I'm sure by now you've heard all about the amazing health benefits of antioxidant rich foods in your diet. Not only do these free-radical fighting antioxidants help you look and feel younger by slowing down the aging process, but they also help to prevent cancer, heart disease, and loads of other degenerative diseases. But that's not all. Antioxidants also help you to recover better from exercise...and that means more muscle and less fat on your body in the long run!
The function that antioxidants play in aiding your recovery from exercise is the inhibition of free radicals produced during exercise. Any time you workout, free radicals are produced in the body that damage muscle tissue. Having an adequate supply of antioxidants about an hour or so before your workout can greatly reduce the muscle damage caused by free radicals, hence, improving your muscular recovery from exercise.
Some of the most potent sources of whole food antioxidants are berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cranberries), cherries, acai fruit, various teas (green tea, white tea, black tea, and red tea - a.k.a. rooibos tea), nuts, seeds, red and black beans, purple potatoes, grapes, red wine, cinnamon, and dark chocolate or cocoa. Don't be fooled by all of the intense marketing for expensive antioxidant supplement pills...remember whole foods are always better for you (and cheaper) than a pill.
My favorite pre-workout antioxidant-loaded snack is a piece of whole grain toast with almond butter, a small amount of blackberry jam, and topped with a pile of fresh blueberries or sliced strawberries. I wash it down with a glass of iced green tea or rooibos tea sweetened with just a small bit (about a teaspoon) of raw honey. This is literally a quintuple-whammy of potent anti-oxidants! The almond butter, blackberry, blueberries, raw honey, and the green or rooibos tea are all loaded with different varieties of muscle protecting, youth promoting antioxidants. I throw down this snack about an hour before my training. Give it a try for yourself, or be creative and come up with your own antioxidant-rich pre-workout snack based on your tastes.
Remember, your body is continually bombarded every day by free radicals (creating oxidative stress) from exercise, air pollution, smoke, sun exposure, junk food, exposure to chemicals, etc. To reap the full benefits of antioxidants, try to make sure that every meal and snack you eat has at least one or two sources of antioxidant rich foods. This will give you a continuous supply of antioxidants throughout every day to prevent damage from the free radicals you are constantly exposed to.
Antioxidants are just one piece to the puzzle of a healthy diet that will give you the lean, muscular, youthful, and disease-free body that everyone wants. To discover the secrets behind all of the other pieces to the diet puzzle that create a lean body (macronutrient profile, glycemic response, hormonal response, glycogen storage, muscle protein synthesis, the role of leptin, the insulin process, etc.), visit http://truthaboutabs.com
?2005 truthaboutabs.com
Michael Geary - NCSF CPT, AFAA CPT;
Author of "The Truth About Six Pack Abs" ?2004-2005
Visit http://truthaboutabs.com to discover innovative training and nutritional strategies for losing body fat and developing a rock hard body!
Whether you're concerned about cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or simply... Read More
If you have a business trip tomorrow morning, you've probably... Read More
The word cholesterol has become synonymous with poor health. Indeed,... Read More
Just what is the "New Biology of Health?" And who's... Read More
In parts 1-4 of this series of articles titled "Take... Read More
Understanding ocular nutrition and eye health can be one of... Read More
The debate regarding Fluoride continues to rage, is it good... Read More
Better sleep = better metabolism. I have been saying it... Read More
Step 1: Eat five to ten servings per day of... Read More
Please feel free to comment, so that the article may... Read More
The question most people think they need an answer to... Read More
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin like A and E.... Read More
During a recent discussion with my father about low carb... Read More
Summer is not too far away. It is almost time... Read More
I am sure you have heard you have to build... Read More
The natural antioxidants in Oat Bran can significantly reduce blood... Read More
Vitamins, minerals and other nutrients are essential to the development... Read More
Olive oil is a healthy choice over other fats such... Read More
You may have heard of the "Portfolio Diet" wherein it... Read More
Omega-3 appear to reduce the risk of heart attack. A... Read More
Fat burning compatible foods seem to be a popular topic... Read More
What if there was a combination of foods that were... Read More
Making simple changes to your food diet can help remedy... Read More
Media coverage of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has incited... Read More
Mango is my favorite fruit next to pineapples. They're sweet,... Read More
reliable maid service Wilmette ..Hi Readers,My message today is simple short and perhaps blunt... Read More
ABC News has recently focused on the possible anti-aging benefits... Read More
The cry of "I have no willpower!" often emerges from... Read More
The best weight training and cardio workouts will do very... Read More
Our diet is an essential factor for the formation of... Read More
Magnesium is an important mineral that serves numerous essential functions... Read More
With so much 'diet advice' around today it is little... Read More
Secretly we all want just a few things in life,... Read More
High Fructose Corn SyrupBefore we get to high fructose corn... Read More
What if I told you tap water and homogenized milk... Read More
Did you know that the food you eat when you... Read More
Our bodies need cholesterol. We use cholesterol to produce vitamin... Read More
The question most people think they need an answer to... Read More
What is Cholesterol?Before we go into how to reduce your... Read More
You've heard that old saying: True beauty comes from within.... Read More
If you drop a bomb, you kill not only your... Read More
If you are like most people, you don't enjoy the... Read More
Originally, all foods were "organic" ? grown and prepared without... Read More
The debate regarding Fluoride continues to rage, is it good... Read More
Before we get to honey we have a question from... Read More
During a recent discussion with my father about low carb... Read More
At any grocery store in North America right now, there... Read More
A flood of scientific evidence about fish oil points to... Read More
The key to better health is learning the difference between... Read More
These are questions we have to ask ourselves? because after... Read More
Nutrition |