Jan ’09 Nutrition Article- Antioxidants

Do triathletes need extra antioxidants?  This question comes up quite often and remains a hotly debated topic.  Keep in mind that we train relatively heavy in regards to intensity and duration throughout the course of the year.  This increases free radicals and thus causes oxidative stress in the body.  Elevated free radicals and their resulting oxidative stress have been associated with increased muscular fatigue and injury as well as a number of adverse health conditions.

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Dietary antioxidants may possibly decrease some of this oxidative stress.  Two of the most commonly referred to antioxidants are Vitamins C and E.  These powerful antioxidants work together to protect an athlete from oxidative stress.  Some argue that endurance athletes like triathletes need more of these substances in the form of supplements.  However, strenuous aerobic exercise can also build the body’s natural defenses against free radicals.  Most of the research regarding this topic show mixed results with some studies showing that supplementation with Vitamins C and E results in a decrease in oxdative damage while other studies show no effect regardless of the supplementation of Vitamins C and E.  All agree that more research is needed to assess it’s effects in endurance athletes.  Still, it is generally recognized as safe to take 500 mg of Vitamin C and 100-200 IU of Vitamin E in supplemental form.  Effectiveness has not been proven though.  There are a variety of other antioxidants in the diet including: carotenes, lycopene, lutein, flavonoids, ubiquinone-10 and selenium.  Dietary sources of these compounds range from vegetable oils, liver and egg yolk to the vast array of colorful fruits and vegetables, nuts and legumes.  The USDA has done studies on which foods have the highest content of these antioxidants and the results may seem obvious for some foods, but not so obvious for others.  It seems that artichokes and beans should be at the top of our food list.  Researchers say that these two foods as well as a host of others like them have disease fighting compounds that may reduce oxidative stress in the body.  Once again there is limited research on how much of these various antioxidants we as endurance athletes need, but clearly, more variety in fruits and vegetables as well as other foods can’t hurt to improve health and well being, exercise recovery and illness prevention.In the USDA’s latest study, data on antioxidant levels in over 100 different foods like fruits and vegetables as well as spices and nuts were analyzed. Although spices are generally consumed in small amounts, many are high in antioxidants. On the basis of antioxidant concentration, ground cloves, ground cinnamon and oregano were the highest among the spices studied.Among the fruits, vegetables and nuts analyzed, cranberries, blueberries, and blackberries ranked highest. Beans, artichokes and Russet potatoes were tops among the vegetables. Pecans, walnuts and hazelnuts ranked highest in the nut category.

This information can be useful for those seeking to include more antioxidants in their diet.  Keep in mind though, total antioxidant capacity of the foods does not necessarily reflect their potential health benefit, which depends on how they are absorbed and utilized in the body. Researchers are still trying to better understand this process.  Expect to hear more on this topic as the search for disease prevention, exercise enhancement and health promotion become more and more important in our culture.  See below for a list of the best sources of antioxidants.

Brandon Nichols, RD, CSSD

Specialized Nutrition and Training

Individual and group consultation 702-245-7789