I don't know anything about acai so I could care less about that, but here's what I wrote to a friend on FB about this article... This is exactly why I hate science journalism. The researcher says something tongue in cheek and it's blown out of proportion. Antioxdiants do not cause cancer, and that's not what the researcher is saying. The researcher (if you actually read the paper, which this guy obviously didn't do outside of one section) is clearly saying that antioxidant supplementation is detrimental only when treating existing cancers. Although I agree with the writer that supplementation isn't necessary (emphasis: for most people), this is just another case of blowing the words of one marginally important researcher making a tongue in cheek comment completely out of proportion (the researcher doesn't even reference or back up his claims that antioxidants cause cancer in the paper! The one study he does reference, a meta analysis, doesn't even show any significant negative outcomes with supplementation. I question if the researcher has any understanding of odds ratios and relative risk). Not only that, but focusing narrowly on cancer is ridiculous. Currently CHD, diabetes, and related auto-immune disorders - which can be treated with antioxidants - are just as important as cancer.
