Study Suggests Antioxidants Could Make Us More, Not Less, Prone To Diabetes

When supplements go bad.

"We've all heard about the damage that reactive oxygen species (ROS) - aka free radicals - can do to our bodies and the sales pitches for antioxidant vitamins, skin creams or 'superfoods' that can stop them. In fact, there is considerable scientific evidence that chronic ROS production within cells can contribute to human diseases, including insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

But a new report in the October 7th Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, adds to evidence that it might not be as simple as all that. The researchers show that low levels of ROS - and hydrogen peroxide in particular - might actually protect us from diabetes, by improving our ability to respond to insulin signals.

'Our studies indicate that 'physiological' low levels of ROS may promote the insulin response and attenuate insulin resistance early in the progression of type 2 diabetes, prior to overt obesity and hyperglycemia,' said Tony Tiganis of Monash University in Australia. 'In a way, we think there is a delicate balance and that too much of a good thing - surprise, surprise - might be bad.'"

No surprise here.

Fitness Watch readers have known it for years e.g., see this.