Antioxidant cancer treatment paper criticised by integrative researchers

A controversial paragraph in an article written by a renowned scientist, stating that antioxidants could compromise treatment of late-stage cancer patients, has incited debate about the benefits and risks of nutritional supplementation.  James Watson’s paper[1] commented that while in healthy people antioxidants can be helpful in attacking free radicals, many cancer treatments use free radicals to kill tumour cells, inferring that antioxidants could hinder effective treatment. Dr Joachim Fluhrer, a Sydney integrative practitioner with extensive experience in nutritional medicine and molecular oncology, said “The simplistic notion that taking vitamin supplements will stop chemotherapy from working is not supported by evidence.”