Everyone is talking about antioxidants, but misconceptions abound. For example, I just received an email that described antioxidants as “the ability to soak up toxins in the body.” One dictionary definition of an antioxidant is “(1) a substance that inhibits oxidation, especially one used to counteract the deterioration of stored food products [and] (2) a substance such as vitamin C or E that removes potentially damaging oxidizing agents in a living organism.”