Antioxidants and Exercise Recovery

[Jean-Paul]

Even though aerobic and weight-training exercise has numerous health-promoting effects, it does have some negative implications. One negative effect is the production of free radicals. Free radicals are highly reactive compounds produced by the body that induce tissue and cellular damage after exercise. Free radicals are involved in inflammation, the aging process, and diseases such as cancer. Under normal circumstances, the body produces compounds called antioxidants that combat these free radicals protecting the body from their damage. During times of increased stress such as exercise, the body produces more free radicals them normal, rendering the bodies antioxidant defense system ineffective.

Research performed on endurance athletes has shown that taking antioxidant vitamins helps to fight free radical induced muscle damage.
Athletes supplementing their diet with vitamins C and E for four weeks prior to running a marathon had lower levels of the enzyme Creatine Kinase completing the marathon than the control group that did not take antioxidants. Creatine Kinase is an enzyme that's used to measure muscle damage, and is elevated by exercise. These decreased levels of Creatine Kinase indicate that supplementation with antioxidant vitamins
allow decreases an athletes recovery time from exercising. By decreasing the time it takes to recover, athletes can possibly train
with greater frequency and intensity.

Source:
Rokitzki L; et. al., Lipid peroxidation and antioxidative vitamins under extreme endurance stress. Acta Physiology Scandanavia, 1994 June, 151:2, 149-58.