Posts Tagged ‘antioxidants’

I hate the lies, half truths and bullshit surrounding the pharmaceutical VS nutraceutical industries.

Researchers are in many cases biased by financial gain on either side if the fence.

Small short term studies will do the SEO & press release circuit touted as irrefutable evidence of whichever side is in favor.

Here’s my take on it.

1. If you are taking high dose Vitamin C & E then all cofactors should also be in a balanced ratio.

2. A double blind study of 30, 100, even 500 people is irrelevant. Only a metastudy of 1000 or more people can make such research relevant scientifically.

3. A 2-3 month exercise study is also irrelevant. The effects of over training and training adaptation do not become significant until after this time frame.

So as there is abundance of disinformation I will share my educated assumptions

1. Antioxidants are good for you and increase lifespan & quality of life

2 Exercise is good for you and increases lifespan & quality of life

3 Worthwhile exercise, diet & supplementation are permanent strategies, not short term or even long term

4 One of the basic principles in bodybuilding is periodization & we periodize our diet to match our training

So if you are going to take high dosages of some supplements for whatever reason, all co factor nutrients must also be increased. The co factors of cofactors must also be increased

A high dose will not be used long term it will be cycled to match training intensity, injury & recovery

Looking specifically at Vitamin C & E. The research papers currently being touted are short term & with a small number of participants.

The claim is that as antioxidants decrease the inflammatory response to exercise this reduces adaptation in the immediate time frame & these small studies are evident of this

Here’s the thing. Are you prepared to grow & adapt a bit slower if it means you can train for the rest of your life with less injury & greater resilience?

Because I can almost certainly guarantee that this is what a long term study will show. That long term the antioxidant groups out last those showing short term & immediate gains

The balance of course is periodization

Many people these days take antioxidants to counter the detrimental effect of free radicals. Antioxidants mopped up free radicals and convert them into harmless substances. Free radicals are known to cause body cell decomposition and therefore are the main culprit in our aging process. Free radicals are linked to aging diseases such as cancer and heart problems besides making us age more quickly. Since free radicals cause our cells to decompose, then free radicals will also degenerate our muscle cells.

Staying clear of situations that cause a surge of free radicals to surge is one way of prevention and taking antioxidants as a supplementation is another. There are many situations that will increase free radical activities such as sun burn, stress, smoking, alcohol consumption, pollution, exercise workout amongst others. Yes, we get a surge of free radicals when we exercise especially intensive exercises because we are putting our bodies under tremendous stress when we exercise. These muscle destroying activities will continue for hours and even days depending how intensive your exercises are.

This is where antioxidants supplementing comes in. Since antioxidants neutralize free radicals, it helps your muscles to recover faster and stop the ravaging effects of free radicals on your muscle and thus allowing better muscle growth.

So if you want your muscles to recover faster and want to grow bigger muscles after your workouts, supplementation with antioxidants may help. There are many antioxidants supplements in the market. Vitamin A, C and E are perhaps the better known free radical fighters out there. Some other excellent free radical scavengers are Green Tea extract, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Beta Carotene etc

So our mums although may not have known about antioxidants and its effect of free radicals on our body was right when they insisted that we take our vitamins. Do protect your muscles and general health with antioxidants.