Posts Tagged ‘antioxidant’

Glutathione Considered – The Body’s Master Antioxidant

performance, Recovery - Repair | Posted by admin November 22nd, 2009

Antioxidants are intimately involved in the detoxification process and are a very important part of our defenses against environmental toxins and carcinogens. They protect our cells from oxidative stress which can come from our environment in a variety of ways. Because such damage plays a role in the weakening of the immune system that it should come as no surprise that antioxidant supplementation can benefit those with degenerative diseases such cardiovascular disease, cancer, arthritis, neurological diseases and viral infections for example.

Let’s look at one antioxidant –Glutathione- and how glutathione can affect the body. Glutathione is a small molecule made up of three amino acids, which exists in almost every cell of the body. The presence of glutathione is required to maintain the normal function of the immune system. It is known to play a critical role in the multiplication of lymphocytes (the cells that mediate specific immunity), which occurs in the development of an effective immune response. The cells of the immune system produce many oxygen radicals as a result of their normal functioning, resulting in a need for higher concentrations of antioxidants than most cells. Glutathione plays a crucial role in fulfilling this requirement.

Glutathione helps the body fight almost any disease, because it is a powerful antioxidant and helps maintain cellular health and there is a body of research on degenerative disease that has shown that people with degenerative disease are also experiencing low levels of glutathione. Glutathione acts as a detoxifying agent by combining with undesirable substances and ridding the body of them through urine and bile. Aside from being a powerful antioxidant and system detoxifier, it helps repair and protect DNA. Glutathione has been heavily researched and many researchers believe that the degenerative processes take place when the body is lacking the glutathione it needs to protect from degenerative damage.

Glutathione works in a protective role by boosting the immune system, thereby helping the body’s immune response and helps protect the body from oxidative stress – and oxidative stress is associated with aging. Thus, glutathione levels are correlated with aging and physical function. One way to drastically increase glutathione levels, aside from consuming glutathione precursors, is through the ingestion of ascorbic acid – vitamin C3 – and l-glutamine, vitamin E, ALA (Alpha Lipolic Acid), and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) which all help with glutathione synthesis.

Oxidation damage is now recognized as being the key feature of much of the aging processes that our bodies endure. It is known that as we age, there is a precipitous drop in GSH levels. Lower Glutathione levels are implicated in many diseases associated with aging, including Cataracts, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, arteriosclerosis and others.

The key to living better is to resist age related deterioration due to oxidation. Recent studies have shown that glutathione play a key role in reducing the oxidation process (antioxidant) and protecting our bodies against free radicals. Supplements that increase glutathione may be a way for us to protect our bodies against the aging process.

What can reducing the oxidative process on the body mean for the athlete?

Many world-class athletes are discovering the importance of glutathione, which when maintained, gives them the edge over the competition. Increased glutathione levels provides athletes with increased strength and endurance, decreased recovery time from injury, less pain and fatigue and possibly an increase in muscle-promoting activities.

During workouts, athletes generate free radicals which in turn lead to muscle fatigue and poorer performance. Glutathione neutralizes these radicals and allows our bodies to recover faster. Recent research indicates that the body has a natural tendency toward many degenerative diseases and aging itself. Some believe how well the body can protect itself from damage and recover from oxidative damage can be determined by measuring the intracellular stores of Glutathione.

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Antioxidants for Athletes – Controls Oxidative Stress Damage

performance, Recovery - Repair | Posted by admin September 13th, 2009

Studies have shown that with vigorous exercise you body needs more antioxidant consumption to protect the body from free radical-induced oxidative stress & DNA damage. Endurance exercise can increase oxygen utilization from 10 to 20 times over the resting state. This greatly increases the generation of free radicals, prompting concern about enhanced damage to muscles and other tissues. The question that arises is how effectively can athletes defend against the increased free radicals resulting from exercise? Do athletes need to take extra antioxidants?

Free radical-induced oxidative stress is an inevitable consequence of prolonged exercise and results in tissue damage, excessive fatigue, delayed recovery and overtraining. On a microscopic level, oxidation generally entails molecules or atoms losing electrons. (Gaining electrons is called reduction.) The molecules or atoms that take these electrons are oxidizing agents. Free radicals are substances that can exist with missing electrons, making them readily able to donate or accept electrons and damage structures in cells. As such, they are highly reactive, binding with and destroying important cellular compounds. Most of the free radicals in your body are made during metabolic processes. More are added from the food you eat and environmental pollution.

Most of these free radicals contain oxygen molecules. As each cell makes energy in little structures called mitochondria, free radicals result. These oxidant by-products can damage DNA, proteins and lipids (fats). Consequently, toxic by-products of lipid peroxidation may cause cancer, inhibit enzyme activity and produce mutations in genetic material that make you age faster. Free radical damage to DNA can cause cells to mutate or die. Your body makes enzymes that can repair this damage and slow aging. But, over time, the amount of damage overwhelms the body’s ability to fix things. As cells grow older, their ability to patch up DNA diminishes and the rate of damage proceeds faster than repair. The result: We age and eventually die.

As an active athlete, your body is carrying out higher levels of oxidation to meet the extra energy requirement. This means that the coping strategies for minimizing the negative effects of free radicals will be taxed – sometimes beyond their limits. When this happens, large-scale muscle structures can be damaged; muscles can end up being overly contracted, sore, and less efficient at using energy. Red blood cells can become ‘leaky’, malformed and easily broken, which may lead to anemia.

To prevent free radical damage the body has a defense system of antioxidants. Antioxidants are molecules which can safely interact with free radicals and terminate the chain reaction before vital molecules are damaged. A study, published in the European Journal of Physiology, suggest that taking antioxidants, such as a mixture of vitamins C and E and beta-carotene, provides extra protection during strenuous exercise, and that maintaining adequate levels of antioxidants could decrease the risk of infection. A number of clinical studies have shown that taking a wide range of antioxidants can help to counter free radical damage in endurance athletes. Other studies have shown that taking nutritional antioxidant supplements reduce the risk of developing upper respiratory infections after prolonged exercise, such as running a marathon.

Some well known dietary antioxidants are vitamins A, C, E; ß-carotene, selenium and plant based antioxidants such as curcumin, quercetin, resveratrol and rutin. For example, Curcumin helps control inflammation and speed performance recovery. In addition, melatonin, DHEA and the amino acid compound glutathione may also prove of benefit. Additionally, selenium, a trace metal that is required for proper function of one of the body’s antioxidant enzyme systems, is sometimes included in this category. The body cannot manufacture many of these micronutrients so they must be supplied in the diet.

Athletes need to understand that their body requires a wide variety of antioxidants to deal with the many different types of free radicals that are released during energy production. Athletes need to ensure that they have an adequate intake of a wide variety of effective antioxidants to compromise free radical production.

Free radical-induced oxidative stress is an inevitable consequence of prolonged exercise and results in tissue damage, excessive fatigue, delayed recovery and overtraining Trained athletes appear to require higher intakes of antioxidants to defend against increased oxidative stress during exercise, which can be met through a diet rich in high antioxidant foods Athletes who want to achieve good results can look to their diets and dietary supplements to maintain good health and to improve post-event recovery. In addition they improve post event recovery and accelerate muscle repair – this is especially important for older athletes.

Suggestion: Bio-available curcurmin with selenium http://tinyurl.com/mzf25d