Skip to content
Connect with our experts: 800.494.7782
  • FAQs
  • Renew Your Certification
  • Contact Us
  • Sign In/Create Account
AFPA
  • Why AFPA
    Benefits of Choosing AFPA Our Educational Approach Career Change Guide AFPA’s Featured Graduate Stories
  • Certification Programs
    • Program Selection & How it Works
    • Health Coach Certifications
    • Nutrition Certifications
    • Personal Trainer Certifications
    • Fitness Certifications
    • Bundled Certifications
    • Continuing Education
    • All Certifications
    Program Selection & How it Works thumbnail

    Program Selection & How it Works

    • Learn More About Program Selection
    Health Coach Certifications thumbnail

    Health Coach Certifications

    • Health Coach Program Overview
    • Certified Health & Wellness Coach
    • Holistic Health Coach
    • View All Health Coach Certifications
    Nutrition Certifications thumbnail

    Nutrition Certifications

    • Nutrition Program Overview
    • Holistic Nutritionist
    • Master Level Nutrition Consultant
    • Nutrition & Wellness Consultant
    • Autoimmune Holistic Nutrition Specialist
    • Gut Health Nutrition Specialist
    • Plant-Based Nutrition Specialist
    • Sports Nutrition
    • Weight Management Specialist
    • View All Nutrition Certifications
    Personal Trainer Certifications thumbnail

    Personal Trainer Certifications

    • Personal Trainer Program Overview
    • Personal Trainer
    • Master Personal Trainer
    • Advanced Personal Training
    • View All Personal Trainer Certifications
    Fitness Certifications thumbnail

    Fitness Certifications

    • Fitness Program Overview
    • Prenatal and Postpartum Fitness Specialist
    • Pilates Fitness Instructor
    • Yoga Instructor
    • View All Fitness Certifications
    Bundled Certifications thumbnail

    Bundled Certifications

    • Bundled Programs Overview
    • Holistic Nutrition & Autoimmune Nutrition
    • Holistic Health Coach
    • Personal Trainer and Health & Wellness Coach
    • Pregnancy Health Coach
    • Personal Trainer and Nutrition & Wellness Consultant
    • Weight Loss Coach
    • Master Level Nutrition Consultant
    • Master Personal Trainer
    • View All Bundled Certifications
    Continuing Education thumbnail

    Continuing Education

    • Continuing Education Overview
    • CEC Bundles
    • Business & Marketing
    • Chronic Disease & Functional Foods
    • Fitness & Exercise
    • Functional & Core Training
    • Mind-Body Wellness & Flexibility
    • Nutrition & Lifestyle
    • Special Populations
    • Sports & Athletic Conditioning
    • Sport Injuries & Rehabilitation
    • Women's Health & Wellness
    • Youth Health & Fitness
    • View All CEC Courses
    All Certifications thumbnail

    All Certifications

    • View All Certifications
  • Testimonials
  • About AFPA
  • Free Resources
  • Blog
  • Cart (0)
(0)
Menu
Enroll Now
  • Why AFPA
    • Benefits of Choosing AFPA
    • Our Educational Approach
    • Career Change Guide
    • AFPA’s Featured Graduate Stories
  • Certification Programs
    • Program Selection & How It Works
    • Nutrition Certification Programs
    • Health Coach Certifications
    • Personal Trainer Certifications
    • Fitness Certification Programs
    • Bundled Certifications
    • Health and Fitness Continuing Education
  • Testimonials
  • About AFPA
  • Free Resources
  • Blog
  • FAQs
  • Renew Your Certification
  • Contact Us
  • Cart
800.494.7782
Sign in/Create Account
Enroll Now
Articles

Minimum Recommended Daily Allowance of Antioxidants

December 11, 2013
By AFPA Fitness

Glucose is the primary fuel of the human body, that’s what starches are broken down into. Our body takes glucose in our diet and the oxygen we breathe in and makes energy to power our bodies, water, and carbon dioxide that we breathe out. Plants then take the water and CO2 and make oxygen and organic compounds like glucose and the cycle continues in this circle of life. That’s what carbohydrate means, basically hydrated carbon–carbon and water, which is what plants use to make carbs with, and all that’s left after we burn them for energy in our muscles and brain, but this process of oxidizing glucose to make energy is messy, and generates free radicals, such that if we chug down straight sugar water the level of oxidation in our bloodstream goes up over the next few hours. Why would our bodies evolve to have a negative reaction to our primary fuel? Because over the millions of years we evolved, there was no such thing as sugar water—all sugars and starches came pre-packaged with what? Anti-oxidants. In nature sugar always comes with phytonutrients.

