Antioxidants can be found naturally in many foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables, but if you don’t always eat the proper foods, it is vital to use nutritional supplements, to be certain your body gets the antioxidants it needs. If you have a hectic job and busy family life, it isn’t always simple to eat as you should, which is why nutritional supplements are so vital.

For those who are worried about aging, or have other health concerns, it is okay to combine supplements and antioxidant rich foods. There is no research that indicates that there is such a reckon as antioxidant overdose, so you don’t have to worry about overdoing it. Antioxidants help prevent and repair hurt cells, leading to a healthier, disease free life.

Many common illnesses and diseases are really caused by improper nutrition. Poor nutrition can easily weaken the body’s natural defenses, making you more susceptible to illness and disease. If you are injured, your body is much better able to heal when you have supplied it with the proper nutrients. In recent supplement studies, those who have the right balance of nutrients in their body report that they have more energy and feel better than ever before. They can tell a difference in how they feel when they have the proper nutrition, and when they don’t!

There are many types of antioxidant supplements out there, but the all natural form tends to be your best bet. Other benefits provided by antioxidants also include increased sex drive, and better blood flow throughout the body. To live a long, healthy lifestyle, it is essential to have excellent dietary habits, and use supplements as needed.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that since you are taking nutritional supplements that you can eat anything you want, because it doesn’t work that way. Sure, supplements can make up for missing nutrients not found in your diet, but they shouldn’t be relied upon to do so, as your best bet will always be to get the nutrients your body needs from the food that you eat. Focus on healthy eating; it isn’t as terrible as it sounds! Before you start taking nutritional supplements, it is a excellent thought to talk with your doctor, just to be certain that nothing you take will interact with any prescription medications you may be taking. Your doctor may also be able to do some basic blood tests to determine if you have any nutrient deficiencies, and tell you what supplements you really need to be taking. By seeking the advice of your doctor, you can make sure you don’t waste money on supplements that you really don’t need!

As you know, I am a physician. It’s part of my profession to keep abreast of what’s happening in medical /health research. Being retired helps, because doctors simply do not generally have the “extra time” to devote to the scientific literature.

But I do. And I like it. I am one of those individuals who really enjoys …brace yourself…chemistry. When I’m done here, you should be excited too, especially if you are interested in sports nutrition and antioxidants, though not necessarily in that order.

Sports nutrition is a vast industry with emphasis on optimizing PERFORMANCE. Off hand, I can reckon of quite a few categories involving sports nutrition:

* sports nutrition and supplements for athletes,

* sports nutrition and athletic performance,

* sports nutrition and body building,

* sports nutrition and endurance training,

* sports nutrition and special diets in a variety of sports,

* sports nutrition and strength training,

* sports nutrition for running, jogging, walking, skiing, swimming

* There’s even Rocky Mountain sports nutrition

* …the list is endless.

So far, no surprises, huh? Well, here’s one for you. Did you know that when you exercise intensively you INCREASE the free radical burden in your body? If you’re a serious sports enthusiast, you should know that.

But…the real news is what science is now finding out about that free radical burden of yours. You should pay close attention here.

Suddenly, chemistry gets real personal.

Everyone of us has, what may be called, our antioxidant protective capacity. That means our bodies normally utilize antioxidants to protect us against the harmful impact of free radicals.

First of all, what are antioxidants? They are molecular substances which offset free radical hurt to the body. Antioxidants, “quench” free radicals (for lack of a better metaphor) neutralizing their damaging effects on the cells of the body.

* Antioxidants are found in foods such as cranberries, green tea and even chocolate.

* Antioxidants are found in vitamins such vitamin C and E.

* Antioxidants are found in carotenoids such as beta-carotene.

* Antioxidants are found in many substances supplied by the body such as glutathione.

* Antioxidants are found in many herbs and enzymes.

The impact of antioxidants is boosted by glyconutrients to offset free radicals in your body…and, as a result of your athletic exertions.

Antioxidant capacity must be provided in your sports nutrition regimen or you could be “robbing Peter to pay Paul” with your workouts. As you will see, without a glyconutrional presence in your sports nutrition, the healthful gains made by your physical workouts will be offset by your own free radical burden.

