The comment of Blüher et al. (1) highlights the fact that their study (2) and our study (3) deal with two different situations. Our study (3) uses vitamin C as a surrogate of a healthy lifestyle, while the study of Ristow et al. (2) uses a pharmacological tool to dissect pathophysiological mechanisms. Future studies will have to determine whether there is a dose-dependent effect of the potential negative actions of antioxidants or whether adverse actions of antioxidants depend on a certain threshold.
Acknowledgments
No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.
References
1.
Blüher
M
, Stumvoll
M
, Kahn
CR
, Ristow
M
: High baseline vitamin C levels do not prevent a positive outcome of a lifestyle intervention: response to Thamer et al. (Letter)
. Diabetes Care
2010
; 33
: e17
. DOI:10.2337/dc09-1725
2.
Ristow
M
, Zarse
K
, Oberbach
A
, Klöting
N
, Birringer
M
, Kiehntopf
M
, Stumvoll
M
, Kahn
CR
, Blüher
M
: Antioxidants prevent health-promoting effects of physical exercise in humans
. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
2009
; 106
: 8665
– 8670
3.
Thamer
C
, Machicao
F
, Stefan
N
, Fritsche
A
, Häring
H-U
: High baseline vitamin C levels do not prevent a positive outcome of a lifestyle intervention (Letter)
. Diabetes Care
2009
; 32
: e112
. DOI: 10.2337/dc09-0965
© 2010 by the American Diabetes Association.
2010
Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for details.