Antioxidant Status
Poor nutritional habits cause malnutrition and health related disorders and disease. They also prevent optimal performance, recovery and regeneration for athletes. Over the last five to ten years, the word antioxidant has become more prevalent in the media whether being advertised in make up, the latest fruit juice, or fruit and vegetables. Antioxidants are important because our bodies are under constant attack from free radicals – unstable molecules that steal or scavenge electrons from other molecules. Many physical effects we call “aging” are the result of free radicals that weaken tissue such as skin, blood vessels, and the brain.
Whether a leisure cyclist, serious amateur, or professional, the more exercise undertaken, the greater the free radical production within the body (it’s a by product of energy creation). Strenuous physical activity is known to generate oxidative stress, potentially leading to chronic inflammation and accelerated aging and disease. For example, research has found that in elite kayakers and canoeists who perform high-intensity endurance exercise, free radical levels—a measure of oxidative stress—was significantly higher than in an age-matched sedentary control group.
Free radicals and oxidative stress is also increased by pollution, smoking, emotional stress, pesticides, herbicides and airline travel. An excess of free radicals is linked with some forms of cancer, heart disease and an accelerated rate of aging, so it is important to ensure you have enough antioxidant protection against these scavengers from a health point of view. Antioxidants can also help you recover more quickly after workouts.
Although there are a number of ways to measure antioxidant status and oxidative stress such as through urine, the BioPhotonic scanner is the world’s first measuring tool that provides a skin carotenoid score within three minutes, therefore giving immediate evidence of carotenoid (one of the most potent antioxidants) activity in the body. This provides an insight as to the level of oxidative stress and whether an athletes’ diet is working to protect them. 
The scanner uses a technology called resonance Raman spectroscopy, which has been used for many years in research laboratories. The scanning process is simple, non-invasive and uses optical signals directed to the surface of the hand to provide you with a skin carotenoid score.
Author: Graeme Jones BA (Hons), ACSM, AMPhysoc, C.H.E.K Exercise Coach, CHEK HLC I
