Adenosine triphosphate, also referred to as ATP, is nature’s energy store. Every living organism needs ATP energy in order to carry out the processes that maintain life within that organism, including us humans for whom a continuous energy source is essential for our biochemistry, movement of fluids and the involuntary muscular movements exemplified by our heartbeat, respiration and digestion.

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.

Glutathione is the body’s master antioxidant that you need to keep you healthy and disease free. Glutathione is not like any other antioxidants. It is the only antioxidant that resides within your cells, which acts as the main regulator. It is the master detoxifier. Your body produces its own glutathione, unfortunately, due to pollution, toxins, poor diet, stress, aging and infections all deplete your glutathione. This leaves you vulnerable to free radicals, oxidative stress from training, and infections that can damage your body. Glutathione is an important antioxidant to help the liver filter waste.

Many people get confused between antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, which is quite understandable given that many phytochemicals possess both properties. Most flavanoids, for example are both, although the mechanisms are quite different. Here we shall discuss each and then apply that knowledge to the needs of runners and athletes in general.

Our bodies are made up of approximately 100 trillion cells. Each of our cells is like a tiny battery, producing energy through cellular respiration. As we age, environmental toxins and unhealthy foods containing free radicals – such as fried foods – rob electrons from our bodies (a free radical is a molecule, atom or ion that’s missing electrons in the outer orbit).

As any athlete with a little experience knows, what you put into your body is what you get out of it. Don’t believe me? Just try eating a burger and fries the night before a big event, maybe indulge in a beer or three. Your performance will suffer. Along with an effective training schedule, what you ingest is the most important factor in determining performance during an event and recovery speed afterwards.

Compare two athletes of the exact same body size and build, who have followed the same training regimen – they don’t necessarily have the same power, speed or explosive capacity. Why? Once athletes attain a certain level of strength and stamina, the difference in their capabilities comes down to their bodies’ bio-electric current flow. The stronger the current flow, the stronger the body, and the more explosive power and strength you have access to.