New Antioxidant Discovered
 Antioxidants
. . . what comes to mind first? The
orange vegetables - carrots and sweet potatoes,
supplements like selenium, and vitamins C,
D, E, right?
When we think about antioxidants, we typically
think about eating something to combat those
trouble-making oxidants with anti-oxidants from
supplements and vividly colored fruit and vegetables.
I want to change your mind
about antioxidants!
What are antioxidants?
Antioxidants are reported to be a major player
in health and wellness by scavenging the blood
for free radical cells that have entered the
bloodstream from pollutants.
Some free radical cells are positive and are
needed to fight disease and heal injury. However,
when the body is exposed to environmental pollution,
free radicals are produced in excess.
Excessive Free radicals do the damage
Excessive free radicals not only cause damage
and leave the body more susceptible to carcinogens
(cancer causing substances), they also play
role in heart disease and hardening of the arteries.
This occurs when free radicals oxidize with
the bad (low-density) cholesterol.
Oxidation in the blood stream operates in the
same way that metal tarnishes (when it's left
outside in the weather). When metal tarnishes,
it is being oxidized. And that's what excessive
free radical reactions do in your bloodstream.
The traditional way to combat free radicals
is to increase the amount of food rich in vitamins
C, D, E, beta-carotene, selenium, and take antioxidant
supplements.
...but now there's a new antioxidant on the
block!
New Antioxidant discovered
Researchers report that high-intensity exercise
- the Synergy Fitness type of fitness training
- that produces lactic acid (the burning sensation
in muscles during exercise) may need to be considered
an "antioxidant agent" because of
its ability to scavenge for free radicals. (Free
radical scavenging and antioxidant effects of
lactate ion: an in vitro study, 2000, Groussard).
If you think about it, it makes perfect sense.
When you reach an out-of-breath (anaerobic)
state during exercise, the body tells the blood
system to hunt for all the oxygen it can to
pay back the oxygen debt.
By performing anaerobic exercise, you have
done something to your body to make it automatically
"scavenge" the blood system and seek
out cells that could be oxidized.
Maybe this explains why I hear people say,
"My body feels so clean after doing the
Sprint 8 Workout." Perhaps they have zapped
everything that could be oxidized.
Doesn't exercise cause free radicals?
Yes. Researchers report that exercise produces
small amounts of free radicals. Remember, it
is the "excessive" free radicals that
are the trouble makers.
The free radicals produced during exercise
actually "insults heart muscle," explain
researchers. And this is positive. The "insult"
causes the heart to develop what the researchers
call an "adaptive response," which
builds antioxidant defenses into heart muscle.
Researchers conclude, "Regular physical
exercise may beneficially influence cardiac
antioxidant defenses and promote overall cardiac
function," (Physical exercise and antioxidant
defenses in the heart, 1999, Atalay).
The Take Home
Don't give up the carrots or toss your antioxidant
supplements. Just consider adding anaerobic
workouts (after consulting your physician, of
course) to your fitness plan.
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