Barry Halliwell of the National University in Singapore found that while antioxidants in foods are healthy, those same minerals taken, as pills may be harmful.

In another study involving 232,000 participants, doctors compared the overall health of people who took daily vitamin supplements with those who did not. The supplements studied were vitamin A, vitamin C beta-carotene, vitamin E and selenium.

The findings found that groups who were given the daily vitamin supplements had an actual increase in mortality. Compared to the control group, those who took vitamin A had a 16 percent increase in mortality rates, beta-carotene – a seven per cent increase, and vitamin E – a four per cent increase. For vitamin C and selenium there was no significant increase or decrease.

In addition, beta-carotene may actually fuel lung cancer in smokers. Vitamin E may raise the risk of a second heart attack, and Selenium may not prevent cancer after all.

Why the danger? How could something that seems so good be so wrong? First, daily vitamin supplements do not react in the body in the same way as vitamins from food.

A Daily Vitamin Supplement Is Still The Choice For Many Busy People To Get Enough Vitamins & Minerals

A Daily Vitamin Supplement Is Still The Choice For Many Busy People To Get Enough Vitamins & Minerals

Rather than comparing apples and oranges, experts at Cornell University compared apples to capsules. Apples are rich in vitamin C, but when compared to vitamin C tablets the following occurred: the apples contained not only vitamin C, but many other naturally occurring substances that are anti-allergenic, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-viral. No tablet can deliver this. In addition, one apple was found to have 1500 mg of vitamin C – an amount equal to a mega-dose supplement, which cannot be found in a daily supplement.

Here is another conundrum: free radicals are not all bad; in the right doses, they actually keep our bodies healthy. If you remember back to high school Chemistry, you’ll know that free radicals are highly reactive atoms that are missing an electron and desperate to replace it. They have no problems stealing electrons from a cell wall or even bits of our DNA. An excess of these guys may cause cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and cancer.

Yet free radicals are essential for our bodies to convert air and food into chemical energy. They also help our immune system by attacking foreign germs or particles inside our blood stream. Hydrogen peroxide, for example, is crucial in fighting germs and bacteria.

Furthermore, too many antioxidants may begin a process of pro-oxidation, which accelerates the removal of electrons from atoms, and thus turning them into damaging free radicals.

Several studies have confirmed this antioxidant paradox: people who did not get the daily recommended allowance of vitamin C had increased in free-radical damage to their DNA as well as those who consumed mega-doses of the vitamin. Apparently, vitamin C can worsen cell damage once it has already started.

For example, when laboratory animals that received vitamin C before they were exposed to the carcinogenic chemicals were protected from cancer. However. Animals that received vitamin C after exposure developed high rates of cancer. The antioxidant actually exasperated damage inflicted by the carcinogens.

If this all seems complicated, then take heart – although a daily vitamin supplement is still the choice for many  busy people to get enough vitamins & minerals, you could still make a concerted effort to eat a healthy diet rich in fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish, and lean meats. That way, you’re almost guaranteed to enjoy a healthy life.

Super supplements are basically vitamins and minerals that are found – in small amounts – in foods, but hardly ever seen in traditional daily vitamins.  To get these in non-food form, you’ll need to search for specific supplements. These ingredients may be key to living a life of optimal health. Carsonine, for example, is a super supplement that helps our bodies fight heart disease, radiation damage, and can speed up recovery from bone and joint injuries.

Carsonine Is a Super Supplement That Helps Our Muscles & Joints Recover From Injuries

Carsonine Is a Super Supplement That Helps Our Muscles & Joints Recover From Injuries

In fact, this super supplements is popular among top athletes and weight trainers for improving muscular fatigue, and many nutritionists believe that carnosine is a key supplements for promoting longevity.

Premature aging, of course, is a key hindrance to living a life of optimal health. This is where the super supplement glutathione can help. Glutathione is an anti-oxidant enzyme that is mostly absorbed in the liver and fights free radical damage that causes aging.

Deficiencies in this super supplement can cause age related macular degeneration, diabetes, lung diseases, as well as Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.

A healthy metabolism is crucial for unsurpassed fitness, which is why super supplement carnitine is a must for serious athletes.  Carnitine helps move fatty acids into the energy-producing sections of the cells called mitochondria and plays a big role in converting fatty acids into energy.

