Excess antioxidants in men can harm their future children

Initially, the research team was looking for a way to protect the body from the harmful effects of alcohol. They assumed that powerful antioxidants neutralize oxidative stress caused by alcohol.

During the experiment, male mice were given popular supplements — N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) and selenium. The result shocked biologists: perfectly healthy males who did not drink alcohol, but received high doses of antioxidants, gave birth to cubs with developmental defects. The offspring had shrunken skulls and close—set eyes, signs that are usually associated with fetal alcohol syndrome.

Professor Michael Golding explains why changes in appearance cause such anxiety among doctors. The fact is that the face and the brain of the embryo are formed simultaneously and are closely related to each other. If the structure of the facial bones is disrupted, this often signals hidden problems in the development of the nervous system.

In the future, such deviations may lead to learning difficulties, emotional control, or other neurological problems in the child. That is, by trying to improve his health with shock doses of vitamins, the future father risks the health of the heir.

It is emphasized that the problem is not in the vitamins themselves, but in their quantity. The body works properly only in a state of balance. Artificial suppression of all oxidative processes is just as harmful as their excess.

Golding advises men to carefully read the labels on cans of dietary supplements. Manufacturers often add dosages to capsules that exceed the daily norm by 10 times (1000%). To prepare for conception, it is safer to choose complexes where the content of substances is within 100% of the recommended norm.