Kelly Frankson DOT COM

We are made to persist. That’s how we find out who we are.” – Tobias Wolff

Heres a good article by Dr. John M Berardi, Ph.D. First published at www.skifaster.net, 2001.

We all are aware that athletes often have better health than sedentary individuals. However, when training volume and intensity are increased, the cells of the body are at greater risk for the harmful damage produced by free radicals. Studies have shown that both strength and endurance athletes produce more free radicals than untrained individuals. Aerobic metabolism in particular can create a large amount of free radicals, especially in endurance athletes. In these athletes, the body’s natural defenses against these harmful substances are also up regulated but still may not be able to counter their negative effects. With this said, some recent research has investigated whether dietary antioxidants can help this situation by blocking the actions of free radicals in the cell. Most of the research has focused on vitamins C and E and although the data is mixed, it is pretty convincing that these two powerful antioxidants, when taken in moderate doses, can help to prevent cell damage in response to free radicals.

With the beneficial effects of antioxidants demonstrated in athletes, researchers have begun to examine other antioxidants for their protective effects. This has lead to investigations of natural substances such as green tea, grapes, red wine, pine bark, and other “phytonutrients”. Collectively, these foods tend to be high in polyphenols, namely flavonoids, tannins, and catechins. These compounds may have antioxidant capabilities that may rival those of the conventional vitamins but as opposed to the vitamins, may offer other benefits as well. Green tea, for example, not only can reduce oxidative damage and prevent some cancers, but can increase metabolic rate and fat burning (1,2,3). In addition, ginkgo biloba can decrease oxidative damage, increase cognitive performance and mental focus in healthy adults, and in some instances, increase sexual performance (4,5,6). Although few studies have been done to examine the use of these substances in athletes, products such as green tea and ginkgo biloba may prove valuable to the athlete for both their antioxidant benefits as well as their numerous other functions.

Tip: 500-1000mg of vitamin C and 400IU of vitamin E is a good first step in antioxidant protection. In addition, the daily ingestion of 1-3 cups of green tea may provide both antioxidant benefits as well as cancer-fighting and thermogenic effects. In addition, ginkgo biloba, grape seed extract, and pine bark extract may all promote similar antioxidant effects with a host of other health benefits.

I like it when people randomly send update emails.  Here’s one I just received from a consult I did for Fit4YouNutrition.com:

Kelly, just wanted to say thank you, diet made a big difference, its really cool i can adjust my intakes and what i eat and see results in about two weeks, i really got to know my body. THANKS A LOT!  Blake

“Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him.” – Aldous Huxley

Good article on Vitamin A, D and K posted on Robb Wolfs site.  Check it out.  Definitely a tendency to over supplement (unless you are talking about fishoil ofcourse