Should the use of antioxidant supplements be discarded on account of their negative influence on training adaptations?

Question

I have received information that the supplementation of antioxidants can potentially weaken my training adaptations, is this correct?

Answer 1

Yes, it has been indicated for some activities that adventitious doses of supplemental antioxidants may alter the normal gains obtained from training, such as those that pertain to mitochondrial biogenesis and vascular function. This may in the long term translate to lower levels of fitness gain from exercise over time. On the other hand, antioxidants obtained from fruits and vegetables do not seem to have such a handicap and may in fact be beneficial to recovery without compromising adaptation. More often it has been suggested to take antioxidants from the wide and healthy diet rather than from the supplements.

Comments

What about d ribose for enery recovery? I'm someone who has to be careful on exercising or else I'm chronically fatigued. Magnesium helps in recovery.

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Can you address the use of BCAAs?  I thought for sure it would be covered in this content.

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As always, thanks for the content. Regarding antioxidants, I don't know if it's a cultural thing or not, but it seems that in all the studies you shared they never talk about prunes (dried plums). According to many sources, prunes have the highest ORAC score of all the fruits and veg; and by far. Since it also contains a lot of carb (well, sugar), it seems to be the perfect food for recovery. The only downside is that it contains a lot of fibers so it can fastrack your next visit to the toilets. That's why I see it more as an after ride food than an on the saddle on. What's your opinion on prunes ? Thanks

* I can see it as a cultural thing because in France we have the famous "Pruneaux d'Agen" so it's quite common to eat prunes. But I don't know if it's the same in the US or elsewhere.