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!
Because of consumer demand, the food industry focus is on... Read More
Last year I had a number of clients who started... Read More
Copyright ? 2004 priya shah Glutathione, the body's... Read More
Vitamin EThere has been a lot of controversy about vitamin... Read More
Finding simple ways to reduce my waistline is always a... Read More
The total calories that you should be consuming depend on... Read More
Fruit Advantage Tart Cherry capsules are a nutritious, all-natural alternative... Read More
Finally, a positive solution regarding America's difficult and costly campaign... Read More
Coke, more commonly known as cocaine is a highly addictive... Read More
"You are what you eat."Does it sound familiar? You probably... Read More
The Food Pyramid, first introduced to the US in 1992,... Read More
Many of us sprinkle oregano on our pizza and stews... Read More
A flood of scientific evidence about fish oil points to... Read More
The latest tallies show that over three million people in... Read More
For a considerable amount of time, nutrition has not played... Read More
In a new study published by the American Heart Association,... Read More
Dr. Arthur Agatston, the cardiologist who developed South Beach Diet... Read More
Since Dr Basant Puri, a consultant psychiatrist and senior lecturer... Read More
I'll preface this article by saying that it will help... Read More
The word 'homeostasis' is made up of two Greek words:... Read More
Although you may have heard about soy and all of... Read More
Whenever possible, we should try to get our antioxidants and... Read More
Evidence for the importance of fruit and vegetable intake to... Read More
According to the renowned research scientist and inventor of the... Read More
When it comes to planning a healthy diet, fat is... Read More
affordable house cleaning Mundelein ..The Zone Diet has been around since around 1995, when... Read More
Copyright ? 2004 priya shah Glutathione, the body's... Read More
Cholesterol finds its way into our bodies in two main... Read More
If you're suffering from constipation, you are no doubt looking... Read More
Because of consumer demand, the food industry focus is on... Read More
People want to get the very best they can when... Read More
THE RISKThe primary symptom of acid reflux is obvious to... Read More
Essential fatty acids are the number one recommendation for anyone... Read More
Fiber is the part of the plant that is resistant... Read More
With the release of the new dietary guidelines, in the... Read More
Our bodies are truly incredible machines. What makes cells healthy?... Read More
High blood pressure (hypertension) is a dangerous condition that can... Read More
With so much 'diet advice' around today it is little... Read More
The most dreaded word in many dieter's vocabulary is 'fat'.... Read More
Diets don't work. If they did the U.S. of A.... Read More
For a natural and tasty way to improve your health... Read More
Strict "no carb" phases of low carb diets have developed... Read More
Whether you're concerned about cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or simply... Read More
When you take your food next time, take care of... Read More
Americans are literally running out of time. Achieving a work-life... Read More
Like the Sun, Moon, and Earth, there are three kinds... Read More
The question most people think they need an answer to... Read More
Despite the fact that accurate nutrition information can be accessed... Read More
Dieting is a pain. I think basically everyone would agree... Read More
The field of nutrition is awash with charts, tables, diagrams,... Read More
Nutrition |