Via: MountainBike.com

A. If you had asked me that five years ago, I–as well as most other folks who get excited about such stuff–would have said eat well and you’ll be fine. Now more sports nutrition experts lean toward supplementation, especially among endurance athletes.

Strenuous exercise raises the level of harmful molecules called free radicals that make your muscles sore and damage body tissues. Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E seem to counteract the effects of free radicals and protect against injury and chronic disease. “Though people who exercise tend to already have high antioxidant levels in their blood–probably from eating well–it’s a good idea to supplement just to be sure,” says sports medicine and nutrition expert Marcus Elliott, M.D. “Athletes also have special calcium needs because they sweat so much out during exercise.”

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