Free radicals, sports and sports nutrition

Free radicals are those chemical species which contain one or more unpaired electrons, capable of independent existence. They form in the body due to a variety of reasons as offshoots of cellular activity or as products introduced to the body from the outside.

As an analogy, reckon of running a car engine as the cellular production and the car emissions a the free radical production. The engine produces products which cannot stay inside the car without further hurt. They simply must be neutralized and expelled.

Free radicals form and cause hurt by reacting with many substances in your body. It is estimated that upwards of 200,000 free radical attacks occur in our bodies daily.

When free radical hurt is done, the body can remove the compounds formed by its cellular repair system. But, if the body cannot handle the free radicals (with antioxidants for example), nor remove the compounds, then disease can be the result.

Contrary to well loved opinion, free radicals do not circulate throughout the body. The half-life of most free radicals varies in a range of a few nanoseconds to about 7 seconds duration. That means they will react within the “neighborhood” (a few Angstroms or microns near where the increase in free radicals occurred) …organs, connective tissue, circulatory or nerve tissue, bone or lymphatic material are all candidates for free radical attack.

Wherever they form, they will hurt the surrounding areas, unless prevented by the body…So the body does NOT have the luxury of just filtering away any circulatory fluids to find the free radicals. The body’s defense systems must be…well…honestly omnipresent to neutralize the effects of free radicals. The antioxidant protective system must be healthy.

Since they are highly reactive substances, they react with all sorts of cell elements readily. But, when they do react with your body cells, they can hurt the cells and even kill them. Often, the hurt from free radicals can CHANGE the cellular structure enough to cause DISEASE such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, heart disease and a host of others.

The type of disease that occurs is dependent upon which of the free radical defenses in the body weren’t functioning properly and where the free radical attacks occur.

The body has pretty sophisticated antioxidant defense systems. But, the body CAN get overwhelmed in its antioxidant protections against such free radicals…

Indeed, unless antioxidant enhanced sports nutrition (with glyconutrients) are used to offset the increased free radical burden, the BODY will suffer as a result of intensive sports training, stress, and competition.

Glyconutrients VITAL to sports nutrition …

Studies comparing marathon runners who did and did not take glyconutritional sports nutrition supplements were undertaken. The results were reported by the Proceedings of the Fisher Institute For Medical Research ( August 2003, vol.3, no.1). The results “demonstrated strikingly different patterns.” Antioxidant protection appeared to be powerfully enhanced against free radicals with glyconutritional supplementation. Thus, the body was protected for several days after the marathon run.

But, when glyconutritional sports nutrition was NOT used, the damaging effects of the free radical burden appeared to remain in the body for about five days. Thus, the subject “consistently excreted higher concentrations of free radical byproducts…” as compared to that of the glyconutritional subject. It should be emphasized that the subject studied WAS TAKING other antioxidants, though not glyconutrition. Despite that fact, the above cited results were obtained.

That’s another way of saying that when glyconutritional supplements were not used, the free radical burden upon the body was not lifted. Antioxidant protection does appear to be (significantly) strengthened with glyconutritional sports nutrition. Such antioxidant protection appears to be of benefit for athletes overall, including training, stress, competition and dietary issues.

The glyconutrional revolution in sports nutrition and therapy is just beginning. More studies are being done. More results are coming in concerning free radicals and the capacity of the glyconutrients to boost antioxidant affect against free radicals.

Music: Saathiya

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http://glycoinnovation.com/

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This may be the largest breakthrough in improving health from the last 50 years.

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Liz Weiss, MS, RD is a dietitian and co-author of THE MOMS’ GUIDE TO MEAL MAKEOVERS. In this segment, she serves up the latest information on the top-20 antioxidant foods everyone should eat! Her Meal Makeover advice & cooking segments feature everything from practical tips for getting picky eaters to try their vegetables to healthy makeovers for chicken nuggets, fish sticks, fruit smoothies and other kid favorites. If you’re a mom (or dad) looking for simple ways to improve your family’s diet, be sure to visit www.MealMakeoverTV.com. To learn about Liz’s cookbook, check out www.MealMakeoverMoms.com

Duration : 0:1:27

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