The growing numbers of health conscious people today living more vibrant lives owe much to the efforts and research of certain pioneers who braved ridicule, for without them, many of us now wouldn't be aware of the general benefits of taking antioxidant supplements.

To take a particular notable example, great scientist and humanitarian Linus Pauling (the only man to win 2 unshared Nobel Prizes, one in Chemistry and one for Peace) urged people to supplement with Vitamin C after he became convinced of its myriad of benefits. Pauling personally used Vitamin C for the last three decades of his life, lived to the ripe old age of 93, and was instrumental in helping this vitamin become as popular as it is now.

Although we should remain forever grateful to luminaries like Pauling, we must continue to embrace advances in our collective knowledge.

While health conscious people now know what an antioxidant supplement is, and how it protects cells in the body from becoming the victim of widespread free radical damage, many of us still don't realize that there are wide variations in the potency and efficacy of antioxidants. In short, not all antioxidants are created equal!

Common vitamins like C and E have, in recent years, been shown to have very weak antioxidant properties compared to other substances.

For instance, researchers have discovered that green tea extract is an antioxidant a hundred times more powerful than Vitamin C, and over twenty times more so than Vitamin E! Current studies are showing that green tea may be beneficial in stopping certain types of cancers.

Did you know that grape seed extract is one of the few antioxidants that can cross the blood-brain barrier, and, hence, also protect brain cells from free radical damage?

If you want to get more efficacy out of your Vitamin C and E, research has shown that alpha-lipoic acid (a potent antioxidant supplement in its own right), can help "recycle" C and E, enhancing and prolonging their benefits. Moreover, alpha-lipoic acid is now being studied for its potential beneficial effects on such debilitating health conditions as: diabetes, cataracts, heart disease, and Alzheimer's.

Have you heard about the so-called "paradox of the French?" This saying refers to the "puzzling" phenomenon that French people eat a great deal of fatty foods, smoke cigarettes, yet still suffer lower rates of cardiovascular disease than we do here in the Western world.

Some experts attribute this to the fact that the French consume a lot more wine than we do. Wine, in particular red wine, has been shown to contain a special antioxidant known as resveratrol. Besides its potent antioxidant supplement properties, resvertatrol has now been shown to help lower bad (LDL) cholesterol, and has even shown a great deal of preliminary promise in stopping the progression of cancer.

As a last example, research has revealed that N- Acetylcysteine is a powerful antioxidant that has been shown to fortify the body by protecting it against various toxins -- toxins such as chemicals and byproducts found in such things as cigarette smoke and herbicides. It may also improve immune function and retard aging.

If you haven't heard of some of these antioxidant supplements, don't be surprised. The big money from the pharmaceutical companies have a strong incentive to suppress this kind of information from getting out to the public at large. After all, they make billions of dollars only when people get sick and need a prescription, not when people take care of themselves and avoid the major killers like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and more.

Truth seekers, however, should strive to emulate heros of the past like Linus Pauling and become the new torch bearers so that we can continue to improve the state of health for people everywhere with the latest breakthrough antioxidant supplements.