Research
Mixed
Dietary antioxidant supplementation (specifically Vitamin E and C) does not improve muscular performance or endurance and may potentially increase mortality risk, contradicting the hypothesis that it protects against exercise-induced damage.
Avoid relying on Vitamin E or C supplements to boost exercise performance or protect muscles. Evidence shows they offer no performance benefit and Vitamin E supplementation has been linked to increased mortality in some reviews. Focus on whole foods for antioxidant needs.
GoodRefutesHIGH confidence
Most of the studies, however, report no benefit of vitamin E neither for muscle strength nor for endurance performance... a recent review study... has unexpectedly shown the negative effect of some supplements. Vitamin E, for example was one of the antioxidants that was associated with an increase in mortality.
Why this rating
Cites a review of 47 papers and multiple specific studies showing no benefit.
Source
Oxidants, Antioxidants, and the Beneficial Roles of Exercise-Induced Production of Reactive Species
Elisa Couto Gomes et al. · Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity · 2012
DOI 10.1155/2012/756132
narrative_reviewCited 282×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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