What are Reactive oxygen species
Imagine our cells, inside those cells are powerhouses, let’s refer to them as the factory centres, scientifically, they’d be named mitochondria. Inside each of these factories are the factory workers, for this hypothetical scenario their job is to unwrap presents. They spend their day opening these presents and giving out the goods that represent energy. But by the end of their job, left over is all of the wrapping paper; this is what the reactive oxygen species are, essentially the by-products of the powerhouses action to produce energy.
Exercise and Reactive Oxygen Species
Everyone knows how important exercise is for cardiovascular health. Balancing aerobic and resistance exercises; Ideally with 75 minutes of intense physical activity and 150 minutes of aerobic exercise each week is recommended to protect the cardiovascular system. Moderate-intense exercise is beneficial to the immune system, but not so when in excess. Resistance training creates more reactive oxygen species, while aerobic exercise such as running, walking and swimming reduce free radicals.
Antioxidants
The reactive oxygen species contribute towards oxidative stress within cells, this is where antioxidants come in handy. The intake of antioxidant constituents like polyphenols and catechins enable the body to decrease the levels of oxidative stress. Antioxidants can be found in many plants such as; Ginger, Ginkgo, Schizandra, Licorice. Although, they can also be sourced from the teas found in your local supermarket. Different black, green and earl grey teas vary in their chemical composition, though they are all sourced from the same plant Camellia sinensis; the wide presentation of tastes is down to their drying technique. The traditional breakfast tea is highest in tannins, without milk it gives the astringent feel in the mouth, whereas in green tea’s highest chemical is catechins.
How Green tea reduces free radicals
Green tea contains catechins and polyphenols, both of these chemicals denote the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions, these help to break down the free radicals and reactive oxygen species. The catechins are solely responsible for enhancing energy expenditure. From personal experience drinking green tea while at the gym weight bearing, I noticed an improvement in my output, this led me to actually read into the research; and here we are now! Originally, my thought process was to drink green tea as an alternative pre-workout, rather than having coffee which would cause a crash after half an hour. Green tea increases the fat oxidation, helping to burn fat while working out. Overall the science has shown that consuming green tea regularly while exercising alters the metabolic rate, this change is seen during physical activity, but also during rest.
Combination for success
Consuming green tea along with exercise helps to eliminate free radicals from the cells, essentially detoxing the by-products produced by the lungs during the workout. This has been shown scientifically to be more effective than just drinking the tea alone, or exercising along, the combination creates synergic effect to enhance your physical performance
Increased performance
Green tea has been shown to enhance energy output with exercise and even for those who are non-athletic. As you can imagine, increased energy enhances stamina to run for longer lengths and train with heavier weights. Try it out for a week and see how you feel, even if you are just sipping a green tea in your flask during your midday walk.