We all know that working out is super helpful and important in order to keep up a healthy body, make you feel energized, and keep you feeling younger. As I get older, people always say to me, don’t stop moving or it will be hard to get back into it in the future.

What I didn’t know is that when you exercise, free radicals are released. These radicals, in excess, can cause aging. Even though you’re working out, you can be causing unnecessary stress on the body and its processes.

Oxidative stress is implicated in virtually every known disease and there is an increasing body of evidence linking free radical production to the process of aging.

Learn more about it here. 

This is because free radicals can damage DNA.  Even a short bout (think 5-10 minutes) of high intensity exercise can produce damage to DNA.

Luckily, I read that there is a way to counterbalance this. This way has been tested and proven effective. Studies suggest that eating even a handful of fruit, particularly berries, before a workout will help. This is because the high antioxidant content of the fruit attaches to the free radicals and eliminates the threat of oxidative stress on the body.

ANTIOXIDANTS block FREE RADICAL damage. Of course, don’t use supplements–it’s just not the same. We need to eat antioxidant rich foods for the effect to take place synergistically.

Plant foods average 60 times the antioxidant power of animal foods. It’s so important to have them in your system!

BERRIES are a great choice, because in addition to attaching to free radicals, they also reduce muscle soreness. They have been proven to help with exercise recovery, so athletes are feeling stronger the next day than they might otherwise have felt.

Hope this information helps to keep you looking and feeling young, and exercising to the best of your abilities ❤