Chances are, you’ve heard that antioxidants can increase the
impact of workouts. They became popular dietary supplements when they were said
to soak up the highly reactive oxygen molecules, or free radicals, that are
generated during activities. When there is an excess of free radicals in the
body, there can be cell death or tissue damage. Since scientists believe that
our body creates too few natural antioxidants to counteract the free radicals,
many serious fitness performers began taking antioxidant supplements.
In a new study performed by researchers at the NorwegianSchool of Sport Sciences in Oslo, it was discovered that athletes who were
given large doses of vitamin C and vitamin E supplements, did not develop as
many markers related to mitochondrial creation as those who did not take an
antioxidant supplement. More mitochondria, especially in muscle cells,
means more energy and, by and large, better health and fitness. The creation of
new mitochondria is, in fact, generally held to be one of the most important
effects of exercise.
Physiologists
have begun to suspect that free radicals may play a different role during and
after exercise than previously thought. They are now thinking that free
radicals are not as harmful as they once thought. Without free radicals, the
biochemical reactions that end in strong muscles and better metabolic health
seem to start. Since most of the free radicals are absorbed by the antioxidants
when the supplements are taken, it would seem that antioxidants do not increase
the benefits of working out.
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