Another study mentioning why balance is so important in antioxidant loads. Too Much is potentially just as damaging as too little. While this is an animal study, it shows relationships of functions, hormones, and free raticals. Copied here from www.Ourfood.com:
[3] A study of Shkolnik and colleagues 2011 stresses that ovulation is stimulated (by) the pituitary luteinizing hormone (LH). This process is related to inflammation involving oxidant radicals (reactive oxygen species ROS). In their study the authors found that antioxidants reduced the rate of ovulation in rats preventing the modification of the local tissue, which prepares the ovulation.
Progesterone production was also found to be reduced by antioxidants, together with up-regulation of genes by the LH hormone which were also significantly reduced. Oxidants on their turn, were found to be implicated in phosphorylation and activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and its downstream effector, p42/44 MAPK, essential elements of ovulation. More studies related to antioxidants supplements and its possible implication in reduction of fertility are needed. The authors concluded that the production of ovary oxidant radicals is essential to fertility and antioxidants may become a non-hormonal contraceptive."----