Antioxidants for athletes

Why the number on the scale might not make sense

“Antioxidants” have become quite the buzzword in the health and wellness industry the past few years. But what exactly are they and how can they help to elevate your health and performance?

On a daily basis, your cells produce free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) as by-products of metabolism. Because you use more oxygen when you exercise – up to 10 – 15 times more to be exact, and up to 100 times more during extremely high intensity exercise – the oxidative stress in your body increases. The magnitude of this stress depends on how well your body can detoxify these ROS.

What damage can the ROS do?

These free radicals are known as atoms that have one or more unpaired electrons, making them extremely reactive. Due to this characteristic, they can inflict damage on cells and contribute to many chronic health problems such as cardiovascular and inflammatory disease, cataract, and cancer.

Where does antioxidants fit in?

Although it has been shown that large dosages of antioxidants can neutralize the effects of exercise-induced free radicals, it has also been proven that overdoing it with antioxidants can actually block cellular adaptions to exercise. However, it is only possible to ingest these high amounts of antioxidants from supplemental sources, not food sources. Reactive oxygen species may also be needed in certain quantities to perform activities like cell signalling.

Food first

By eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, you can ensure that you get enough antioxidants to offset the muscle damage by free radicals while also getting the necessary cellular adaptions from exercise.

Types of antioxidants to look out for and their food sources

• Anthocyanins found in purple and red fruits and vegetables might help with post-exercise inflammation
• Quercitin in red onions, blueberries, tomatoes, apples, black tea can reduce inflammation, offset muscle damage and reduce oxidative stress
• Flavanoids and other antioxidants in tart cherry juice also have the abovementioned properties, and in addition to this, tart cherry juice can help to improve sleep due to the melatonin content of tart cherries
• Vitamin C found in oranges, strawberries, kiwi, green leafy vegetables and other produce is involved in numerous biochemical pathways that are important for exercise metabolism
• Betalains in beets are anti-inflammatory. Beet juice has also been shown to have performance benefits by improving blood flow
• Theobromine found in cocoa may help to increase blood flow through vasodilation (widening of the blood vessels).