The Low Down On Antioxidants and Free Radicals - Oxidative Stress
Antioxidants and Free radicals
One for the runners:
Did you know that when you exercise intensively you INCREASE the free radical burden in your body?
Everyone of us has, what may be called, our antioxidant protective capacity. That means our bodies normally use antioxidants to protect us against the harmful impact of free radicals. This capacity is partly gene dependent for example the SOD2 gene but is also dependent on your nutrition.
First of all, what are antioxidants? They are molecular substances which offset free radical damage to the body. Antioxidants, "quench" free radicals and therefore neutralize their damaging effects on the cells of the body
Antioxidants are found in foods such as cranberries, green tea and even chocolate.
Antioxidants are found in vitamins such vitamin C and E.
Antioxidants are found in carotenoids such as beta-carotene.
"Antioxidants are found in many substances supplied by the body such as glutathione which depends on co factors like b6, magnesium and zinc and amino acids.
Antioxidants are found in many herbs and enzymes.
The impact of antioxidants is that they can offset free radicals in your body that come for example as a result of your training and exercise or for that matter from environment pollutants or toxins etc.
You must consider your antioxidant status in your sports nutrition regimen or you could really not be getting the benefits of your training or in actual fact causing more load on your body with your workouts and prematurely aging yourself or leading to a decline in many areas of performance and health. When you do an ultramarathon or marathon for example, on that day your burden of free radicals will be through the roof and will body will need time to recover and get rid of these and you can support. yourself by good neutraceuticals and a good diet high in antioxidants.
Free radicals are those chemical species which contain one or more unpaired electrons, capable of independent existence. They form in the body due to a variety of reasons as offshoots of cellular activity or as products introduced to the body from the outside ie environmental toxins, pollutants, bad foods etc.
Free radicals form and cause damage by reacting with many substances in your body. It is estimated that upwards of 200,000 free radical attacks occur in our bodies daily.
When free radical damage is done, the body can remove the compounds formed by its cellular repair system. However, if the body cannot handle the free radicals (with antioxidants for example), nor remove the compounds, then disease can be the result and oxidative stress leads then to aging and decline over time and damage to the body's cells and system.
But not all oxidative stress is bad and that's the tricky part. We need a certain amount (that's why we exercise) to cause a cascade of changes that can actually made us stronger. So we don't just want to pound the body willy nilly with tons of antioxdants. It's about striking the right balance as with all things biology.
If you want to support your body's natural ability to fight free radical damage and oxidative stress also check out our blogs and information on our longevity and anti-aging supplement site
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