Nutrition for athletes and their supplement-taking habits for endurance

April 22nd, 2013

Peter Nolan

Protein supplements are misused by athletes. A University of Montreal study reveals worrying habits by fitness enthusiasts. Protein supplements don’t improve performance or recovery time and, according to a 2010 study, such supplements are inefficient for most athletes. “They are often poorly used or unnecessary by both high-level athletes and amateurs,” says Martin Fréchette, a researcher and graduate of the Université de Montréal Department of Nutrition, according to the January 19, 2010 news release, “Protein supplements are misused by athletes.”

Fréchette submitted questionnaires to 42 athletes as part of his master’s thesis. Sportsmen were asked about their use of supplements while keeping a journal of their eating habits for three days. They came from a variety of disciplines including biathlon, cycling, long-distance running, swimming, judo, skating and volleyball.

Nine athletes out of 10 reported food supplements on a regular basis

They consume an average of 3,35 products: energy drinks, multi-vitamins, minerals and powdered protein supplements. Fréchette found their knowledge of food supplements to be weak. “The role of proteins is particularly misunderstood,” he warns, according to the news release. “Only one out of four consumers could associate a valid reason, backed by scientific literature, for taking the product according.”

Despite the widespread use of protein supplements, 70 percent of athletes in Fréchette’s study didn’t feel their performance would suffer if they stopped such consumption. “More than 66 percent of those who believed to have bad eating habits took supplements. For those who claimed to have ‘good’ or ‘very good’ eating habits that number climbs to 90 percent.”

90 percent of athletes claim to have good or very good eating habits

Fréchette stresses that supplements come with certain risks. “Their purity and preparation aren’t as controlled as prescription medication,” he explains in the news release, “Protein supplements are misused by athletes.” “Sports supplements often contain other ingredients than those listed on the label. Some athletes consume prohibited drugs without knowing.” Also check out the news release, “Ballerinas and female athletes share quadruple health threats.”

A study led by sports medicine researcher Anne Hoch, D.O., at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee has revealed that young female professional dancers face the same health risks as young female athletes when they don’t eat enough to offset the energy they spend, and stop menstruating as a consequence. “These two components of the female athlete tetrad put them at higher risk for the other two; the cardiovascular and bone density deficits of much older, postmenopausal women,” according to Dr. Hoch, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery and director of the Froedtert & the Medical College Women’s Sports Medicine Center, as explained in the news release, Ballerinas and female athletes share quadruple health threats.”

Other studies have shown that 12 to 20 percent of products regularly used by athletes contain prohibited substances

Fréchette observed a particular interest by the athletes on the efficiency, legality and safety of those drugs. “No less than 81 percent of athletes taking supplements already had sufficient protein from their diet,” says Fréchette in the news release, Protein supplements are misused by athletes. “The use of multivitamins and minerals can make up for an insufficient intake of calcium, folate yet not for lack of potassium.”

What’s more, consumers of supplements had levels of sodium, magnesium, niacin, folate, vitamin A and iron that exceeded the acceptable norms. “This makes them susceptible to health problems such as nausea, vision trouble, fatigue and liver anomalies,” explains Fréchette in the news release. Also see the news release, “Protein handlers should be effective treatment target for cancer and Alzheimer’s.” Cancer and Alzheimer’s have excess protein in common and scientists say learning more about how proteins are made and eliminated will lead to better treatment for both. Check out, “Study may explain how exercise improves heart function in diabetics.”

Supplements even confuse athletes

Too many supplements may confuse athletes, according to the November 7, 2007 news release, “Supplements even confuse athletes.” Many of us reach for over-the-counter vitamins and herbal remedies, such as Vitamin C and Echinacea, in a bid to ward off illnesses and improve health. But the vast array of supplements available and lack of industry regulation make it difficult for the average person to make an informed choice about taking supplements. Now a report published in the online open access publication, Nutrition Journal suggests that even athletes, who should be well informed as to how to stay in peak physical condition, frequently take supplements without realizing the potential benefits or side effects.

A research team, led by Andrea Petróczi of the School of Life Sciences at Kingston University, in South West London, UK re-analyzed surveys filled in by high performance athletes, representing over thirty different sports, for the ‘UK Sport 2005 Drug Free Survey’. Three-fifths of athletes questioned took nutritional supplements, but the reasons given for taking them did not generally match up to the supplements’ actual effects. Not surprisingly, given this result, the team also found that relatively few supplement users appeared to be taking supplements because of medical advice.

The results are worrisome because high doses of some supplements may damage health and contaminated products may even cause athletes to fail drug-screening tests. To help remedy this, the article recommends that education about the use of nutritional supplements should become a required part of the accreditation process for all sport coaches. Indeed, previous research has shown that the more information athletes have on supplements, the less likely they are to take them.

Nutritional supplements and incongruence

“Incongruence regarding nutritional supplements and their effects is alarming,” says Petróczi. “Athletes seem to take supplements without an understanding of the benefits they can offer, or their side effects, suggesting that supplements may be used by high performing athletes without a clear, coherent plan.” Check out the BioMed Central site.

You can read the original article, ” Limited agreement exists between rationale and practice in athletes’ supplement use for maintenance of health: a retrospective study.” Nutritional Journal. www.nutritionj.com/Authors are Andrea Petroczi, Declan P Naughton, Jason Mazanov, Allison Holloway and Jerry Bingham.

Sports doctors tout non-alcoholic wheat beer for athletes’ health

‘Be-MaGIC,’ is the largest study of marathons world-wide, reveals positive effects on the immune system and against infection. Many amateur athletes have long suspected what research scientists for the Department of Preventative and Rehabilitative Sports Medicine of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen at Klinikum rechts der Isar have now made official.

Documented proof, gathered during the world’s largest study of marathons, “Be-MaGIC” (beer, marathons, genetics, inflammation and the cardiovascular system), that the consumption of non-alcoholic weissbier, or wheat beer, has a positive effect on athletes’ health, says a 2011 study. Under the direction of Dr. Johannes Scherr, physicians examined 277 test subjects three weeks before and two weeks after the 2009 Munich Marathon, according to the June 9, 2011 news release, “Sport doctors say non-alcoholic wheat beer boosts athletes’ health.”

The study focuses on the health risks for marathon runners and the potential positive effects of polyphenols. These aromatic compounds occur naturally in plants as pigment, flavor, or tannins, many of which have been credited with health-promoting and cancer-preventative properties.

Unique to this study was the combination of different polyphenols that were tested on the large pool of participants. The research team met the scientific requirements of the study by conducting a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Positive effects of polyphenols on health researched

Non-alcoholic Erdinger wheat beer was selected as the test beverage, chosen for its rich and varied polyphenol content and its popularity with marathoners and tri-athletes. The “active” group drank up to 1.5 liters of the test beverage per day, while a second group consumed an equal amount of an otherwise indistinguishable placebo beverage that contained no polyphenols and was especially produced for the study.

One result from the study was the discovery that, after running a marathon race, athletes experience intensified inflammatory reactions. The immune system is thrown off balance and runners are much more likely to suffer from upper respiratory infections.

This heightened susceptibility to illness following strenuous sport activity has been identified as an “open window.” Furthermore it was shown that non-alcoholic wheat beer containing polyphenols has a positive, health promoting effect on the human body: inflammation parameters in the blood were significantly reduced, and there was a lower frequency of infection with milder symptoms.

Inflammation reduced, the study notes

Reduced Inflammatory Reaction: Dr. Scherr, who also serves as physician to the German National Ski Team, explains in the news release that “The analysis of the leukocytes, or white blood cells, which constitute one of the most important parameters for inflammation, revealed values in the active group that were 20% lower than in the placebo group.”

Support for the Immune System: Compounds in the test drink had a compensatory or balancing effect on the immune system. Dr Scherr explained according to the June 9, 2011 news release, Sport doctors say non-alcoholic wheat beer boosts athletes’ health, “We were able to prove that it strengthens an immune system that has been weakened by physical stress. It also prevents the system from over-performing.”

Do the polyphenols help to prevent colds?

Runners who drank the non-alcoholic wheat beer were up to three times less susceptible to infection than those in the placebo group. Dr. Scherr explains according to the news release, “Drinking the non-alcoholic test beverage reduces your risk of developing a cold by one third.”

Regarding improvement with upper respiratory infections, the study noted that people in the active group who did succumb to a cold experienced a milder or briefer infection than those in the placebo group. Dr. Scherr explains in the news release, “Results showed a Number Needed to Treat (NNT) of eight. That means that for every eight people who had the test drink, one of them was prevented from succumbing to a cold.”

Dr. Scherr explains in the news release, “The potential for foods containing polyphenols to have a positive effect on athletes’ health has already been suggested in several articles. Nevertheless we were ourselves sometimes surprised at how clearly evident this was in the results. We now have scientific confirmation of those assumptions for this test beverage, with its particular combination of polyphenols, vitamins and minerals.”

Dr. Scherr presented this study to the approximately 5,000 scientists, physicians, and trainers attending the world’s largest congress for sports medicine in Denver (USA) hosted by the American College of Sports (ACSM) at the beginning of June 2011. The study is published in the January 2011 printed edition of the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (MSSE). See, Fighting Distance Runner Ailments with Non-Alcoholic Beer, American College of Sports Medicine. Also, check out, ” Non-alcoholic beer boosts athlete health – UPI.com..”

Peter Liebert, Managing Director for Technology, Purchasing, Human Resources and Logistics for Erdinger Weissbräu, is pleased about the study results, according to the news release, “In brief, the Be-MaGIC study confirms the benefits for sport athletes and proves new health-promoting effects. Thus, Erdinger alcohol-free is proven to be more than just an isotonic thirst-quencher.”

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