Super Foods Course Lesson 2

Bring on the antioxidants! All of my foods claims to be "A Great Source Of Antioxidants" heck even my face moisturizer has the label.

But what are these "antioxidants" they speak of and are they really something to write home about?

It is important to have an understanding to why you are eating something. Just because a label claims to be healthy don't you want to know why? If that were the case I could make up some big long word like "thorminoline" and design a product that says in big letters on the label: GREAT SOURCE OF THORMINOLINE!"

Would you buy it? I hope not…

But we aren't talking about my made up foods we are talking about antioxidants. Check this out:

What Is an Antioxidant & Why Should You Really Care About Them?

This is a good question and one that really needs to be cleared up. Antioxidants are more like a buzzword or topic today whenever you are talking about health and nutrition. All the major diets talk about being antioxidant rich and they think this is some super benefit that only they can provide. Wine is a drink that comes high with antioxidants. I hear people all the time saying that they drink wine because of its high levels of antioxidants. Coffee is another drink that is high in them and so many articles are written about coffee and its benefits.

Red wine... mmmmmmmm... good for antioxidants too!

But lets break this down just a bit... What are antioxidants anyway and why should you care about them?

Oxygen. We need it to live. Pretty simple concept to grasp... right? What if I told you that as your body processes oxygen evil things called free radicals are a byproduct. Free radicals are the byproduct of oxygen metabolism.

Free radicals are molecules themselves and it really has to do with electrons that make them what they are, but they attack your cells membranes. They essentially are tied to the aging process.

So the basic function of an antioxidant is to fight these free radicals and make them less prevalent. But when it comes down to it, there is no way that you can stop them. You need oxygen so free radicals are just a fact of life. Antioxidants are great to consume to keep you cells safe more or less... of course you can have to much.

If you consume very high levels of antioxidants, then your body tissues can become deprived of oxygen. Fitness, health, nutrition, and your body are things of balance and this is one that is easy to over due.

Although I could not find any numeric evidence of what "very high levels" means, it is easier to over do the antioxidant levels because of supplementation. Vitamin C & E are two big antioxidants and these are also 2 very popular supplements. It is therefore possible to get too high levels of these vitamins.

There is another negative effect of high levels of antioxidants... decreased muscle repair and building after exercise. You already understand that when you lift weights your muscles become damaged because of the stress that was placed on them. Your body then gets to work and repairs the muscle and makes them stronger for future incidents of high stress.

Your oxygen levels in your body increase almost 10x when you exercise, which means higher levels of oxidation. But when you body goes to repair the muscle, there is evidence that excessive antioxidant levels inhibit recovery and adaptation of your body to repair muscles. There is nothing proven about this though...

So where do you get your antioxidants from anyway? The main source of antioxidants is fruits and vegetables. You can also get them from veggie oils, teas, coffee, olive oil, and wine.

My suggestion is not to use supplementation when it comes to vitamins like C & E... take a multi-vitamin but leave it at that. Try to get what you can from a healthy diet and I wouldn't bother worrying about the negative effect of building muscle. You can help you muscles recover and nobody has ever had any negative affects that relate to their antioxidant levels.

Get it now? Ok… good then go load up on some yummy antioxidants.

Yes, antioxidants are as good for you as you thought but what about that chicken breast you are fixing tonight for dinner? In a surprising report I will explain why the meat may be harming your health.

Get more information about exercises to lose weight and make sure you check out our fitness courses podcast where we talk about current fitness events and give you help to get great results.

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