In Antioxidant Failures and Dangers, Dr. Howes presents 316 study reports showing the ineffectiveness of common antioxidants, including vitamins A, C & E, resveratrol, lycopene (tomatoes), flavonoids (chocolate), omega-3 fish oil, ferulic acid, quercetin, pine tree extract, pomegranate juice, etc. Shockingly, 90 of these study reports reveal harmful (adverse) effects associated with the use of these antioxidants, ranging from increased risk of cancer to increased risk of heart disease and stroke. There are also over a dozen reports showing an increased overall mortality risk.
Dr. Howes emphasizes the significance of inadvertently overloading with antioxidants and producing a dangerous prooxidant insufficiency state. Prooxidants are essential for protection against pathogens (infections) and cancer development.
He further points out the increasing sales of antioxidant supplements due to misleading and powerful advertising campaigns. Even medical personnel and cancer survivors have been misinformed and they erroneously believe that the injudicious use of antioxidants is good for their overall health. The available scientific evidence shows that antioxidant overkill is a serious threat to one's well being and sets the stage for the development of a wide range of common diseases and the shortening of their life spans.
These study reports included over 15 million human participants or subjects from countries throughout the world. These studies represent a solid basis for the consequent downfall of the free radical theory (FRT). The FRT lacks predictability and reproducibility and is invalidated and nullified because, after 50 years of testing, it does not meet the requirements of the scientific method.
The free radical theory has fallen!
