GLOSSARY

Antioxidant Vitamins are vitamins such as C and E contributing to oxidative protection, not identical effects from every form or dose.

Antioxidant vitamins support biological protection, but reactive oxygen species also participate in exercise signalling. Evidence does not justify high-dose antioxidants for everyone's recovery, and some protocols may alter adaptation. Ordinary fruit and vegetables differ from capsule megadoses in both exposure and context; antioxidant activity alone does not prove that a larger dose improves performance.

Vitamin E has eight natural forms: alpha, beta, gamma and delta tocopherols and tocotrienols. Chemical activity and retention differ. Alpha-tocopherol underlies human requirement references, so simply adding every form's mass or counting ingredient names does not necessarily reveal the amount meeting that requirement; the measurement convention and declared forms need identification.

After E forms are absorbed, hepatic transfer proteins preferentially return alpha-tocopherol to circulation, while other forms are metabolised differently. A high dietary amount of another member therefore need not produce blood concentrations comparable to alpha. This regulation cannot be predicted simply from antioxidant wording or an oil being described as natural.