Ask Joe Weider

Tip of the Week: One of the most powerful antioxidants also goes great with applesauce.

By now you've probably heard about acai berries, goji berries and the mangosteen fruit. These and other exotic sounding fruits are all the rage for their antioxidant properties, and rightly so. All of them contain lots of antioxidant power, something needed to help fight the damaging effects of free radicals in your body. Free radicals are unstable oxygen molecules in search of electrons, which they can pull from cells such as DNA. When antioxidants are present in the body, the oxygen molecules will simply get their electrons from them, rather than from your body. This is why antioxidants are so important to your health.

Yet for all the antioxidant power of acai and the rest, cinnamon is even higher on the ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) chart. In fact, it has over 2.5 times the amount of antioxidants per gram than does acai. Another spice, cloves, is higher still, with the most antioxidants of any food.

So, while I recommend consuming a wide variety of fruits and vegetables for total health, if you want to get the most antioxidant bang for your buck, why not add a little spice to your life?

Q: I go to a gym where we have a variety of equipment, from machines to dumbbells and barbells and cable exercise equipment. I like some of the machines and cables, but am not too fond of the barbells and dumbbells. I'm 63 and a woman, and often I find it's awkward to remove the barbells and even the dumbbells from their racks. Is it OK if I just stick to machines?

Joe: While you can certainly do a machine-only workout that works every body part, I would prefer it if you kept a nice mix of both machine and free weight exercises.

There's nothing wrong with machines, mind you, nor the benefit they provide. In fact, there are some machines that target muscles in ways free weights cannot. For example, the leg extension and leg curl machines can work the front and rear of your thighs in a very specific way that no free-weight exercise can.

That being said, a mix of machines with free weights is ideal for several reasons.

One is that free weights provide a need for your body to stabilize, something that enacts smaller assisting muscles which otherwise would not receive stress. In addition, using a variety of equipment helps keep you from getting bored in the gym. Going from dumbbells to cables to machines to barbells keeps your mind active as you adjust to the dynamics of each type of exercise.

You can design a routine for yourself that is made up predominantly of machines, but do consider keeping a few free weight exercises in the mix.

Q: I've read several articles in which the squat was called "the King of Exercises." Can one exercise really be that good? As far as I can tell, squats only work your legs and maybe your lower back a little as you try to stabilize yourself.

Joe: Well, obviously such a determination is a highly subjective matter. I do agree that squats are very taxing on the entire nervous system as well as a number of large muscle groups, so in that case they may well be king.

Squats don't work for everyone, though. The fact is that some people simply can't tolerate the unique stresses squats place on the knees and lower back, neck and shoulders. I, for one, couldn't possibly support a bar across my shoulders after my back surgery of a few years ago, so the squat definitely isn't for me.

If you're in good health, particularly your joints, then give squats a try. They are pretty amazing. But if your body won't allow for them, don't worry. Between lunges, leg presses and variations of the squat, like the hack squat, you'll be able to build a fine pair of legs without them.

Joe Weider is acclaimed as "the father of modern bodybuilding" and the founder of the world's leading fitness magazines, including Shape, Muscle and Fitness, Men's Fitness, Fit Pregnancy, Hers, Golf for Seniors and others published worldwide in over 20 languages. To find out more about Joe Weider, write to him and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

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