Some Antioxidant Vitamins Work Against Exercise

It’s complicated, but Nicholas Wade of the New York Times does a nice job of explaining why some antioxidants, like vitamin C and E, could mitigate the benefits of exercise. “Exercise makes the muscle cells metabolize glucose,” writes Wade,” by combining
its carbon atoms with oxygen and extracting the energy that is
released. In the process, some highly reactive oxygen molecules escape
and make chemical attacks on anything in sight. These reactive
oxygen compounds are known to damage the body’s tissues….The body has its
own defense system for combating oxidative damage, but it does not
always do enough. So antioxidants, which mop up the reactive oxygen
compounds, may seem like a logical solution.”
The Times reports that researchers at the University of Jenna in Germany and in Boston put that theory to the test, giving vitamin C and E to exercising subjects, and measuring sensitivity to insulin and the body’s natural defenses to oxidative damage. What happened? The subjects who took the vitamins had no improvement in insulin sensitivity and almost no activation of the body’s natural defense mechanism against oxidative damage.The Times reports that reactive oxygen compounds that are inevitable byproducts of exercise are a
natural trigger for both of these responses, and the vitamins, by
efficiently destroying the reactive oxygen, short-circuit the body’s
natural response to exercise.
Yes. It’s complicated, but the bottom line, according to one researcher, is if you exercise to promote health, you shouldn’t take large amounts of antioxidants. That advice, the Times points, out does not apply to fruits and vegetables, which will almost always do more good than harm.
Read more from Nicholas Wade in the New York Times.