Antioxidants May ImproveHigh-Altitude Performance

Antioxidants May ImproveHigh-Altitude Performance

PONTYPRIDD, England--In the spring edition of High Altitude Medicine and Biology (2, 1:21-9, 2001), researchers found that antioxidant supplementation may improve high-altitude performance by helping ease acute mountain sickness. In a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study, 18 subjects age 25 to 45 were given either an antioxidant or placebo for three weeks at sea level and during a 10-day ascent to a Mt. Everest base camp (approximately 17,000 ft.). The antioxidant group, which received 1,000 mg/d of ascorbic acid, 400 IU/d of vitamin E and 600 mg/d of alpha lipoic acid, experienced higher oxygen blood levels and higher caloric absorption compared to the placebo group.