Sure, fruits and veggies are nature’s potent pharmacy, right?
You bet your sculpted ass they are!
But what’s the best way to get at that goodness? Should we juice it, mash it, or supplement it?
Silence.
Fruits and veggies offer a variety of nourishing vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that are hard to find anywhere else in their purest form, but their preparation can have an impact on their nutrient make-up. Some berries when microwaved, for example, have their antioxidant potency increased. Other types of fruits and veggies, however, lose a large amount of their nutrients when cooked.
It’s best to keep them in the purest form possible so you don’t lose any of that precious cargo — specifically, antioxidants.
What are Antioxidants and Why Do I Need Them?
Everywhere you go nowadays, people are talking about antioxidants. Whether they’re your reason for eating dark chocolate, or why you’re spending hundreds of dollars on berries from a remote island that you have to charter a plane from someone named Fernando to get to.
First, let’s just talk a little about antioxidants and the basics of what they do.
Antioxidants fight off free radicals in the body that cause oxidative stress. Free radicals are chemically active atoms or molecular fragments that have a charge due to an abnormal number of electrons. They can cause damage in your cells, proteins, and even DNA.
It’s not possible to avoid free radicals forming in the body because they’re sourced from so many things. From pollution to exercise, we’re affected by them daily.
Antioxidants help stop the process of oxidation in our bodies by neutralizing the free radicals. Vitamins A, C, and E, beta-carotene, selenium, and lycopene are the most recognized items found in food with antioxidant activity.
Research keeps showing us that we benefit from natural sources of antioxidants, and time and time again, supplemental antioxidants don’t live up to their hype. Could it be that the acai berry juice filled to the brim with sugar isn’t going to save us after all, and that in fact it’s just the berry itself we need to be eating?
Marion Franz, MS, RD, CDE, a nutrition consultant and contributing author of nutritional guidelines for the American Diabetes Association (ADA), had this to say, “Supplements focus on suspected benefits from individual nutrients, when the benefits of a particular food may come not just from an individual nutrient, but from a combination of nutrients in the food.”
Also, it’s been shown that you need a variety of different fruits and veggies daily to get the full spectrum of necessary nutrients. If you’re just getting your daily servings from apples and broccoli, you need to branch out to the other isles in the produce section.
But it isn’t just antioxidants that like to float the route of whole foods.
Lyle McDonald has done extensive research on the issue and has stated that, “I have this hunch that nutrients in food are not only absorbed better (bioavailability), but utilized better by the body. In some cases, this is clearly due to the structure of the nutrient, for example heme vs. non-heme iron, with heme iron (found in red meat) having something like a ten times better absorption rate than non-heme (found in veggies).”
He also theorized that taking food supplements alongside foods that have similar nutrient content (i.e. taking your vitamin C while eating an orange) could even improve the absorption rate of the supplement. Meaning that if you want to get a super bang for your buck, try eating your fruits and veggies with a refreshing glass of Biotest’s Superfood.
Timing Your Antioxidants
Exercising increases oxidation in our bodies because we’re exerting more energy, causing us to need more oxygen. So, to a degree, we’re inflaming our body when we lift.
Inflammation is a highly controversial thing not only in weight lifting, but in health and disease conversations all over the world.
Remember that antioxidants fight oxidative stress, but it’s that very stress that causes our muscles to break down and grow again. If we hinder the recovery process too much, then we may be victims of our own overreaction.
While the overall goal is to decrease inflammation, we do benefit from some inflammation post-workout.
The best fix? Leave a good three to four hour window for antioxidant consumption pre- and post-workout to be on the safe side.
Squeeze More, Get More?
Now that we’ve crowned whole foods as king, especially for antioxidants, let’s talk about your other options and if they’re even worth your effort.
First, let’s just go ahead and get this out there: If you’re getting your veggies, fruits, or vitamins from processed, pre-made juices — then you need to change up your diet.
I know you’ve seen one of the various V8 commercials. The three I’m most familiar with feature an attractive young mom eating fries; a fit, handsome husband opting for meat and bread; and a chubby, balding man ordering food from a drive-thru. None of them are having vegetables with their meal, so they get hit in the head by a loved one or an overly judgmental drive-thru lady.
I’m sorry, but holding the lettuce, tomato, and onion at McDonald’s might not be such a bad idea.
When I get my serving of veggies, I want them fresh, clean, and tasty, not overly processed, covered in sodium, and “enriched” with vitamins. So, if you think that getting your serving of veggies from V8 is cutting it, you’re dead wrong!
The same goes for all of those fruit-based juices filled with antioxidants. You’re losing so much getting it in that form, and most of the time you aren’t even getting an amount that comes close to what the labels says.
Luckily, by law, “fruit juice” is only to be used to describe a beverage that’s 100% fruit juice. However, fruit juices combined with other ingredients, like high-fructose corn syrup, are called a “juice cocktail” or “juice drink.”(1) Also, according to the FDA, the use of the word “nectar” when describing a beverage is acceptable for a diluted juice that contains fruit juice or puree, water, and sweeteners.(2)
So, if you’re going to drink a processed juice, make sure you read the label and aren’t getting something that’s complete crap.
I’d also like to note that fruit juice labels may be misleading because of companies actively hiding their actual content. This will continue to get worse as more and more people are trying to have a healthier diet, thinking that juice will make up for the three large pizzas they ate the night before.
Phrases like “no added sugar” are placed on labels, and normally the products are made from “reconstituted concentrate,” which is naturally occurring fructose in the fruit. This has a similar effect to sugar, and the jury is still out on how good this may be for you.(3)
Food distributors do shady things like this often, like saying “no trans fat” and actuality meaning “no trans fat per serving because if it’s less than one gram in a serving, that means there’s none.” Sure, trans fat may or may not be the ultimate evil, but funny they’re trying to hide it so hard, isn’t it?
In short, it’s best if you know where your juice is coming from, or that it’s just coming from fruit in the first place.
Time for a Smoothie
Now, juicing at home is definitely a much better option than getting processed juice, but it’s still lacking.
You lose so much natural fiber, which we all need more of, and a lot of fruits and veggies are robbed of their nutrients when exposed to air for any length of time. Studies have shown that once the fruit has been juiced, its antioxidants start to react with oxygen free radicals, losing their health benefits.
So, if you’re going to juice, make sure to drink it up quickly so you lose as few of those precious nutrients as possible.
The perception of fruit juice as being equal to the consumption of fresh fruit has been questioned mainly due to the lack of fiber and the processing they endure. The high amounts of fructose in fruit juice when not consumed with fiber have been suggested as a contributor to the growing diabetes epidemic.
While it seems that pill popping is a roll of the dice, and juicing is a squeeze and tease, what are we to do?
Try smoothies!
Now, just like with juicing, you want to drink this fresh, so no making it the night before and then having it in the morning.
There’s a small breed of “researchers” that talk about the need to utilize enzyme function to break down food, and that removing this process from the stomach can decrease metabolic burn. I haven’t seen a study on this, but I’ve seen a lot of anecdotal claims.
For those who are looking for a drink fix, skip the juicing and go with the smoothies instead. This is such a better option because you’re getting more nutrients than if you juiced, and you’re getting all of the needed fiber. They’re also just really yummy!
Here are a few recipes to enjoy:
Strawberry Sunrise
1 orange (around 160 grams)
1.5 cups of frozen strawberries (around 200 grams)
Half a frozen banana (around 60 grams)
Half a cup of pineapple (around 60 grams)
Half a cup of frozen spinach (around 60 grams)
4 ounces of milk (or liquid of your choice)
1 scoop of Biotest Superfood
Berry Breeze
1 cup of frozen blueberries (around 140 grams)
1 cup of frozen raspberries (around 140 grams)
1.5 cups of frozen peaches (around 200 grams)
3-4 slices of watermelon (around 200 grams)
Half a cup of frozen spinach (around 60 grams)
4 ounces of milk
1 scoop Biotest Superfood
For both recipes, add water or milk to taste, and add Metabolic Drive to create a super shake.
protein shake
If needed, you can also add a low or no-calorie sweetener.
With the fruit, you can buy it fresh and then freeze, or just buy frozen. This way you don’t have to add ice and water down the smoothie.
Whole Foods for a Whole You
A strong argument has been made for whole foods, or at least properly pairing your supplement intake with them.
Next time you think about passing on some of the best the nutrition world has to offer, think about all the things you’re denying yourself.
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About the Author
Kathleen Nemargut is a certified personal trainer that now works for Avidity Fitness. You can find out more information or contact Kathleen through trainerkatie @ avidityfitness.net.
Kathleen Nemargut
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References
1. http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov
2. http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~comm/juiceqa2.html
3. http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/labeti/nutrition/sugsuce.shtml
