Might the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of plant-based diets undermine some of the benefits of exercise?
Enhanced Athletic Recovery without Undermining Adaptation
Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
Ultramarathon runners may generate so many free radicals during a race that they can damage the DNA of a significant percentage of their cells. Now, “[s]ome…have looked on the exercise-induced increase in free radical production as a paradox.” Why would “an apparently healthy act (exercise) [lead] to detrimental effects through damage to various molecules and tissues”?
“This is somewhat of a misunderstanding, as exercise in [and of] itself is not [necessarily the] healthy act…; [it’s] the recovery after exercise that is [so] healthy—the whole that-which-doesn’t-kill-us-makes-us-stronger notion. For example, “[e]xercise training has been shown to enhance antioxidant defences” by increasing the activities of antioxidant enzymes. So, yeah, during the race, ultramarathoners may be taking hits to their DNA. But, check out a week later.
Six days after the race, they didn’t just go back to the baseline level of DNA damage. They had significantly less—presumably because they had so revved up their antioxidant defenses. So, maybe “exercise-induced oxidative damage” is beneficial—kinda like vaccination. By freaking out the body a little, maybe you’ll induce a response that’s favorable in the long run.
“This concept that low levels of a damaging entity can upregulate protective mechanisms…is known as hormesis.” For example, herbicides kill plants, but, in tiny doses, may actually boost plant growth—presumably by stressing the plant into rallying its resources to successfully fight back.
Wait a second, though. Could, then, eating anti-inflammatory, antioxidant-rich plant foods undermine this adaptation response? We saw that berries could reduce inflammatory muscle damage, and greens could reduce the free radical DNA damage. Dark chocolate and tomato juice may have similar effects. The flavonoid phytonutrients in fruits, vegetables, and beans appear to inhibit the activity of xanthine oxidase, considered “the main contributor of free radicals during exercise.” And, the carbs in plant foods may decrease stress hormone levels.
So, in 1999, a theoretical concern was raised. Maybe all that free radical stress from exercise is a good thing, and “increased consumption of some antioxidant nutrients might interfere with these necessary adaptive processes.” So, if you decrease the free radical tissue damage, maybe you don’t get that increase in activity of those antioxidant enzymes.
The cherry researchers responded, look, although it’s likely that muscle damage, inflammation, and oxidative stress are important factors in the adaptation process, minimizing these factors may improve recovery, so you can train more, and perform better. So, there’s kind of theories on both sides. But, what happens when you actually put it to the test? What does the data show?
While antioxidant or anti-inflammatory supplements “may prevent these adaptive events,” researchers found that a berry extract—black currant in this study—although packed with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, actually augmented, boosted, “the health benefits of regular exercise” even further.
But, you take antioxidant pills—vitamin C and vitamin E supplements—and, you can actually reduce the stress levels induced by exercise. But, in doing so, you can block that boost in antioxidant enzyme activity caused by exercise. Now, maybe you don’t need that boost, if you don’t have as much damage. But, vitamin C supplements may impair physical performance in the first place. Whereas with plant foods, you appear to get the best of both worlds.
Check out this recent study on lemon verbena, an antioxidant-rich herbal tea. It “protects…against oxidative damage, decreases the signs of muscular damage and…inflammation” all without blocking “the cellular adaptation to exercise.” They showed that lemon verbena does not affect the increase of the antioxidant enzyme response promoted by exercise. On the contrary, glutathione reductase activity was even higher in the lemon verbena group. Here’s the level of antioxidant enzyme activity, before and after 21 days of intense running exercises, in the control group. With all that free radical damage that caused, the body started cranking up its antioxidant defenses. But, give a dark green leafy tea, and not only do you put a kabosh on the damage, due to all the phytonutrients and antioxidants, you still get the boost in defenses—in fact, in this case, even better.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- N. B. J. Vollaard, J. P. Shearman, C. E. Cooper. Exercise-induced oxidative stress:Myths, realities and physiological relevance. Sports Med. 2005 35(12):1045 - 1062.
- A. Mastaloudis, T.-W. Yu, R. P. O'Donnell, B. Frei, R. H. Dashwood, M. G. Traber. Endurance exercise results in DNA damage as detected by the comet assay. Free Radic. Biol. Med. 2004 36(8):966 - 975.
- J. Kaiser. Hormesis. Sipping From a Poisoned Chalice. Science. 2003 302(5644):376-379.
- D. Trapp, W. Knez, W. Sinclair. Could a vegetarian diet reduce exercise-induced oxidative stress? A review of the literature. J Sports Sci. 2010 28(12):1261 - 1268.
- G. Howatson, M. P. McHugh, J. A. Hill, J. Brouner, A. P. Jewell, K. A. van Someren, R. E. Shave, S. A. Howatson. Influence of tart cherry juice on indices of recovery following marathon running. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2010 20(6):843 - 852.
- G. Davison, R. Callister, G. Williamson, K. A. Cooper, M. Gleeson. The effect of acute pre-exercise dark chocolate consumption on plasma antioxidant status, oxidative stress and immunoendocrine responses to prolonged exercise. Eur J Nutr. 2012 51(1):69-79.
