You’re working out hard, pushing your body so that you can perform better and all the while your body is producing free radicals, or harmful molecules that can damage cell function and muscle tissue, hindering your recovery time after training and resulting in muscle loss and inflammation. Your body is being subjected to oxidative stress.

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein in the body. This makes protein a critical element of your diet as you must have amino acids to build strength. Muscle in all body systems are derived from the amino acids produced by the breakdown of protein, but while protein primarily makes muscles, it is also the last source of reserve energy.

During an intensive bout of exercise, your body can use up to 200 or even 250 grams of carbohydrates depleting your full store of glycogen, or stored glucose. Once your exercise is finished, those carbohydrates need to be replenished quickly to keep you at your peak athletic performance. Refueling your body and rebuilding stores of glycogen, or stored glucose, is the last critical step of training.

Glucose is simply blood sugar, and eating carb-rich foods prior to working out will initially raise your blood sugar. To counteract this flood of glucose, the body releases insulin, which is produced in the pancreas and insulin then moves the glucose out of the bloodstream and into the cells. When glucose arrives in the cells, it is used immediately for energy.

Diets high in carbohydrates are essential for athletes, but as discussed in Carbohydrates: The Body’s Core Fuel For Energy, finding the right balance of fuel for your body is about much more than what you eat. Properly preparing your body for work-outs is a balancing act of what sorts of carbohydrates you eat and when you eat them.

Okay, but what type of carbs should the athlete be eating? The reason carbs have a bad reputation is because there are lots of low-quality sources out there, in the form of junk foods and other convenience foods that don’t offer any real nutrition – people fill up on them and pack on the pounds, but are still starving for nutrients. Over consumption of simple sugars (mono and disaccharides), like those found in candy and soda, has also been linked to the onset of type 2 diabetes and obesity. These types of carbs have a high glycemic index, which means they cause your blood sugar to rise rapidly and then eventually crash. The exception to the rule is the simple sugar found in fruits. Because fruits contain fiber, vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and other goodies, they generally prevent the sugars from being absorbed so rapidly in your system, so you don’t get that crash.

Contrary to what some fad diets would have us believe, carbohydrates are not the enemy. In fact, they are pretty much the athlete’s best friend. Carbs provide the foundation for any serious athlete’s diet. Why? Because anytime you engage in moderate to intense exercise, your body is using glycogen (stored carbohydrates) as its primary fuel source.

Luo Han Guo, also known as the longevity fruit, is known to have a positive effect on blood glucose and assist in easing damaged pancreatic cells. Used as a sugar substitute, this sweetener derived from fruit is unique in that it does not stimulate fat storage, elevate insulin or raise cholesterol. It also speeds up the fat burning process, and recent research suggests that it works as an antioxidant, helping to prevent cancer.

Well known as a spice used in Eastern cooking, turmeric possesses cleansing and anti-inflammatory properties. During and after most workouts, your body has a higher than normal free radical load, and both your electron supply and electron transfer systems become depleted, creating pro-inflammatory conditions. The combination of immunoglobulin concentrate and turmeric found in Protein Extreme Energy very quickly supports the correction of the pro-inflammatory electron depletion.

Organic cocoa does much more than just improve the taste of the product. It supplies more antioxidants than red wine or green tea, helping to fight cancer-causing free radicals in the body.