Good afternoon….
Yesterday I answered a question on cold fighting…..if you missed that do let me know (info@fa-fitness.co.uk) and I will send it over….
Another question which I received last week was about antioxidants and how to improve energy and skin quality.
ANTI OXIDANTS & HEALTH, RECOVERY & PERFORMANCE
What are they?
* Group of compounds that are produced by the body or occur naturally in many foods.
* Protect against damage from free radicals produced when we exercise or come into contact with smoke, fumes, solar radiation.
* They are thought to be the causal factor in many diseases and the process of aging itself.
It was thought that antioxidants worked by themselves but what more current research has found is that they actually work together to protect us.
Anti oxidants that work as a network:
Vit C (not just in oranges by the way)
Vit E ( found in good fats such as almonds)
CoQ10
Glutathione
Lipoic Acid
What makes these special is that they can greatly enhance the power of the others.
It’s not possible to get all the antioxidants through food.
For example. We would have to eat 100Lbs of broiled liver to get the recommended dosage of Vit E or 125 tablespoons of peanut oil.
I strongly advise you do not do this!!!
How they actually work.
They engulf the free radical. It actually binds to the free radical and then the free radical becomes weaker. This prevents it from doing harm.
Vit E and CoQ10 are fat soluble so therefore they fatty portion of the cell membrane.
Water soluble Vit C and glutathione protect the watery part of our system, blood and inside cells.
Lipoic acid actually protects against both.
It is important to remember that the power of the antioxidants is not in the individual its in the collection and network they produce together.
They are there to protect against the oxidation that occurs.
Lipoic Acid
The most versatile and powerful antioxidant in the network. Offers protection against stroke, diabetes, heart disease.it is the only antioxidant that can signifcaintly improve the levels of glutathione, which as you know is important for ridding the body of toxins!
Vit E
Primary source of fat soluble anti oxidants, must be obtained from foods or supplements.
Found in very small quantities compared to the vit E or Glutathione in the cells, yet is one of the most important.
Vit E travels through the body in molecules called lipoproteins and protects them from oxidation.
The oxidation of lipoproteins is believed to be the first step in the process of atherosclerosis, which is hardening of the arteries. This is the first step of heart disease.
Recent studies have shown vitamin E can prevent heart disease, reduce risk of prostate cancer in men and help slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s.
Vit C
Championed as the cure for the common cold, it is water soluble. Not produced by the body, thus must be obtained through food and supplements.
It is potent when it comes to getting hold of the free radicals. Studies from the university of California show that those who take vit C live longer.
CoQ10
Fat soluble and it works synergistically (together) with Vit E, to help protect the fatty part of our cells. Numerous studies have shown that it is an effective treatment for heart failure, angina, and high blood pressure. Its also suggested as a good supplement for anyone doing endurance based events.
Glutathione
The most abundant of the antioxidants mentioned above. It is produced by the body from three amino acids found in food. – glutamic acid, cysteine and glycine. Its found in virtually every cell. When we reach the age of 40 its production starts to decline. It can drop almost by 20% once we reach 60.
Free radicals
Wherever there is disease and destruction it seems there are free radicals from the research I am doing.
On the flip side wherever there is life there are free radicals so it appears we cannot live without them either.
They are not all bad:
– control blood flow through our arteries
– fighting infection
– keeping brains sharp
– maintaining focus.
Some free radicals such as nitric oxide and superoxide are produced in very high levels to help fight off and poison viruses.
Clearly we need some free radicals, but in a split second they can be the stress the fills our stress bucket and causes us to get sick and ill.
For those of you who like science, free radicals are basically a free electron. They can attack and oxidise our DNA, which controls our cell growth and repair, which can increase the likelihood of cancer!
They can fast forward the aging process. Sunlight is a prime example here. Its not just on the inside that they affect us, they also come in when the skin gets hit by the ultraviolet light. When this hits the skin it reacts with oxygen and forms singlet oxygen, which is potentially dangerous as it can promote the formation of free radicals.
It also can be inspired through the fume, ozone, found in cigarette smoke and car fumes.
Ozone attacks the skin, but also the fluid lining of the lungs, nasal passages and oral cavity.
Free radicals and inflammation-
You may have heard of asbestos, this can lead to lung cancer. Although the jury is out there on why this happens, we do know that it leads to chronic inflammation of the lung tissue and this promotes the proliferation of free radicals.
This leads to fibrosis of the lungs, which as you can imagine makes breathing very hard.
Inflammation is also a major factor in arthritis, which is actually an umbrella term for more than 100 different diseases that produce either inflammation or disease in the connective tissue (joints and tendons) or degeneration of cartilage.
This stuff is important to protect the ends of your bones rubbing together.
When joints become arthritic, they become inflamed and enlarged which interferes with normal blood flow.
Incase you didn’t see it, this is the message I had from Tina, who I helped out during February.
For example, arthritis in the knee, when you bend it you cut off blood flow to the area. This has implications as this action actually promotes free radical production, which triggers a series of events, that will lead to a lot of free radicals flooding the area when blood flow returns.
Which is why when someone has rheumatoid arthritis they should exercise on days of low pain and inflammation and NOT exercise on days that are high in pain and inflammation.
Free radicals can be our friend and can quickly become our enemy.
The key really is to keep the antioxidant advantage over these FR’s.
Easily done :
1. consume adequate amounts of antioxidants in food and supplements.
2. Limit exposure to “pro-oxidants” in environments that can harm us.
Foods:
Apples- lower cholesterol and protect against cancer- high in flavonoids that enhance antioxidant network. Rich in pectin, which is a soluble fibre, helpful for cholesterol
Onions – a close second in flavonoid content.
Berries- good for vision, anti cancer compounds- natural phytochemicals. Eat these by the handful!
Carrots- protect us from heart disease and stroke. Contain cancer fighting compounds.
A study of 87000 female nurses, found that those who had five or more servings of carrots per week were 68% less likely to have a stroke!
Citrus fruits- good source of flavonoids, which boost vit C.
Tomatoes- high in lycopene, awesome anti cancer substance.
Cruciferous veggies- broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels, cabbage, kale.
Contain lots of phytochemicals. Vary them as they all contain slightly different phytochemical make-ups.
Garlic- has healing properties, rich in selenium, which provides the building blocks for several enzymes. It contains ajoene, which prevents blood clots.
That’s why I like the cauliflower mash recipe so much in the 7 Day Detox Book that I wrote!
So that’s it, not the bible by any means but a bit of food for thought…..
WHY you will never out train a bad diet and WHY you will never out perform a poor lifestyle!
I will be sharing a little story tomorrow about Dog walking and M&M’s and a 15lbs fat loss and 8cm off the waist.
Thats it for today,
Speak soon
Matt
p.s If you need help please don’t be afraid to ask…… here is a little video I shot earlier in the week about how to reduce stress by
standing on the shoulders of giants.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLT_1dMx8mM
Matt Luxton
Owner of Functionally Aware Fitness Personal Training
Voted The UK’s Most Innovative Fitness Entrepreneur 2012
International Best Selling Author of The Fad Free Fitness Formula
Author of The Hot to Trot Cook Book and The Equestrian Athlete Plan
Email: Info@fa-fitness.co.uk / Phone: 07841 136302
