Antioxidants

Antioxidants help protect cells against oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is the wear that happens when unstable molecules, called free radicals, outnumber your body's own defences. Your body builds part of that defence itself. The rest comes from food: berries, nuts, olive oil, green tea and vegetables. A supplement adds a concentrated amount of one or a few of these compounds, in a dose you can read on the label.

Different antioxidants do different jobs

Vitamin C is water-soluble and works in the watery part of the cell. You will find the various vitamin C options in their own collection. Vitamin E is fat-soluble and sits in the fatty membrane around the cell. Selenium, zinc, copper and manganese are not antioxidants themselves. They are building blocks for your body's own antioxidant enzymes, so a modest daily amount is enough. All of these carry an approved European claim: they contribute to the protection of cells from oxidative stress. Plant compounds such as resveratrol, quercetin and green tea polyphenols have no approved claim, and we do not invent one for them.

The form decides how much reaches your cells

Absorption often matters more than the number on the front of the pack. Coenzyme Q10 is fat-soluble, so an oil-based softgel is absorbed far better than dry powder pressed into a capsule.

• Fat-soluble: vitamin E, CoQ10, astaxanthin, lutein. Take them with a meal that contains some fat.
• Water-soluble: vitamin C and most polyphenols. Splitting the dose across the day works better than one large serving.
• Buffered vitamin C (magnesium or sodium ascorbate) is gentler on an empty stomach than plain ascorbic acid.
• Liposomal: the nutrient is wrapped in a tiny fat layer so the body absorbs more of it. Useful, and usually dearer per gram.

Dose logic runs the other way from what the packaging suggests. Astaxanthin from algae is used in single milligrams, not hundreds. Selenium works at microgram level. A high number is a sign of marketing more often than of a better product.

How we choose the antioxidants we stock

We look at three things: the form, the dose and whether a combination makes sense. For CoQ10 we prefer oil-based softgels, because a dry powder is poorly absorbed. For selenium we prefer selenomethionine in amounts close to daily needs, since more is not better here. We leave out products that hide a dozen extracts in a blend without naming the amounts. We only repeat claims the European food safety authority (EFSA) has approved. Every product passes our compliance team, and independent labs spot-check batches. Read how we select brands and products.

Who these supplements suit, and what to expect

An antioxidant is not something you feel. There is no rush of energy and no day-one difference, which is exactly why the dose and the form deserve your attention instead. They make most sense when there is a genuine gap: little fruit and veg on your plate, a plant-based diet low in selenium, or an older body that makes less CoQ10 than it used to. If you already eat a varied diet, a single targeted product usually beats a stack of five. And more is not automatically safer: several antioxidants have a clear ceiling, which we set out in the questions below.