Antioxidant Pills Negate Exercise Benefits

Vitamin stores, health food stores even my local grocery store has them - antioxidant pills that promise to neutralize the free radicals generated by strenuous exercise. Instead antioxidant pills block metabolic improvements that you gain with exercise.

In a recent German study, people who engaged in about an hour and a half of intense exercise -- running, cycling, weight-lifting -- five days a week achieved various health benefits, including improved ability to control blood sugar, thus reducing diabetes risk.

But when the men took antioxidant supplements -- 400 IU of vitamin E and 1,000 mg of vitamin C -- there was NO improvement in insulin sensitivity.

Why? The pills seem to displace the body's own natural antioxidant systems, which otherwise neutralize the oxidative damage caused by increased oxygen intake during exercise.

Take Home Message: For maximum benefits and minimum risk, get the nutrients you need from Antioxidant Superfoods like apples, berries, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage.