Anti Aging Skin Care Mag

As the benefits of antioxidants have been largely published, consumer demands for products and foods that are high in antioxidants also increase rapidly. Consumer demand for dietary supplements containing large amounts of plant-based antioxidants has outpaced scientific knowledge on the actual health benefits, best dosages, and risks of those phytochemicals – naturally occurring chemicals in plants.

Dietary polyphenols are a main source of antioxidants for humans. These polyphenols, subdivided as flavonoids, have a variety of biological activities, ranging from anti-aging and anti-cancer to lowering of blood cholesterol levels and improving bone strength. Polyphenols are derived from plants and consumed as fruits and vegetables. Research found that these compounds show promise in preventing cancer, aging, heart disease and other conditions.

However many past studies on the potential health benefits of these compounds have been done in animals and their exact effects in humans are uncertain. There was inadequate attention to bioavailability — how much of a dose actually can be used by the body — and how phytochemicals interact with prescription drugs.

Indeed, insufficient research has been done with respect the bioavailability of these compounds, and possible interactions with pharmaceuticals. A critically important scientific question is then: are these flavonoids and polyphenols as effective as people believe them to be?

More studies exploring how these antioxidants are utilized in the body, particularly by targeted areas such as the heart and breast tissue were called for. For example, millions of women in the United States are taking soy-based phytoestrogens to relieve menopausal symptoms. Recent studies, however, found that a compound in soy might stimulate the growth of breast cancer.

Antioxidants should be the focus of more relevant research, especially for the high doses used in dietary supplements. There is a need for more relevant research into the bioavailability and utilisation of the antioxidants, particularly polyphenols, in order to help the successful development of polyphenols as chemopreventive agents in the future.

Source:Consumer Demand For Antioxidants Has Outpaced Scientific Knowledge<>