scientists believe that when this balance is out of whack, the ensuing chromosomal and cellular damage may lead to chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease and macular degeneration as well as reduced immune function. However, it is also widely accepted that free radical formation is an inevitable and even necessary component of natural metabolism. "It is important to note that free radical formation accompanies normal and essential biological processes and, thus, can never be fully eliminated," Null says. "For example, when our immune system is called into action to fight off bacteria or viruses, a by-product of that activity is the generation of free radicals . . . . But while we cannot eradicate the free radical, we can control it. This is where antioxidant foods and supplements come into play."

Consuming antioxidants as part of a healthful diet and supplement program can assist in regulating the balance between free radicals and antioxidants, thereby reducing the risk of chronic disease. Here are some of the more popularly recognized antioxidant combinations.

Garlic + Fish Oil

A tasty addition to countless foods, garlic is also a known antioxidant. According to the December 2003 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, garlic skin is recognized for having antioxidant properties, and researchers from Wakunaga Pharmaceutical Co. in Japan have identified six antioxidant compounds within the herb's skin. In fact, aged garlic extract is believed to be more of a free radical fighter than raw garlic, as noted by the same researchers in a 2002 paper published in BioFactors. Researchers at Liverpool John Moores University in England reported in the February 2003 issue of Life Sciences that aged garlic extract protects against heart disease by inhibiting LDL oxidation.

When combined with fish oil, garlic is an even more potent protector of heart health. In 2001, researchers from the University of California, Irvine, published animal research in the International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research; the study showed fish oil plus garlic significantly suppressed triglycerides, total cholesterol and LDL levels. The same investigators reported in a 1997 issue of the Journal of the National Medical Association that the combination significantly improved lipid profiles after only 1 month. The researchers concluded: "These results suggest that in addition to the known anticoagulant and antioxiclant properties of both fish oil and garlic, the combination causes favorable shifts in the lipid subtractions within 1 month."

Lutein + Zeaxanthin

Macular pigment-an area of the eye where lutein and zeaxanthin collect-is believed to be key in preventing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) through its light-screening and antioxidant capacities, according to researchers from Florida International University in Miami. While their April 2003 study in The Journal of Nutrition showed an increase in macular pigment after supplementation, researchers concluded more definitive research is needed to correlate supplementation with a reduced risk of AMD.

Preliminary evidence is still supportive of the carotenoicls' role against AMD according to the December 2003 issue of The Journal of Nutrition, which suggested the combo increases macular pigment density. Researchers from the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital concluded from their trial (published in the February 2001 issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science) that lutein and zeaxanthin may delay or prevent AMD because the two biggest risk factors involve a lack of pigment, and this combination increases the pigment.

Selenium + Vitamin E

In 2001, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) started enrolling men in a study called SELECT (the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial), which will include more than 32,000 men. Designed to reveal what effects vitamin E and selenium have against prostate cancer, the study will take 12 years to complete.

According to NCI, the two nutrients were chosen hascd on studies showing that each nutrient reduced the risk of prostate cancer. In vitro research puhlished this year in Prosfafg Cancer miJ Prosfafic Disease: validated the SELECT trial, showing that selenium and vitamin E used together were more anticarcinogenic than either alone. Another study puhlished in the October 2001 issue of Cancer Research indicated the combination was more effective than cither antioxidant alone.

Zinc Combinations

Zinc is one of the more popular antioxidants used to stave off colds and flu. When it is used in combination with other trace elements and/or vitamins, however, it gains immune-boosting power. Research published in the March 200? issue of Allergie ef immuHoiogie (Paris) indicated that zinc, vitamin C and magnesium are important nutritional factors for preventing complications of rhinitis. A 1997 study in the Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism showed zinc plus selenium, or the two combined with antioxidant vitamins, reduced the risk of infection in 81 elderly adults. More recently, researchers at Comenius University in Slovakia conducted a review detailing the importance of selenium and zinc in protecting immune function. Their review, published in a 2003 issue of Folia Microbilogica, also indicated that zinc supplementation can restore immune response and prevent infection in the elderly.