Flavonoids: Powerful Sports Drinks Reduce Oxidative Stress

Training in Europe really opened my eyes to a new understanding of intensity. Funnily enough, it is interesting to see the marked difference in the way people perceive nutrition and training from today, compared to 10 years ago. Recently I had realised that I had never really been asked about nutrition or about training regimes as a player growing up in a semi professional environment in Australia. We never had a sports nutritionist or personal trainer to guide us through proper sports science prescriptions for soccer. So when I had an intense session, my body had to deal with it the best way it could for days. What does this mean for your body? What can be done about it?

Working out at super high intensities can increase the oxidative stress on your body, which can lead to free radicals damaging good tissue, and increasing your chances for disease. A fantastic Article by Daniells, S. (2006) shows some fantastic evidence that antioxidant supplements can decrease oxidative damage and increase performance. One study pointed to the effect of a flavonoid supplement using black grape, raspberry and red currant concentrates reduced the amount of free radical damage. Here are some of the findings of the report and other studies related to oxidative stress:

• “The antioxidant effect of the beverage could be due to polyphenolic content and not to the vitamin C due to the fact that the placebo contains the same quantity of vitamin C”. Therefore, the natural juice from the fruits in the drink provided the antioxidants needed to fight high oxidative stress in the 30 athletes studied.

• Exercise induced oxidative stress is only seen after high intensity or long duration exercise. A 1987 study from the University of Alberta showed that moderate exercise did not affect oxidative stress, and that low intensity exercise actually protected against it.

Next time when you are slugging it out on the park remember the need to consume a drink that is high in antioxidants and that will replenish glycogen stores at the same time. Remember that you also need to consume a drink that re-hydrates you for greater goalkeeping performance.