You hear it on radio, you've seen it on tv, you've bought some from the supermart. Anti-oxidants. What makes them so good ... especially for runners?
The answer lies in what is produced by the body when a person exercises.
Under normal circumstance of aerobic exercise, the body takes in oxygen for cellular respiration. In this process, the oxygen is utilised in a series of reactions to release energy. The oxygen loses electrons and forms a tiny little devil known as free radical. Free radicals can attack cells in our body. They are known to be contributing factors to ageing, cancer, cell death, heart disease, Alzheimers' disease and a string of other conditions.
Under training conditions of an avid runner (amateur or professional alike), the body undergoes higher amounts of cellular respiration. Thus, larger quantities of free radicals are being produced, that can cause potentially more harm to the body. This is exacerbated long periods of intensive endurance training, like months of regular long distance running.
Having said all that, all is not lost. A group of substances called anti-oxidants, is known to combat free radicals. The body is naturally equipped to produce anti-oxidant enzymes (a kind of specific protein molecule), which in turn eliminates the free radicals from the body. Apart from the enzymes from the body, there are also external sources of anti-oxidants available (in food). Anti-oxidants are substances like vitamin A (beta carotene), vitamin C, vitamin E, ubiquinol, lipoic acid and uric acid. These can be obtained from the diet, mostly from fruits and vegetables.
There are 2 schools of thought when it comes to taking anti-oxidants from food. 1 school of thought is that our body is highly efficient, and would quickly adjust to adapt to increased amounts of free radicals due to exercsie. The body would generate more enzymes to eliminate the higher amounts of free radicals. Another school of thought is that there is a threshold that the body is able to handle when it comes to free radicals. Under prolonged exercise, the amount of free radicals generated may be too much for the body to handle well. Hence, additional sources of anti-oxidant from food is useful.
Anti-oxidants are known for extensive health benefits, including anti-ageing. It has been suggested (albeit without official evidence) that the high levels of free radicals produced during the trainings of endurance athletes (like runners) actually stimulates the body to produce more of these anti-oxidants, resulting in endurance athletes staying "younger". Ensuring a healthy dosage of anti-oxidants in your diet thus not only aids in recovery from trainings, it also helps to keep yourself in the pink of health.
The answer lies in what is produced by the body when a person exercises.
Under normal circumstance of aerobic exercise, the body takes in oxygen for cellular respiration. In this process, the oxygen is utilised in a series of reactions to release energy. The oxygen loses electrons and forms a tiny little devil known as free radical. Free radicals can attack cells in our body. They are known to be contributing factors to ageing, cancer, cell death, heart disease, Alzheimers' disease and a string of other conditions.
Under training conditions of an avid runner (amateur or professional alike), the body undergoes higher amounts of cellular respiration. Thus, larger quantities of free radicals are being produced, that can cause potentially more harm to the body. This is exacerbated long periods of intensive endurance training, like months of regular long distance running.
Having said all that, all is not lost. A group of substances called anti-oxidants, is known to combat free radicals. The body is naturally equipped to produce anti-oxidant enzymes (a kind of specific protein molecule), which in turn eliminates the free radicals from the body. Apart from the enzymes from the body, there are also external sources of anti-oxidants available (in food). Anti-oxidants are substances like vitamin A (beta carotene), vitamin C, vitamin E, ubiquinol, lipoic acid and uric acid. These can be obtained from the diet, mostly from fruits and vegetables.There are 2 schools of thought when it comes to taking anti-oxidants from food. 1 school of thought is that our body is highly efficient, and would quickly adjust to adapt to increased amounts of free radicals due to exercsie. The body would generate more enzymes to eliminate the higher amounts of free radicals. Another school of thought is that there is a threshold that the body is able to handle when it comes to free radicals. Under prolonged exercise, the amount of free radicals generated may be too much for the body to handle well. Hence, additional sources of anti-oxidant from food is useful.
Anti-oxidants are known for extensive health benefits, including anti-ageing. It has been suggested (albeit without official evidence) that the high levels of free radicals produced during the trainings of endurance athletes (like runners) actually stimulates the body to produce more of these anti-oxidants, resulting in endurance athletes staying "younger". Ensuring a healthy dosage of anti-oxidants in your diet thus not only aids in recovery from trainings, it also helps to keep yourself in the pink of health.
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