Antioxidant Supplements: What They Are and Where They Actually Help
"Antioxidant" might be the most-used and least-explained word on a supplement shelf. Here's what it means and where a capsule genuinely earns its place.
The concept in plain English
Metabolism (and sunlight, smoke, pollution) produces free radicals — unstable molecules that damage cells over time; this is oxidative stress. Antioxidants neutralise them. Your body runs its own antioxidant systems and tops them up from food — colourful produce, tea, coffee, olive oil.
The uncomfortable truth about mega-doses
Big trials of high-dose antioxidant pills (vitamin E, beta-carotene) mostly failed to show benefit — some showed harm in smokers. The lesson isn't "antioxidants are useless"; it's that flooding one pathway isn't how biology works. Food patterns beat pills.
Where supplements do make sense
- Filling real gaps: vitamin C if fruit is rare in your diet; the UK's official autumn-winter vitamin D advice (10µg) — technically for bones and immunity, but it's the gap most Brits actually have.
- Studied specific compounds: CoQ10 (statin users often discuss it with their GP), astaxanthin, milk-thistle silymarin (our guide), green-tea EGCG in moderation.
- Polyphenol-rich whole extracts — berry, pomegranate, cocoa flavanols — closer to "concentrated food" than drugs.
Explore the antioxidant collection with per-ingredient transparency — free UK delivery on every order.
This article is for information only and is not medical advice. Supplements are not a substitute for a varied diet; talk to your GP or pharmacist before starting anything new, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, on medication or buying for a child.
