Back in 2019, data from two noteworthy trials on the impact of taking antioxidant and vitamin supplements during cancer treatment were published. Their results are important to us. They provide additional data that may help inform our thinking. Unfortunately, they contradict our long-held belief that such supplements are safe to use. Our reaction is to immediately criticize the research looking to find fault in the methodology.
The question of whether antioxidant supplements will aid or hinder cancer treatment has become highly divisive over the years with sharply contrasting opinions and little room for a middle ground. The standard medical wisdom adhered to by a majority of oncologists is that because many medical interventions, especially radiotherapy and traditional forms of chemotherapy, work by increasing reactive oxygen levels in tumor cells and eventually triggering apoptosis, that taking antioxidants will quench these free radicals neutralizing the expected benefits of therapy. Thus, their general opinion has been that cancer patients should avoid antioxidant supplements like the plague.
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