Posted by
MaxGxl on Monday, October 26, 2009 10:09:11 PM
Athletes who want to have a successful career not only need hard
training but also scientific nutritional supplement. Dietary maintain good
health and to improve post-event recovery. There are many different categories
of supplements but perhaps the most important, and misunderstood, of these are
the antioxidants. Numerous types of antioxidants occur; some are produced by
our bodies while others are derived from the diet. Free radical-induced
oxidative stress is an inevitable consequence of prolonged exercise and results
in tissue damage, excessive fatigue, delayed recovery and overtraining.
Endurance athletes need to ensure that they have an adequate intake of a wide
variety of effective plant-based antioxidants.
Although there’s plenty of evidence for the theory of antioxidant
protection from free radical damage to cells generally, the link between
antioxidant supplements and protection during athletic performance is poorly
understood. Some studies appear to show a benefit, others have shown little benefit
and some animal studies have even suggested that large doses of antioxidant
vitamins may be detrimental. Thus the antioxidant story has been characterised
by changing scientific consensus and confusion: do athletes really need extra
antioxidant protection, and if so what kind and how much?
Much of the research into antioxidants and athletic protection/performance
has centred on nutrients such as vitamins A, C and E and the mineral selenium.
Not only are these essential for other functions in the body, they also
activate some of the key antioxidant enzymes in the body, which help to defend
cells against free radical damage.
Most studies into antioxidants and athletes have involved athletes
taking large doses of one or more of these antioxidant nutrients and then
observing the effect on a subsequent bout of exercise. In particular,
researchers have been keen a) to investigate whether the administration of
antioxidant nutrients reduces the amount of oxidative damage caused by exercise
and b) to see whether antioxidants actually enhance performance.
The answer to the question is that there does seem to be evidence
that extra antioxidant nutrients can reduce the markers of free radical damage
during subsequent exercise, but, as mentioned above, this is by no means
clear-cut. In terms of performance gain, there’s little evidence to date that
antioxidant nutrients can enhance actual physical performance but there may be
other benefits associated with taking them. So, athletes should take note of
the rapidly growing body of evidence pointing to the protective benefits of
phytochemical-rich foods, such as brightly coloured fruits and vegetables.
These not only contain antioxidant nutrients but hundreds of other naturally
occurring powerful antioxidant compounds.