The antioxidant market is big business and millions of pounds are spent each year on antioxidant supplements – such as vitamins A, C and E – as well as fruit and vegetable extracts and juices.
Antioxidants are so popular, especially among people who exercise a lot, because they are believed to help reduce muscle soreness after exercise. It is believed that by taking antioxidant supplements in doses well above the recommended amounts, muscles recover faster by reducing some of the harmful effects of exercise. And that’s why so many people swear by antioxidants — like cherry juice or pomegranate juice — after a workout.
Some people also take antioxidant supplements to improve their overall health or protect against certain cancers, but the scientific evidence for this is weak. And similarly, our recent review of the existing scientific literature found similar results.
We recently published a Cochrane Review which included 50 studies examining the link between antioxidant use and reduced muscle soreness. And we found that there is no solid evidence that antioxidants work.
sore muscles
Muscle pain usually occurs after unusual or strenuous exercise and usually peaks two days later. This can obviously be detrimental to future athletic performance, so it’s no surprise that various interventions have been proposed to reduce exercise-related muscle soreness.
These range from a number of different techniques, including whole body cryotherapy – which consists of exposing oneself to extremely cold temperatures for several minutes in a special chamber where temperatures can vary from -110 to -140°C. Then there is also the use of compression garments and massageas well as antioxidant supplementation.
Some athletes also strategically take antioxidant supplements to speed recovery during periods of intense competition rather than taking them every day. In professional football, for example, when there can often be periods of machine congestion (a team may play three games in an eight-day period), dietary antioxidants are used to reduce inflammation and muscle soreness. The belief is that this will allow players to recover faster for the next game.
Similarly, in professional cycling, a Tour de France rider may take antioxidant supplements to speed up recovery after each stage. The belief is that it will help them recover faster for the next day’s driving.
Antioxidants demystified
Our recent review compared high-dose antioxidant supplementation with a placebo (a dummy pill or a drink without an antioxidant). Various antioxidants have been used in the studies ranging from simple vitamins to extracts and juices. These included cherry juice, pomegranate juice, vitamins C and E, black tea extract, and others in various doses.
The review included 1,089 participants, nearly nine out of ten of whom were male and most of the participants were recreationally active or moderately trained. The age range of the participants ranged from 16 to 55 years old.
Although we found that antioxidant supplementation could very slightly reduce muscle soreness during the first three days after exercise, these reductions were so small that they were unlikely to make a difference.
So, ultimately, we found that high-dose antioxidant supplementation—above the normal recommended daily dose for antioxidants—does not appear to reduce post-exercise muscle soreness.
More harm than good?
Of the studies we looked at, only nine reported adverse effects. Two of them found that some people who took antioxidants suffered from gastrointestinal upset, such as diarrhea, indigestion and bloating.
In addition to our findings, more recently there has been an emergence of studies showing that chronic antioxidant supplementation may in fact be counterproductive. For example, antioxidant supplements have been shown to delay healing and recovery from practicehinder adaptations coachingand may even increase mortality.
Given all of this, the main take-home message is to avoid antioxidant supplements and save your money. Instead, just try to move more, exercise regularly, and eat a balanced diet that includes at least five or more servings of rainbow-colored fruits and vegetables. Because for now at least, there’s no quick fix for post-exercise muscle soreness.
In fact, it seems muscle soreness is an important part of the recovery process and can help make your muscles stronger and bigger over time. And it will ultimately help make you fitter and stronger long-term.