If you drink the same amount of sugar in the form of orange juice you don’t get that spike in oxidation. Why? Because the sugar in fruit comes prepackaged with antioxidants. Can’t we just drink vitamin C enriched sugar water? No, it wasn’t the vitamin C in the OJ, but the citrus phytonutrients like hesperetin and naringenin that beat back the oxidation.

If we don’t eat phytonutrient-rich plant foods with each meallike fruit, then for hours after we eat our bodies are tipped out of balance into a pro-oxidative state, which can set us up for oxidant stress diseases. The free radicals in our body can oxidize the fats in our blood and help set us up for heart disease.

Here’re the levels of oxidized fat in our blood 1,2,3 hours after sugar water ingestion, and the corresponding drop in vitamin E levels in our blood as our body’s antioxidant stores are being used up, within hours. If we don’t eat phytonutrient-rich foods with our meals, our body has to dip into its backup supply of antioxidants and you can’t get away with that for long. So while ideally we should stuff our faces with as many phytonutrient-rich foods as we can, in the very least we should eat enough antioxidants to counter the oxidation of digestion. In the very least we don’t want to slide backwards every day and end up with less antioxidants in our bodies than we woke up with.

Just to break even here’s about how many antioxidants we need every day, depending on how much we eat, just to counter the oxidation of digestion. (This is measured in millimoles of trolox equivalents). Men in the U.S. average about 2500 calories a day, and so should be getting at least 11,000 micromoles a day. Women eat about 1800 calories so should get at least 8,000 just to stay solvent. The average American, doesn’t even get half the minimum! No wonder oxidant stress related diseases abound. We’re getting so few antioxidants in our diet we can’t even keep up with the free radicals created just digesting our meals. We are a nation in chronic oxidative debt.

In developed societies we eat a lot of food, but not enough plants, which could result in exaggerated and prolonged metabolic, oxidative, and immune imbalance, presenting opportunity for biological insult that over time could supersede biological defense and repair systems manifesting in cellular dysfunction, disease, and ultimately death.

Sources Cited

http://nutritionfacts.org

H. Ghanim, P. Mohanty, R. Pathak, A. Chaudhuri, C. L. Sia, P. Dandona. Orange juice or fructose intake does not induce oxidative and inflammatory response. Diabetes Care 2007 30(6):1406 – 1411.

X. Wu, G. R. Beecher, J. M. Holden, D. B. Haytowitz, S. E. Gebhardt, R. L. Prior. Lipophilic and hydrophilic antioxidant capacities of common foods in the United States. J. Agric. Food. Chem. 2004 52(12):4026 – 4037.

B. Burton-Freeman. Postprandial metabolic events and fruit-derived phenolics: a review of the science. Br. J. Nutr. 2010 104(Suppl 3):S1 – 14.

P. Mohanty, W. Hamouda, R. Garg, A. Aljada, H. Ghanim, P. Dandona. Glucose challenge stimulates reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation by leucocytes. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2000 85(8):2970 – 2973.

B. Burton-Freeman, A. Linares, D. Hyson, T. Kappagoda. Strawberry modulates LDL oxidation and postprandial lipemia in response to high-fat meal in overweight hyperlipidemic men and women. J Am Coll Nutr. 2010 29(1):46 – 54.

F. Ursini, A. Zamburlini, G. Cazzolato, M. Maiorino, G. B. Bon, A. Sevanian. Postprandial plasma lipid hydroperoxides: a possible link between diet and atherosclerosis. Free Radic. Biol. Med. 1998 25(2):250 – 252.

D. B. Zilversmit. Atherogenesis: a postprandial phenomenon. Circulation 1979 60(3):473 – 485.


Article Categories: Articles

Article Categories:
Articles

Related Posts

Articles

What are the Benefits of Hiring a Personal Trainer?

Download

Articles

Top Fitness Trends 2014

Download

Articles

Help Individuals Increase Their Physical Activity

Download

TURN YOUR DREAM CAREER INTO REALITY

In just six months or less, you can start working in the industry of your dreams with an AFPA certification. For questions or to get started, call us today at 800.494.7782.

Choose Your Program
Contact Us

Stay Connected

Get immediate access to AFPA’s most recent health and wellness insights, exclusive offers and groundbreaking tips to help you become the trusted health, fitness or nutrition professional.

AFPA
  • Column 1
    • Contact Us
    • About AFPA
    • Renew Your Certification
    • FAQs
    • Explore All Certifications
  • Column 2
    • Accreditation and Associations
    • Code of Ethics
    • Professional Insurance
    • Affiliate Partners
  • Column 3
    • Holistic Nutritionist Certification
    • Health & Wellness Coach Certification
    • Holistic Health Coach Certification
    • Nutrition Certifications
    • Health Coach Certifications
    • Personal Trainer Certification
    • Yoga Certification
    • Pilates Certification
GeoTrust Logo
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • ©2023 AFPA.
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy