Antioxidants Bad for Workouts?

For a while, taking antioxidant vitamins as supplements for people who exercise was thought to help take away muscle damage and increase the effects of exercise. This was because vitamins like C and E can neutralize the free radicals that are produced during exercise and decrease muscle damage and soreness. Now studies, such as this one, are finding that antioxidants can be counterproductive for endurance and weight training. It has been found that athletes taking antioxidant supplements during endurance training have lower levels of enzymes that increase mitochondria in muscle cells, which help with cellular energy, than people not taking supplements. For weight training, it was found that people taking supplements had reduced levels of substances needed for protein synthesis to repair and strengthen muscles after weight training. While the biochemical processes within muscles is different for endurance training and weight training, studies have shown the overall outcome of taking antioxidants to be the same. One theory is that the free radicals produced during exercise are not harmful molecules but rather messengers to tell cells what proteins need to be produced. This is important for people to know if they are interested in getting the best response from their muscles during a workout.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/26/why-antioxidants-dont-belong-in-your-workout/?ref=health&_r=1

Submitted by Mercedes Warren