NEW ANTIOXIDANT DISCOVERED
Author: Phil Campbell, M.S., M.S.A., FACHE, AGE 50

Antioxidants . . . what comes to mind first? The bright orange vegetables - carrots and sweet potatoes, or do you think about supplements like selenium, and vitamins C, D, E?

When we think about antioxidants, we typically think about eating something to combat those trouble-making oxidants with anti-oxidants (from vividly colored fruit and vegetables or supplements).

Well, there’s a new antioxidant on the block.


WHY ARE ANTIOXIDANTS BENEFICIAL?

Antioxidants are reported to be a major player in health and wellness by scavenging the blood for free radical cells that have entered the bloodstream from pollutants.

Some free radical cells are positive and are needed to fight disease and heal injury. However, when the body is exposed to environmental pollution, free radicals are produced in excess.

EXCESSIVE FREE RADICALS DO THE DAMAGE

Excessive free radicals not only cause damage and leave the body more susceptible to carcinogens (cancer causing substances), they also play a role in heart disease and hardening of the arteries.

This occurs when free radicals oxidize with the bad (low-density) cholesterol.

Oxidation in the blood stream operates in the same way that metal tarnishes (when it's left outside in the weather). When metal tarnishes, it is being oxidized. And that’s what excessive free radical reactions do in your bloodstream.

The traditional way to combat free radicals is to increase the amount of food rich in vitamins C, D, E, beta-carotene, selenium, and take antioxidant supplements.

But now there's a new antioxidant on the block!

NEW ANTIOXIDANT DISCOVERED

Researchers report that high-intensity exercise - the Synergy Fitness type of fitness training - that produces lactic acid (the burning sensation in muscles during exercise) may need to be considered an “antioxidant agent” because of its ability to scavenge for free radicals. (Free radical scavenging and antioxidant effects of lactate ion: an in vitro study, 2000, Groussard).

If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. When you reach an out-of-breath (anaerobic) state during exercise, the body tells the blood system to hunt for all the oxygen it can to pay back the oxygen debt.

By performing anaerobic exercise, you have done something to your body to make it automatically "scavenge" the blood system and seek out cells that could be oxidized.

Maybe this explains why I hear people say, "My body feels so clean after doing the Sprint 8 Workout." Perhaps they have zapped everything that could be oxidized.

DOESN'T EXERCISE CAUSE FREE RADICALS?

Yes. Researchers report that exercise produces small amounts of free radicals. Remember, it is the “excessive” free radicals that are the trouble makers.

The free radicals produced during exercise actually “insults heart muscle,” explain researchers. And this is positive. The “insult” causes the heart to develop what the researchers call an “adaptive response,” which builds antioxidant defenses into heart muscle.

Researchers conclude, “Regular physical exercise may beneficially influence cardiac antioxidant defenses and promote overall cardiac function," (Physical exercise and antioxidant defenses in the heart, 1999, Atalay).

THE TAKE HOME

Don't give up the carrots or toss your antioxidant supplements, just consider adding anaerobic workouts (after consulting your physician, of course) to your fitness plan.

***************************Phil Campbell, is the author of "Ready, Set, GO! Synergy Fitness for Time-Crunched Adults,"
368-pages, 300 photo-illustrations.
Pristine Publishers Inc. USA

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www.readysetgofitness.com National Library of Medicine links:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10904049&dopt=Abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10415530&dopt=Abstract







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Phil Campbell authored his first fitness training manual over 30 years ago.

While in college, he managed health clubs and performed personal training 20 years before it was called personal training.

Two masters degrees later, and a 20-year career as a healthcare executive that included serving as a Division President with eight hospitals under his command, he returned to writing about fitness, improving athletic performance, anti-aging, and anti Middle-aging. He’s been nicknamed the "anti Middle-aging guy" by a national fitness writer.

Age 50
Phil Campbell is age 50. He has 20 years of experience in hospital administration where it was his responsibility to take the medical disciplines of surgery, pathology, radiology, pediatrics, pharmacy, physical therapy, rehabilitation, psychiatry and other disciplines and operationalize these medical services into a healthcare delivery system to help and improve the lives of others.

The same approach is used in his book. He has taken the latest research in disciplines of exercise science, medicine, nutrition, endocrinology, fitness for specific age groups and has presented a research supported system that will help and improve the lives of others.

He has used his years of experience in taking complex medical subjects and making them understandable and practical in his book. He shows readers step-by-step how to improve fitness, increase energy, and lose, cut, and tone.

Phil Campbell's inspiration to help improve the health status of large populations was sparked by his Health Services masters degree advisor, Dr. Ed Cavanaugh, a former division administrator with the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. Mainstream biomedical research is the base for all of Phil Campbell’s writing and over 160 research studies are cited in his book.

He shares his unique experience of how a 20-year career hospital administrator and a father of three can achieve optimum fitness improvement as a time-crunched adult.

Phil Campbell is the creator of Synergy Fitness a comprehensive fitness training approach targeted at five major areas of fitness flexibility, endurance, strength, power, and anaerobic conditioning.

As a masters athlete, Phil Campbell holds several USA Track and Field Masters titles including first place in the 100-meter sprint, Southeastern U.S. Championships for his age group in 2000.

In 2001, he placed third nationally in USA Track and Field Masters Nationals in his age group in the javelin throw, fifth in discus, and he won medals in several 100 and 200 meter sprint competitions. In 2003, he will compete in the National Seniors Games in the 100 meter and 200 meter sprints, discus and javelin.

In his late 40’s, he won a 40-yard dash competition in 4.69 seconds. Also, he has a black belt in Isshinryu Karate, and has competed and won first place in martial arts and weightlifting competitions.

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