- L. Ramaswamy, K. Indirani. Effect of supplementation of tomato juice on the oxidative stress of selected athletes. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2011 8(Suppl 1):P21.
- M. J. Jackson. Free radicals in skin and muscle: damaging agents or signals for adaptation? Proc Nutr Soc. 1999 58(3):673-676.
- M. McHugh. The health benefits of cherries and potential applications in sports. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2011 21(5):615 - 616.
- K. A. Lyall, S. M. Hurst, J. Cooney, D. Jensen, K. Lo, R. D. Hurst, L. M. Stevenson. Short-term blackcurrant extract consumption modulates exercise-induced oxidative stress and lipopolysaccharide-stimulated inflammatory responses. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2009 297(1):R70-R81.
- L. Funes, L. Carrera-Quintanar, M. Cerdán-Calero, M. D. Ferrer, F. Drobnic, A. Pons, E. Roche, V. Micol. Effect of lemon verbena supplementation on muscular damage markers, proinflammatory cytokines release and neutrophils' oxidative stress in chronic exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2011 111(4):695-705.
- A. Nagao, M. Seki, H. Kobayashi. Inhibition of xanthine oxidase by flavonoids. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 1999 63(10):1787-1790.
- C. Spanou, A. S. Veskoukis, T. Kerasioti, M. Kontou, A. Angelis, N. Aligiannis, A. L. Skaltsounis, D. Kouretas. Flavonoid glycosides isolated from unique legume plant extracts as novel inhibitors of xanthine oxidase. PLoS One. 2012 7(3):e32214.
- M. Gleeson. Can nutrition limit exercise-induced immunodepression? Nutr Rev. 2006 64(3):119-131.
- M. Ristow, K. Zarse, A. Oberbach, N. Klöting, M. Birringer, M. Kiehntopf, M. Stumvoll, C. R. Kahn, M. Blüherc. Antioxidants prevent health-promoting effects of physical exercise in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 May 106(21):8665–8670.
- A. J. Braakhuis. Effect of vitamin C supplements on physical performance. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2012 11(4):180-184.
Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
Ultramarathon runners may generate so many free radicals during a race that they can damage the DNA of a significant percentage of their cells. Now, “[s]ome…have looked on the exercise-induced increase in free radical production as a paradox.” Why would “an apparently healthy act (exercise) [lead] to detrimental effects through damage to various molecules and tissues”?
“This is somewhat of a misunderstanding, as exercise in [and of] itself is not [necessarily the] healthy act…; [it’s] the recovery after exercise that is [so] healthy—the whole that-which-doesn’t-kill-us-makes-us-stronger notion. For example, “[e]xercise training has been shown to enhance antioxidant defences” by increasing the activities of antioxidant enzymes. So, yeah, during the race, ultramarathoners may be taking hits to their DNA. But, check out a week later.
Six days after the race, they didn’t just go back to the baseline level of DNA damage. They had significantly less—presumably because they had so revved up their antioxidant defenses. So, maybe “exercise-induced oxidative damage” is beneficial—kinda like vaccination. By freaking out the body a little, maybe you’ll induce a response that’s favorable in the long run.
“This concept that low levels of a damaging entity can upregulate protective mechanisms…is known as hormesis.” For example, herbicides kill plants, but, in tiny doses, may actually boost plant growth—presumably by stressing the plant into rallying its resources to successfully fight back.
Wait a second, though. Could, then, eating anti-inflammatory, antioxidant-rich plant foods undermine this adaptation response? We saw that berries could reduce inflammatory muscle damage, and greens could reduce the free radical DNA damage. Dark chocolate and tomato juice may have similar effects. The flavonoid phytonutrients in fruits, vegetables, and beans appear to inhibit the activity of xanthine oxidase, considered “the main contributor of free radicals during exercise.” And, the carbs in plant foods may decrease stress hormone levels.
So, in 1999, a theoretical concern was raised. Maybe all that free radical stress from exercise is a good thing, and “increased consumption of some antioxidant nutrients might interfere with these necessary adaptive processes.” So, if you decrease the free radical tissue damage, maybe you don’t get that increase in activity of those antioxidant enzymes.
The cherry researchers responded, look, although it’s likely that muscle damage, inflammation, and oxidative stress are important factors in the adaptation process, minimizing these factors may improve recovery, so you can train more, and perform better. So, there’s kind of theories on both sides. But, what happens when you actually put it to the test? What does the data show?
While antioxidant or anti-inflammatory supplements “may prevent these adaptive events,” researchers found that a berry extract—black currant in this study—although packed with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, actually augmented, boosted, “the health benefits of regular exercise” even further.
But, you take antioxidant pills—vitamin C and vitamin E supplements—and, you can actually reduce the stress levels induced by exercise. But, in doing so, you can block that boost in antioxidant enzyme activity caused by exercise. Now, maybe you don’t need that boost, if you don’t have as much damage. But, vitamin C supplements may impair physical performance in the first place. Whereas with plant foods, you appear to get the best of both worlds.