Athletes use carnitine for fat burning, intensifying energy, and easing muscle fatigue. If you’re dieting, this super supplement may lessen your pangs of hunger and help you build muscle. As early as the 1930’s, scientists found that carnitine benefits our cardiovascular system by accelerating the heart’s energy supply.

In the late 1980s, when exercise scientists were able to penetrate the Iron Curtain, they found irrefutable evidence of steroid abuse among their hapless athletes. Amid these documented stories of cruelty and exploitation, they found a hidden gem  – super supplement Tribustol.  Tribustol was given to athletes between their steroid injections, and some Eastern European coaches deemed this natural substance to be just as effective in building muscle and endurance.

This super supplement is a formulation of Tribulus Terrestus, a natural herb, combined with proper ratios of potassium and B-complex.  It produces superior sports performance by increasing muscle mass and decreasing body fat.  Many exercise scientists are calling this super supplement the new creatine, which leads to a new finding that . . .

While creatine aids body builders . . . it may also help their grandmas. This super supplement – long taken by weight trainers to increase strength, endurance, and energy – may do the same for seniors.  In the February 2006 issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, doctors found women ages 60 – 80 years who took .3g of creatine per kilogram for seven days had a noticeably easier time the sitting and rising from chairs as well as walking down stairs.

This is great news since this super supplement, as well as others, will not only benefits our grandparents now, but will help us run, hike, and paddle into our nineties and beyond.

But before you run out and purchase these vitamins by the boat load, a word of caution.  Unlike medicines, the government does not regulate vitamins and supplements.  That is why we must be very careful when buying these products.  If you’re concerned with a supplement, be sure to ask your doctor, giving him or her the exact ingredients listed on the bottle.  We all want to be strong, but we also want to be safe.

The Results Are in!

An exciting new study has just been completed where the effects of beta-alanine supplementation on endurance and body composition have been analysed.

The study, published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, was set up to test and evaluate the effects of combining High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) with beta-alanine supplementation. The focus was on measuring the participants’ endurance performance, aerobic metabolism and lean body mass.

Confirmed that HIIT delivers fast results

We already know that using HIIT as part of your fitness & exercise program can have dramatic results, usually resulting in fast fat loss and delivering quick results in lean body mass. The study confirmed this link and also supported the fact that aerobic and endurance levels are increased overall when HIIT is used as part of your overall fitness regime. In fact they even say that the effects of HIIT can be seen in as little as 3 weeks after introducing it into your program.

Beta Alanine Delivers Increased Exercise Endurance

Beta Alanine Delivers Increased Exercise Endurance

Where Does Beta-Alanine Fit In To This?

So where does Beta-alanine come into all this? Well, here’s the low down. When you perform HIIT, you’re using energy fast. As you burn energy, your muscles create by-products which eventually result in muscle-fatigue as your body simply can’t get them away from your muscles fast enough.

The study showed that supplementation with beta-alanine significantly increased the body’s ability to get rid of these by-products which meant more intense exercise could be performed for a longer period.

Specifics Were Measured And Results Were Amazing!

The addition of beta-alanine enhanced results in a number of areas measured, including:

* Total amount of work performed
* Time taken to reach exhaustion
* VO₂ peak
* Lean Body Mass

Beta-alanine supplementation resulted in up to a 53% improvement of total work done during the first three weeks of training and a 32% improvement in weeks 4-6. Whatever your training program, the study suggests that supplementation with beta-alanine will deliver spectacular results!

Conclusion

In conclusion the study suggests that supplementing with beta-alanine can significantly increase muscular endurance by reducing the effects of muscle fatigue caused by the intramuscular by-products of intense exercise. This can lead to greater gains in strength, aerobic performance and lean body mass – in other words you can exercise harder & longer, and transform that ugly fat into lean muscle faster!

Now Add It To Your Fitness Program!

So, the message seems clear. You already know that your fitness regime should be a mix of weights (resistance) training and cardio (aerobic) training with the cardio including a healthy mix of HIIT. Add beta-alanine to your supplement stack alongside your creatine, and watch your body transform before your eyes!