The power of antioxidants. What are they and why is everyone talking about them?
You hear about them all the time from supplement companies (like us!), research centers, and other health/food organizations, so what’s the big deal?
There have been countless studies and research done on the impact of antioxidants on the body, especially in conjunction with exercise. Let’s take a look.
When you exercise, your body uses food for energy and as a result it produces free radicals. Free radical molecules can also enter the body via the food you eat and air pollutants, but for today’s discussion let’s stick to talking about exercise.
Free radicals are unstable molecules that can cause oxidative stress which damages cells over time and in severe circumstances, plays a role in the progression of degenerative diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s to name a few.
So does this mean your exercise is making you sick? No, not at all. Exercise temporarily breaks down your cells and through post-workout nutrition, sleep, hydration, recovery and natural defenses, your body adapts and gets stronger. It repairs the “micro-damages” that result from exercise and then responds by building stronger muscles that are able to withstand higher amounts of stress in the future.
So back to those antioxidants. Antioxidant molecules have proven to act as a buffer against free radicals thereby decreasing potential cell damage caused by oxidative stress, exercise, pollutants and contaminants. They don’t have the power to cure diseases and that is confirmed across almost all of the research, but they absolutely can act as a buffer to further damage.
You can get antioxidants from a wide variety of sources, including fruits and vegetables, vitamin supplements, and even pre-workout powders like Red Leaf Pre-Workout. Each serving of Red Leaf is packed with antioxidants from natural fruit extracts and green tea, which helps you recover faster during and after your workout.
Eating a healthy diet full of vibrant fruits and vegetables will give you plenty of antioxidants, but if you are exercising intensely, using products with antioxidants like our pre-workout can only help! Just make sure you aren’t overdoing it by taking too many vitamin supplements on top of your other products and current diet.
Check out Red Leaf Pre-Workout Energizer by shopping our page now!
