We can start with a comparison to vitamins. Today we recognize 11 vitamins that are dietary essentials, and several more vitamin-like nutrients. For optimal health, we also need antioxidant nutrients and accessory factors such as carotenoids, bioflavonoids and lipoic acid. Foods contain thousands of beneficial compounds, and we should take advantage of those that will help us live better and longer. There are three good reasons for having several antioxidant nutrients.
Antioxidant nutrients work together synergistically.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, individual antioxidant nutrients differ in their transport and storage. Some antioxidants act primarily in the aqueous portion of the blood stream, others within particles of lipoprotein in the blood, others on cell membranes, still others within cellular cytoplasm, and a few in cell nuclei. Antioxidants also vary in their efficiencies to quench various radicals and other reactive oxygen species. The antioxidant profile of vitamin E is different than that of vitamin C, and likewise, the antioxidant nutrients are partners. Just as we need to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, we need to get optimal amounts of the major antioxidant nutrients, especially the curcuminoids.