Is too much antioxidants good for you?
488960
It depends.  There are alot of antioxidants out there.  Some are good for you, such as Vitamin C.  Your body needs antioxidants to prevent free radicals from doing harm to the body.\n\n\nHow some antioxidants can harm health\n\nSome of the plant based reducing acids, most notably oxalic and phytic, bind to needed dietary minerals, rendering them unabsorbable in the gastrointestinal tract. Some of the tannins also have this negative characteristic. Calcium and iron deficiencies are not uncommon in mideastern diets where there is high consumption of phytic acid present in beans and unleavened whole grain bread. Such antinutrients can sometimes result in deceptively high Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) ratings given to various "healthy" beverages and foods, particularly:\n\ncocoa/chocolate, spinach, and berries - oxalic acid \nwhole grains - phytic acid \ntea - tannins \nOther extremely powerful nonpolar antioxidants such as eugenol also happen to have toxicity limits that can easily be exceeded with the misuse of essential oils.\n\nHigh levels of antioxidants can be powerful agents against tumours, but in some scenarios can interfere with the effects of other cancer treatments.\n\nRecent laboratory studies suggest that at levels much higher than occur through normal diets, antioxidant vitamins such as A, E and C can have pro-oxidant effects, increasing the formation of free radicals. Natural antioxidants are always ingested together with a wide variety of flavonoids and other phytochemicals are also likely to play a part. Many supplement manufacturers supply products containing antioxidants in combination with these other natural chemicals. Another significant factor is that the mechanisms by which different antioxidants regenerate each other require balanced levels to work optimally. Newer liquid nutritional supplements using plant ionic compounds are believed to be more readily absorbed in the human body.
386137
Yes they are good for you and your body, but unfortunatly, most people dont realize that they dont need them. As long as you eat regularly, and healthy, you get all the vitamins you need for the day. And in most cases, you body won't obsorb extra (to store/use) of any particular vitamin (in most cases). Therefore, just eat healthy and you should be fine, and shouldn't need them. Like always though, it may be better to actually ask a doctor, more specifically, your doctor.
76961
No, Vitamins are good for you, as long as you don't take too many. One multivitamin a day is fine.
415859
It is certainly possible to have too much protein at one time. Some effects of excess protein include\n\n# Overreaction within the immune system\n\n# Liver dysfunction due to increased toxic residues\n\n# Loss of bone density, frailty of bones is due to calcium and glutamine being leached from bone and muscle tissue to balance increased acid intake from diet (blood pH is maintained at around 7.4). This effect is not present if intake of alkaline minerals (from fruits and vegetables, cereals are acidic as are proteins, fats are neutral) is high. In such cases, protein intake is anabolic to bone.
642778
Yes, the higher your blood sugar is, the more likely you are to develop diabetic retinopathy, or other visual disturbances so lowering your sugar is great. Also beta carotene is good and Vit A I think.
445567
Vitamin B6 is needed by the body to break down a substance called homocysteine, which can directly damage blood vessel walls. Individuals who suffer a heart attack despite having normal or even low cholesterol levels are often found to have high levels of homocysteine. Since high homocysteine levels are signficantly associated with increased risk of heart attack and stroke, having a good supply of vitamin B6 on hand makes a great deal of sense. High intakes of vitamin B6 have also been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease.\n\nVery high levels of vitamin B6 can damage sensory nerves, leading to numbness in the hands and feet as well as difficulty in walking; supplementation should be stopped if these symptoms develop after beginning vitamin B6 supplementation. Vitamin B6 is usually safe in amounts of 200 to 500 mg per day, although occasional problems have been reported in this range. Higher amounts are clearly toxic
282928
Yeah... a couple of examples: too little in the way of some vitamins will kill you.  Not enough C= scurvy, which is deadly (immune system compromise and other things) and affected many English sailors.  Not enough D= rickets, which could possibly be fatal to a young child from loss of bone mass.  Not enough B1 (thiamine)= beriberi, which is a systemic disorder something like scurvy that can kill.  Not enough protein= kwashiorkor, which is also lethal.\n\nAlso, too much A can burn up your liver (so can acetaminophen, which is Tylenol).  Too much B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride) can cause nerve damage.  Too much D or calcium can cause calcium stones, which aren't fatal, but if you get one in your kidneys and can't urinate as a result, you'll wish you were dead.  I am sure there are others, too... and if you drink too much water, as some people who are compulsive do, you can actually drown yourself... :)
836695
Your body NORMALLY gets rid of excess calcium, so too much is not an issue.  I know that Vitamin A is dangerous in high levels and I am not sure about Vitamin D. . .though I recently was told of a common vitamin (can't remember which) that one can take too much of, and for some reason Vitamin D has a bell going off in my head. . .I hope someone here can help you.  BTW. . when you hit 18. . .and those of you who are eligible. . .\n\nVOTE!. . .VOTE!. . .VOTE!. . .VOTE!. . .VOTE!. . .VOTE!. . .VOTE!. . .\n\nPlease visit my 360 page: http://360.yahoo.com/zambranoray...........\n\nThanks
1111722
Anything en excess can be harmful, but too much estrogen can increase your risk of cancer.  Talk to your doctor if you have concerns.
