Are health foods actually capable of reducing radicals in the blood?

[Ryan M]

I've heard a lot of news over the years that the health food market is falsely claiming that their products can help with reducing radicals in the blood. But if their foods really do have antioxidants in them, I feel like it should definitely work, no question. So what's the reason that the products are seen as dubious? I'm sorry if this is off-topic, I'm just genuinely curious.

[MiaRosati3L]

Good question! I was wondering the same thing, so I did a Google search and came across a somewhat helpful article from Medical News Today: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articl ... xedContent

The article says that there are two types of antioxidants, also known as “free-radical scavengers." Some are naturally produced by our bodies and are called endogenous antioxidants, while those which we consume (and thus come from outside the body) are called exogenous. The article also states that oxidative stress has been linked to heart disease, cancer, arthritis, stroke, respiratory diseases, immune deficiency, emphysema, Parkinson’s disease, and other inflammatory or ischemic conditions. This makes me wonder if studies on the effects of endogenous and exogenous antioxidants were in the context of their ability to mediate these life-threatening diseases by reducing oxidative stress. If someone can find an article/reference to such a study, that would be very helpful in illustrating this point. :)