best supplements

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 love 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 think 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 damage 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
think 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 damage. They simply must be neutralized and expelled.

Free radicals form and cause damage by reacting with many substances in your body. It is estimated that upwards of 200
0
free radical attacks occur in our bodies daily.

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

Contrary to popular 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 damage 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…fairly 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 damage the cells and even kill them. Often
the damage 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.

However
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.

Sports nutrition is about to see a new revolution…

Better still. I believe that it is quite probable that
with glyconutrition
sports PERFORMANCE is about to see a revolution in al fields.

The focus of research on vitamins these days is how antioxidant supplements may play a role in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Antioxidant supplements – E
C
and beta-carotene (a form of vitamin A) – have potential when it comes to health promotion. However
most data available about such health promoting properties of antioxidant supplements are incomplete. And only up to 30 percent Americans are taking some form of antioxidant supplements.

But what exactly are antioxidants and how important are they?

Antioxidants come in two forms. They can either be vitamins or minerals. They help prevent oxygen from reacting with other chemicals in cells. Such reactions – called oxidation – could lead to cell damage which may result in heart disease and cancer.

Antioxidants can be found in a variety of foods
but they are far more common in fresh fruits and vegetables. A health diet of fresh produce could lead to high levels of antioxidants in your body
which could only mean one thing – less free radicals (those harmful molecules that cause cell damage) and a healthier you.

When antioxidants start to work
they destroy the free radicals or break the chain. You see
here’s what happens when you have lots of free radicals in your body. Because they are highly unstable
these free radicals have the tendency to steal or get electrons from stable molecules and in so doing
make those molecules unstable as well
turning them into free radicals. This becomes a long chain and will go on and on until such a chain in broken. This is where antioxidants come in whose sole function is to break the chain and neutralize free radicals.

During the process of neutralization
the antioxidants are neutralized themselves. Hence
they also become oxidized. That is why the body needs a constant source of antioxidants in order to keep combating these harmful free radicals and stop them from multiplying.

With the kind of diet most of us have these days
it is very likely that we may not be getting enough antioxidants from the foods that we eat. And remember that the body needs to replenish its levels of antioxidants constantly. This is where antioxidant supplements come in.

Because the body may not be getting enough antioxidants because you don’t enough fruits or you don’t eat a lot of vegetables
you therefore need an alternate source such as antioxidant supplements.

Antioxidant supplements are that source. And while antioxidant supplements can’t very well take the place of natural antioxidants
they can however aid in increasing the level of antioxidants in your body.

To find more about antioxidant supplement go to:
http://www.antioxidant-supplement.info/

Copyright 2006 Donovan Baldwin

Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) may possibly be a "wonder vitamin" in some people's books. A lot of claims have been made for it in the past few years
not the least of which was Dr. Linus Pauling's claims for its ability to prevent and lessen the duration and intensity of the common cold when taken in large doses.

Unfortunately
although vitamin C is anti-viral and does support the immune system
it is not necessarily a magic bullet that will defeat the common cold or even cancer! In fact
some recent studies seem to be indicating that Dr. Pauling's claims might be a little overstated.

Vitamin C
like most other vitamins and mineral supplements primarily helps the body do its job effectively. Deficiencies of vitamin C CAN predispose the body to certain ills
and proper intake either through daily diet or vitamin supplementation can HELP prevent certain conditions and illnesses. Vitamins and mineral supplements should never be used as the only path to health
but should be part of a lifestyle that includes overall attention to nutrition
activity (okay
exercise)
proper rest and sleep
and enjoyable forms of recreation and relaxation. I personally would throw in yoga and meditation
but those are MY enjoyable forms of recreation
relaxation
and exercise
I guess. You will have to find what works best for you.

SOURCES

Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin
and
as such
is not stored in the body. This means it must be regularly replaced by diet and/or supplementation. The most commonly recognized sources of vitamin C are citrus and other fruits - oranges
tangerines
limes
guava
lemons
papayas
strawberries
black currants
grapefruit and mangoes - as well as a wide range of vegetables. Some vegetables which contain Vitamin C include collard greens
sweet and hot peppers
broccoli
tomatoes
brussel sprouts
cabbage
potatoes
kale
spinach
and watercress.

AFFECTS

Vitamin C is a nutrient valuable for tissue growth
protection of cell membranes from toxic wastes
wound healing
and
as mentioned
support of the immune system. It supports the growth of collagen and cartilage
protecting in this way against many of the effects of aging.

As an antioxidant
vitamin C helps combat free radicals
and it may help with cancer
high cholesterol
cataracts
diabetes
allergies
asthma
and periodontal disease.

The effectiveness of vitamin C is believed to be increased when taken with vitamin E.

DOSES

The recommended daily intake of Vitamin C is 60 mg per day for adults
although many people
following Dr. Pauling's lead
take much higher doses in hopes of preventing colds and warding off the effects of aging. However
in higher doses there may be some toxicity with one of the side effects being diarrhea. In some cases
higher doses of vitamin C may cause kidney stones or anemia
due to an interference with the absorption of vitamin B12.

A reminder: vitamin C is water soluble
and unused portions will be flushed from the body
so daily intake of foods rich in vitamin C or supplementation with a multivitamin may be of value.

While there do not seem to be major problems associated with an high doses of Vitamin C
it might a good idea to stick within recommended daily allowances since the jury is still out on side effects.

DEFICIENCIES

The most well-known result of a vitamin C deficiency is scurvy
a condition characterized by weakness
anemia
gum disease
and skin lesions. Fortunately
scurvy is very rare in our modern society although still found to a greater degree in areas of poor nutrition.

Frequent infections
severe colds
nose bleeds
tiredness
and painful joints may also indicate a deficiency.