Exercise and Free Radicals: Effects of Antioxidant Vitamins

2015 ◽  
pp. 59-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrianne Bendich
Keyword(s):  
Free Radicals ◽  
Antioxidant Vitamins

Antioxidants, Carnitine, and Choline as Putative Ergogenic Aids

1995 ◽  
Vol 5 (s1) ◽  
pp. S120-S131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitchell M. Kanter ◽  
Melvin H. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Free Radicals ◽  
Lipid Oxidation ◽  
Physical Performance ◽  
Direct Effect ◽  
Mechanisms Of Action ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Antioxidant Vitamins ◽  
Plasma Lactate ◽  
Potential Efficacy

Three nutritional products that have very different mechanisms of action are antioxidant vitamins, carnitine, and choline. Antioxidant vitamins do not appear to have a direct effect on physical performance in well-fed people but have been touted for their ability to detoxify potentially damaging free radicals produced during exercise. Carnitine purportedly enhances lipid oxidation, increases VO2max, and decreases plasma lactate accumulation during exercise. However, studies of carnitine do not generally support its use for ergogenic purposes. Choline supplements have been advocated as a means of preventing the decline in acetylcholine production purported to occur during exercise; this decline may reduce the transmission of contraction-generating impulses across the skeletal muscle, an effect that could impair one’s ability to perform muscular work. However, there are no definitive studies in humans that justify choline supplementation. Much of the scientific data regarding the aforementioned nutrients are equivocal and contradictory. Their potential efficacy for improving physical performance remains largely theoretical.

scholarly journals Antioxidants and CVD

2008 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 214-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Richard Bruckdorfer
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Heart Disease ◽  
Free Radicals ◽  
Atherosclerotic Plaque ◽  
Intervention Studies ◽  
Degenerative Disease ◽  
Fruit And Vegetables ◽  
Antioxidant Vitamins ◽  
Nitrogen Species ◽  
History Of

The involvement of free radicals and reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in the pathology of inflammatory and degenerative disease has been widely accepted, although the centrality of these species to the outcome of these diseases is still a matter for debate. In the case of CVD, and particularly the development of the atherosclerotic plaque, the oxidation of LDL is of particular importance and appears to explain many of the events that occur during the life history of the plaque. The corollary of this situation is that antioxidants must be a benign force to protect the population from the modern scourge of heart disease. In fact, recent evidence from intervention studies with large doses of the antioxidant vitamins and other antioxidants in foods has been very disappointing. Here, the background for the belief that antioxidants ought to be beneficial is examined and an attempt made to explain why the results of these intervention studies have been unsuccessful. It is agreed that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables is protective for both CVD and cancer, but the explanation for this effect may not necessarily lie with the presence of antioxidants.

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