FREE-RADICALS, EXERCISE, AND ANTIOXIDANT SUPPLEMENTATION

Free radicals have been implicated in the development of diverse disea ses such as cancer, diabetes, and cataracts, and recent epidemiologica l data suggest an inverse relationship between antioxidant intake and cardiovascular disease risk. Data also suggest that antioxidants may d elay aging. Research has indicated that free radical production and su bsequent lipid peroxidation are normal sequelae to the rise in oxygen consumption with exercise. Consequently, antioxidant supplementation m ay detoxify the peroxides produced during exercise and diminish muscle damage and soreness. Vitamin E, beta carotene, and vitamin C have sho wn promise as protective antioxidants. Other ingestible products with antioxidant properties include selenium and coenzyme Q10. The role (if any) that free radicals play in the development of exercise-induced t issue damage, or the protective role that antioxidants may play, remai ns to be elucidated. Current methods used to assess exercise-induced l ipid peroxidation are not extremely specific or sensitive; research th at utilizes more sophisticated methodologies should help to answer man y questions regarding dietary antioxidants.