Check out this recent study on lemon verbena, an antioxidant-rich herbal tea. It “protects…against oxidative damage, decreases the signs of muscular damage and…inflammation” all without blocking “the cellular adaptation to exercise.” They showed that lemon verbena does not affect the increase of the antioxidant enzyme response promoted by exercise. On the contrary, glutathione reductase activity was even higher in the lemon verbena group. Here’s the level of antioxidant enzyme activity, before and after 21 days of intense running exercises, in the control group. With all that free radical damage that caused, the body started cranking up its antioxidant defenses. But, give a dark green leafy tea, and not only do you put a kabosh on the damage, due to all the phytonutrients and antioxidants, you still get the boost in defenses—in fact, in this case, even better.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- N. B. J. Vollaard, J. P. Shearman, C. E. Cooper. Exercise-induced oxidative stress:Myths, realities and physiological relevance. Sports Med. 2005 35(12):1045 - 1062.
- A. Mastaloudis, T.-W. Yu, R. P. O'Donnell, B. Frei, R. H. Dashwood, M. G. Traber. Endurance exercise results in DNA damage as detected by the comet assay. Free Radic. Biol. Med. 2004 36(8):966 - 975.
- J. Kaiser. Hormesis. Sipping From a Poisoned Chalice. Science. 2003 302(5644):376-379.
- D. Trapp, W. Knez, W. Sinclair. Could a vegetarian diet reduce exercise-induced oxidative stress? A review of the literature. J Sports Sci. 2010 28(12):1261 - 1268.
- G. Howatson, M. P. McHugh, J. A. Hill, J. Brouner, A. P. Jewell, K. A. van Someren, R. E. Shave, S. A. Howatson. Influence of tart cherry juice on indices of recovery following marathon running. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2010 20(6):843 - 852.
- G. Davison, R. Callister, G. Williamson, K. A. Cooper, M. Gleeson. The effect of acute pre-exercise dark chocolate consumption on plasma antioxidant status, oxidative stress and immunoendocrine responses to prolonged exercise. Eur J Nutr. 2012 51(1):69-79.
- L. Ramaswamy, K. Indirani. Effect of supplementation of tomato juice on the oxidative stress of selected athletes. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2011 8(Suppl 1):P21.
- M. J. Jackson. Free radicals in skin and muscle: damaging agents or signals for adaptation? Proc Nutr Soc. 1999 58(3):673-676.
- M. McHugh. The health benefits of cherries and potential applications in sports. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2011 21(5):615 - 616.
- K. A. Lyall, S. M. Hurst, J. Cooney, D. Jensen, K. Lo, R. D. Hurst, L. M. Stevenson. Short-term blackcurrant extract consumption modulates exercise-induced oxidative stress and lipopolysaccharide-stimulated inflammatory responses. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2009 297(1):R70-R81.
- L. Funes, L. Carrera-Quintanar, M. Cerdán-Calero, M. D. Ferrer, F. Drobnic, A. Pons, E. Roche, V. Micol. Effect of lemon verbena supplementation on muscular damage markers, proinflammatory cytokines release and neutrophils' oxidative stress in chronic exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2011 111(4):695-705.
- A. Nagao, M. Seki, H. Kobayashi. Inhibition of xanthine oxidase by flavonoids. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 1999 63(10):1787-1790.
- C. Spanou, A. S. Veskoukis, T. Kerasioti, M. Kontou, A. Angelis, N. Aligiannis, A. L. Skaltsounis, D. Kouretas. Flavonoid glycosides isolated from unique legume plant extracts as novel inhibitors of xanthine oxidase. PLoS One. 2012 7(3):e32214.
- M. Gleeson. Can nutrition limit exercise-induced immunodepression? Nutr Rev. 2006 64(3):119-131.
- M. Ristow, K. Zarse, A. Oberbach, N. Klöting, M. Birringer, M. Kiehntopf, M. Stumvoll, C. R. Kahn, M. Blüherc. Antioxidants prevent health-promoting effects of physical exercise in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 May 106(21):8665–8670.
- A. J. Braakhuis. Effect of vitamin C supplements on physical performance. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2012 11(4):180-184.
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Enhanced Athletic Recovery without Undermining Adaptation
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Content URLDoctor's Note
More on enhancing athletic recovery in my recent three-part video series:
- Reducing Muscle Fatigue with Citrus
- Reducing Muscle Soreness with Berries
- Preventing Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress with Watercress
Then there’s my 15-part series on using nitrate-rich vegetables to boost athletic performance, starting with Doping with Beet Juice and ending with So Should We Drink Beet Juice, or Not?
More examples of plants over pills in:
- Produce, Not Pills, to Increase Physical Attractiveness
- Raisins vs. Jelly Beans for Athletic Performance
- Prunes vs. Metamucil vs. Vegan Diet
If it’s lemon verbena’s antioxidant content, then there may be a better option; see The Healthiest Herbal Tea and Better than Green Tea?
I continue this thread in Preserving Immune Function In Athletes with Nutritional Yeast.
For further context, check out my associated blog post: How to Boost the Benefits of Exercise.
If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my videos for free by clicking here. Read our important information about translations here.