With every passing day, more people become aware of the benefits of including antioxidant rich foods in their diet. Antioxidants literally slow the aging process and help stave off heart disease, cancer, and many different degenerative diseases. And as though these benefits weren’t enough, these free-radical combating friends also help individuals recover from exercise more efficiently – which means that you build building more muscle and burning more fat!
How it Works
When you exercise, your body generates free radicals which are known to damage muscle tissue. Antioxidants simply inhibit your body’s ability to produce free radicals, substantially reducing the risk of muscle damage post-workout provided they are ingested about an hour before exercising.
A short list of places where you can find large amounts of antioxidants: teas (green tea, oolong tea, whiote tea, red tea, black tea), cherries, acai fruit, berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cranberries), purple potatoes, seeds, nuts, black beans, red beans, cinnamon, dark chocolate, grapes, cocoa, and red wine. Always remember that while various antioxidant supplement pills are on the market, all-natural whole foods will always be better for you – and probably cheaper in the long run!
A healthy friend of mine has a pre-workout ritual that seems to be working wonders: a piece of whole-grain toast with almond butter and a small amount of blackberry jam, topped with a small pile of fresh blueberries or sliced strawberries. This is then followed by a cool glass of iced tea – or rooibos (red) tea with a teaspoon of raw honey added. Can you think of a more potent punch of antioxidants? What’s more is that so many of these items are filled with different kinds of muscle-protecting and muscle-building antioxidants. Try it out for yourself, or come up with your own successful recipe! The difference you notice will astound you.
Free radicals bombard your body continuously throughout the day, after all – from exercise but also from smoke and air pollution, the sun, junk foods, and various chemicals that you’ll find yourself exposed to. To remain healthy, ensure that each meal in your diet contains at least 1 or 2 sources of antioxidants; this will leave your body with a persistent supply of antioxidants to draw upon as you attend to your daily tasks.
Of course, antioxidants are but one piece of a much larger puzzle that makes up a healthy and active lifestyle. To find out more about how you can keep your body in tip-top shape, use Google to search for the following items: macronutrient profile; hormonal response; glycemic response; glycogen storage; muscle-protein synthesis; leptin; insulin; etc.
Mike Geary, CPT, CNS, is the author of the internationally Best-Selling Abs program, The Truth About Abs, with readers in 150+ countries. Learn how to lose weight and get a flat stomach and visit his website now.
