Reports that vitamins C and E may blunt the positive effects of exercise are misleading, according to an antioxidant expert.
German researchers have reported that antioxidant vitamins C and E may blunt the positive effects of exercise, with respect to insulin sensitivity. Findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Reacting to the study , Alexander Schauss, PhD, from AIBMR Life Sciences, a nutraceutical products consultancy, told NutraIngredients.com that the title of the study (Antioxidants prevent health-promoting effects of physical exercise in humans) was misleading.
"The primary objective of this study was to study the effect of a 4-week intensive 5-days a week exercise program on insulin sensitivity. Yet the title of the paper leads one to believe otherwise," he said.
"This is a small gender-biased study of 40 male subjects, 25 to 35 years of age. When I read through the study for the first time I had to wonder how could the authors have come up with such a title for their paper?" he asked.
Supplements of antioxidant vitamins after exercise may decrease the benefits of the workout by blocking the positive effects of reactive oxygen, says a new study.
Researchers from Germany and the US report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that a combination of 1,000 mg per day of vitamin C and 400 IU per day of vitamin E adversely affected insulin sensitivity, and thereby increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Participants, both trained and untrained, underwent 85 minutes of exercise five days per week for four weeks.
Antioxidants prevent health-promoting effects of physical exercise in humans.
Ristow M, Zarse K, Oberbach A, Klöting N, Birringer M, Kiehntopf M, Stumvoll M, Kahn CR, Blüher M.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 May 26;106(21):8665-70. Epub 2009 May 11.
PMID: 19433800
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0903485106