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Whats New 2002
Taking supplements while you
exercise
With all the controversy around athletes taking
substances to boost their performance I was approached
by a journalist the other day who asked me what
supplements anybody who takes their exercise programme
seriously should be taking.
This is an interesting question, which has been
recently addressed in the February 2003 edition of a
health journal called ‘ Alternative and Complementary
Therapies.’ There are numerous benefits to be gained
with regular exercise including lowering your blood
pressure, improving your mental powers, reducing your
risk of heart disease, increasing your growth hormone
levels, feeling good, combating depression and anxiety
and boosting your bone health to name just a few.
However exercise does have a downside including
the generation of free radicals those chemicals that
have the power to accelerate the ageing process and
initiate a number of the diseases of ageing as well as
the wear and tear that regular activities cause.
To neutralise free radicals,
antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, and E, alpha-lipoic
acid, green tea and the minerals zinc, selenium and
magnesium would provide a good foundation for a
supplement programme.
Glucosamine and chondroitin have
the ability to repair the damaged cartilage found in
joints that suffer erosion with repeated jarring
activity.
Pain can be managed with natural
anti-inflammatories including bromelain and the herbs
curcumin, ginger and boswellia.
Flavonoids such as hesperidin,
rutin and quercetin reduce inflammation and help with
the manufacture of collagen while the essential fatty
acids found in fish or flaxseed oil also limit
inflammation.
Exercise exposes the body to a
certain amount of stress and here herbs such as
liquorice, withania and Siberian ginseng can be most
useful.
see
archives
Spa
Chakra Wellness Centre
The
Wharf
Woolloomooloo
Sydney
2011
02
93680888
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