When to take Antioxidants?

[donmoore]

The need to take antioxidants for freediving, because apnea creates free-radicals, which need to be controlled by antioxidants has been shared on the forum by Eric and others. My question, is when is the best time to take them? Immediately after apnea, in the morning, right before, ect?

After seeing a few eye doctors lately for Presbyopia (age related farsightedness) and reading the material in the waiting rooms that says that most age related eye disorders/diseases can be delayed or prevented with antioxidants, I have become more interested in antioxidants. It is probably coincidence, but my presbyopia started when I started doing apnea training, which also happened to be at age 40.

Specifically what I am wondering is if antioxidants are consumed before apnea, are they available to do their thing against free-radicals, or are free-radicals going to be created anyway and it’s the sooner antioxidants are taken after the apnea, the better? I was taking them every morning, but then the thought occurred to me that if free-radicals were created during the apnea, they maybe doing their damage for most of the day and all night, before the next morning comes and I take the antioxidants.
don

 

[Bill]

"my presbyopia started when I started doing apnea training, which also happened to be at age 40."

I first noticed it about that age after a few years of not doing apnea. Minimum focus distance continues to increase even though every meal that I've eaten out of the house for over twenty years contains brocolli. Eyeballs, arteries and climbing hills, at least some things get harder as you grow older. Just have to stick a piece of plastic in your non dominant eye. LOL
Aloha
Bill

 

[portinfer]

Don
I was wondering this too - and also the type of anti-oxidants.

I notice that I get pretty tired if I go below a certain depth.

Is there an anti-oxidant that is a quick fix. By that I mean - if you eat 10 spoonfuls of sunflower seeds after freediving will that mop up most of the FR's ?

Yes, I am lazy - but having a quick cure-all would be good to find. (I eat well etc - no Maccy D slouch for me)

Ed

 

[gerard]

I would take them in the morning with my breakfast and at night with dinner. Better ingesting them with food for increased absorption.

Here's a list of antioxidants and their food sources:

Allium sulphur compounds - leeks, onions and garlic.
Anthocyanins - eggplant, grapes and berries.
Beta-carotene - pumpkin, mangoes, apricots, carrots, spinach and parsley.
Catechins - red wine, green & black tea.
Copper - seafood, lean meat, milk and nuts.
Cryptoxanthins - red capsicum, pumpkin and mangoes.
Flavonoids - green & black tea, citrus fruits, red wine, onion and apples.
Indoles - cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower.
Isoflavonoids - soybeans, tofu, lentils, peas and milk.
Lignans - sesame seeds, bran, whole grains and vegetables.
Lutein - leafy greens like spinach, bok choi; corn.
Lycopene - tomato, pink grapefruit and watermelon.
Manganese - seafood, lean meat, milk and nuts.
Polyphenols - thyme and oregano.
Selenium - seafood, offal, lean meat and whole grains.
Vitamin C - oranges, blackcurrants, kiwi fruit, mangoes, broccoli, spinach, capsicum and strawberries.
Vitamin E - fish oils (cod liver), avocados, nuts, seeds and whole grains.
Zinc - seafood, lean meat, milk and nuts.
Zoochemicals - red meat and fish.

You can see that a rich and varied diet will cover all your antioxidant requirements rather than relying on commercially prepared antioxidants, which are dear. These must be taken only when availability of the food source is not always possible.

 

[efattah]

I read some studies that showed the following:

- The formation of free radicals is itself a signal for adaptations to occur
- Taking a large amount of full-spectrum antioxidants before training can prevent free radical formation so effectively that no training/adaptation occurs
- Taking a large amount of antioxidants after the training didn't have any effect on the adaptation, but still quenched the radicals

So, my conclusion is to take the antioxidants after training.

If you choose to only get your antioxidants from food, then in my opinion the only method would be to drink juices, such as tomato juice, carrot juice, green juice, in large quantities. Or, you could take sea buckthorn fruit oil (mega dose of carotenoids), and/or spirulina (phycocyanin). Grape seed extract is so easy to get and so effective it is hard to justify not taking supplement based antioxidants, especially vitamin C, E, selenium, alpha lipoic acid, and so on.


Eric Fattah
BC, Canada

 

[sinkweight]

I know I sound like I own stock in cranberry farms when I say this, but unsweetened cranberry juice is probably one of the best juices out there. It's high in anti-oxidants, and helps clean the liver.

Sure it'll make your mouth pucker more than your ass does on a cold toilet seat, but you get used to it over a short time.

I'm sure I mentioned it in other posts before, but I recently changed my diet. I drink cranberry juice all day, watered down a little. At night, about an hour before I go to bed, I either mix milled flax seed in or take two teaspoons of flax seed/borage oil (1 teaspoon for every 100 lbs you weigh), with about 4-6 ounces of juice.

If you don't like the taste, go with Pomegranate juice. I like it much better, though it is an acquired taste to some. The only drawback is the sugar level. Though it is natural sugar, it tends to take away from the anti-oxidizing qualities of the strange fruit.

I like to eat asparagus, despite its tendency to make your urine reek of sulfur. It's one of the highest anti-oxidant rich foods out there, and only typically 20 calories per normal serving, to boot.

Side fact: Some scholars now believe that the "forbidden fruit" as described in the bible, when refering to the story of Adam and Eve, was actually a pomegranate. There have been ancient documents detailing it's wonderful qualities, as well.

I just thought I might throw my favorites in here, folks. Perhaps your vision might be suffering from cruising the Deeperblue threads on a bad computer screen?

There's my two cents, folks............anybody got any change?

 

[portinfer]

Ok - I#ll get the cranberry juice in I think - goes really well with vodka - or is that going to upset the anti-oxidants ?

Ed

 

[sinkweight]

How DARE you mix ANYTHING with vodka, you HEATHEN!

ha ha ha

Might I suggest Belvedere, Ketel One, Kutskova, or Ciroc (made from wine grapes, in case you're really good at fooling yourself that it contained polyphenols!) for some exquisite liver damage and a free radical bonanza.

Maybe the computer screen ain't one of the reasons your seeing double, heh-heh.

Don't get me started on bad vision when vodka's mentioned, if you know what I mean.

That's how me and my right arm came to know Mr. 4-inch scar.

Have you tried wearing corrective lenses? I tend to wear beer goggles when I go out on the weekends. They seem to work at night....but when I look over at the other side of the bed in the morning, I always want my money back.

Coincidentally, I wonder if Eric or Gerard know of anything to take to help me remember girls' names, ha ha ha.

 

[mishu1984]

if oyu are going for vodka, try to get this one that is called "Armandale" its a lot better than Smirnoff or SKY or any other....

beer goggles...yeah you gota love'em when you got them on, but DAMM the next morning.... :head

 

[DeepThought]

When has the topic changed from antioxidants to hyperoxidants?

The best vodka's I can recommend on are:

Chopin: from Poland, named after the composer (or was that the other way around?). Goes down smoothly, has a nice taste (for spirit) and has wonderful effects. 50% alcohol, though I think there's a 40% also.

Polish pure, which I drank only once in some place in London. It's 79% alcohol. 'Nuff said!

*ofcourse all vodka's should be kept in the freezer (or your local diving water for some of you) till use.

 

[squinty]

queers

Antioxidants !!!!!!!! - stick with the Boddingtons

Just get in the water....whatever next !!!!! Steroids.

Do it ....don't waffle about it

 

[Erik]

LOL! Welcome squinty, I'll send you the bill for the coffee on my keyboard,
Cheers,
Erik Y.

 

[squinty]

Coffee

No problem...i'll stand you a coffee anytime

Squinty

'an owl in a bag hurts no man'