Despite over four decades of research, our understanding of oxidative damage and the role of antioxidants in health is still in its infancy. Much of the research done to date has produced contradictory results. Substances that look good in the lab can be less effective (or, as in the case of smokers and beta carotene, dangerous) in people. This seems particularly true for vitamin supplements.

Looking to the future, the efficacy of various antioxidants will likely be clarified. Vitamin E, for example, is already receiving a great deal of attention. If vitamin E supplements do not work, why not? Is the vitamin E in a capsule somehow less effective than that found in foods? In addition, we will likely tease out the effect of Vitamin E supplement use (vs. lifestyle or other factors) on the risk of heart disease.

Research may also cause us to radically rethink our diets. If, indeed, much of aging is due to increased oxidative damage to our cells, and if food is our best source of antioxidants, nutritionists could design potentially age-defying diets that provide the best combinations of antioxidants to ward off disease. Less radically, research will probably continue to confirm what our mothers have told us all along: "If you want to be healthy and strong (and we might add, long-lived), eat your fruits and vegetables."

Other research will likely seek to ascertain if lowered levels of certain antioxidants (and the diseases such deficiencies might cause) are influenced by our genes. If we can understand this relationship, we may someday escape or at least delay the onset of inherited diseases by ingesting the right combination of antioxidants. We may even forestall the onset of age-related vision, hearing, and memory loss and perhaps significantly confront several other age-related physiological declines.