137802
Oxidants (oxidative stress) can cause lipid peroxidation.  Oxidative stress is a natural byproduct of the use of oxygen by biological systems.  It is also caused by various biological processes such as inflammation, immune reactions, and detoxification processes.  Unsaturated fattys acids (especially in cell membranes) are very susceptible to damage by oxidative stress.  This damage results in lipid peroxidation (literally - 'fat oxidation').  Antioxidants (especially vitamin E) work to prevent excessive levels of oxidative stress in cell membranes and therefore, help prevent lipid peroxidation. Lipid peroxides can lead to damage to DNA.  DNA damage can contribute to the risk of developing various cancers.
682140
TOO MUCH Vitamin A is fatal.  For example, eating polar bear liver will kill you fairly quickly because there is a lethal amount of Vitamin A in it.
459529
Too much vitamin A can be harmful or fatal. The body converts the dimerized form, carotene, into vitamin A as it is needed, therefore high levels of carotene are not toxic compared to the ester (animal) forms. The livers of certain animals, especially those adapted to polar environments, often contain amounts of vitamin A that would be toxic to humans. The first documented death due to vitamin A poisoning was Xavier Mertz, a Swiss scientist who died in January 1913 on an Antarctic expedition that had lost its food supplies and fell to eating its sled dogs. Mertz consumed lethal amounts of vitamin A by eating the dogs' livers. The liver of the polar bear also has enough vitamin A to kill a human being, or enough to make even sled dogs very ill.\n\nExcess vitamin A has also been suspected to be a contributor to osteoporosis. This seems to happen at much lower doses than those required to induce acute intoxication. Only preformed vitamin A can cause these problems, because the conversion of carotenoids into vitamin A is downregulated when physiological requirements are met. An excessive uptake of carotenoids can, however, cause carotenosis.\n\nThe carotenoid beta carotene was interestingly associated with an increase in lung cancer when it was studied in a lung cancer prevention trial in male smokers. In non-smokers, the opposite effect has been noted.\n\nAlthough cases of vitamin A toxicity have been reported in arctic explorers and some people taking large doses of synthetic vitamin A for long periods of time, pregnant women require large amounts of vitamin A from preferably natural animal sources, such as liver, raw (non-pasteurized) butter, and cod liver oil. However excess in retinoid form must at all costs be avoided due to its well known teratological effects.
833293
You can find a ton of vitamin B in red meats and dark leafy greens. So good for you!
1124128
http://newenglandnutritives.com/ultra_antioxidant.htm\n\nYou want to take a product like this one or something similar.  Smoking causes free radical build up in the body.  Antioxidants help counter that.  Smokers need much more vitamin C than non smokers.
799660
Yes you can.\n\n".Effects (of taking too much Vit C. include: renal colic (ie, nephrolithiasis), diarrhea, nausea, rebound scurvy in infants born to women taking high doses, hemolysis if G-6-PD deficiency is present, possible dental decalcification, and increased estrogen levels."\n\nWe get vit. C from these foods in our diet: Food sources : Apples, asparagus, berries, broccoli, cabbage, melon (cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon), cauliflower, citrus fruits (lemons, oranges), fortified breads/grains/cereal, kale, kiwi, potatoes, spinach, tomatoes. \n\nDietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) : The recommended daily intake for Vit. C by the U.S. Food and Nutrition Board of the institute of Medicine for men older than 18-years-old is 90 mg/day; for women older than 18-years-old is 75 mg/day; for pregnant women older than 18-years-old is 85 mg/day; for breastfeeding women older than 18-years-old is 120 mg/day. Recently, some experts have questioned whether the recommended daily intake should be raised. Others have recommended higher intake in some individuals, such as smokers, in whom an additional 35 mg/day has been recommended by some.
334851
eat healthy and exercise good (dont over exercise)
726484
There is very little risk of overdosing on this product.  The only B-vitamins with any serious potential for toxicity are niacin and B6.  \n\nIn very high doses used for controlling cholesterol levels, and taken for very long periods of time, there is a risk of liver toxicity with niacin (but not niacinamide).\n\nAgain, in very high doses (300 mg/day for months to years) of B6 for a few people has apparently caused a reversible peripheral neuropathy.\n\nThe doses in this product would be safe at much higher levels than you are taking.  If you feel your panic attacks are helped by these nutrients you can safely take more to see if you improve further.\n\nIt is important to recognize that B-vitamins function as cofactors for many enzymes.  Sometimes these enzymes are genetically 'defective' and require much, much higher levels of the associated B-vitamin cofactor to properly activate the enzyme.  There are over 50 known genetic diseases that are treated with extremely high doses of the proper B-vitamin to activate the defective enzyme.  It is unknown how many people have an 'intermediate' level of function of an enzyme that may also respond to high doses of the vitamin cofactor, but it is likely that such situations are common.  For example, an important enzyme known as MTHFR (methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase) requires B2 as its cofactor. 10 -20% of the population has a genetic 'variant' of this enzyme that requires much higher doses of B2 for proper activity of the enzyme.  This particular issue plays an important role in the risk for many chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.\n\nI realize I have kind of run on a bit here.  But you asked a very important question and sadly, many health professionals (i.e. medical doctors) do not know this basic biochemistry and therefore believe the false concept that 'high doses of b-vitamins just make expensive urine'.\n\nBest wishes and good luck.\n\nP.S.  Given your problem with panic attacks, you may also want to try taking some fish oil  supplements.  These provide important omega-3 fatty acids that are critical for the healthy functioning of your cell's membranes and also play a vital role in reducing inflammation.\nA good (not Centrum, One-D-Day or other 'Junk' supplements) multi-vitamin/mineral supplement may also be appropriate for you.