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Few supplement combinations that are marketed to athletes are supported by scientific evidence of their effectiveness. Quite often, under the rigor of scientific investigation, the patented combination fails to provide any greater benefit than a group given the active (generic) ingredient. The focus of this chapter is supplement combinations and dosing strategies that are effective at promoting an acute physiological response that may improve/enhance exercise performance or influence chronic adaptations desired from training. In recent years, there has been a particular focus on two nutritional ergogenic aids—creatine monohydrate and protein/amino acids—in combination with specific nutrients in an effort to augment or add to their already established independent ergogenic effects. These combinations and others are discussed in this chapter. Key wordsAcute–Chronic–Supplementation–Aerobic–Anaerobic–Exercise performance–Resistance training–Protein–Amino acids–Carbohydrate–Creatine monohydrate–Protein balance–Glycogen resynthesis–Sodium– d-Pinotol–HMβ–Sodium bicarbonate–Caffeine–Ephedrine
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... According to our preliminary experiments, the most effective dose of the Cr supplement is 1 g per 1 kg of BW, and the most effective administration regimen is two weeks before and two weeks after irradiation (Nersesova, Petrosyan, Karalova, et al. 2019;Petrosyan et al. 2019). The latter is consistent with the data reported in the literature on the need for accumulation of Cr in the body to ensure its protective effect (Green et al. 1996;Cooke and Cribb 2015). ...
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Purpose: Creatine (Cr) and l-arginine are naturally occurring guanidino compounds, commonly used as ergogenic dietary supplements. Creatine and l-arginine exhibit also a number of non-energy-related features, such as antioxidant, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory properties, which contribute to their protective action against oxidative stress (OS). In this regard, there are a number of studies emphasizing the protective effect of Cr against OS, which develops in the process of aging, increased physical loads as part of athletes' workouts, as well as a number of neurological diseases and toxic effects associated with xenobiotics and UV irradiation. Against this backdrop, and since ionizing radiation causes OS in cells, leading to radiotoxicity, there is an increasing interest to understand whether Cr has the full potential to serve as an effective radioprotective agent. The extensive literature search did not provide any data on this issue. In this narrative review, we have summarized some of our own experimental data published over the last years addressing the respective radioprotective effects of Cr. Next, we have additionally reviewed the existing data on the radiomodifying effects of l-arginine presented earlier by other research groups. Conclusions: Creatine possesses significant radioprotective potential including: (1) radioprotective effect on the survival rate of rats subjected to acute whole-body X-ray irradiation in a LD70/30 dose of 6.5 Gy, (2) radioprotective effect on the population composition of peripheral blood cells, (3) radioprotective effect on the DNA damage of peripheral blood mononuclear cells, (4) radioprotective effect on the hepatocyte nucleus-nucleolar apparatus, and (5) radioprotective effect on the brain and liver Cr-Cr kinase systems of the respective animals. Taking into account these cytoprotective, gene-protective, hepatoprotective and energy-stimulating features of Cr, as well as its significant radioprotective effect on the survival rate of rats, it can be considered as a potentially promising radioprotector for further preclinical and clinical studies. The review of the currently available data on radiomodifying effects of l-arginine has indicated its significant potential as a radioprotector, radiomitigator, and radiosensitizer. However, to prove the effectiveness of arginine (Arg) as a radioprotective agent, it appears necessary to expand and deepen the relevant preclinical studies, and, most importantly, increase the number of proof-of-concept clinical trials, which are evidently lacking as of now.
... And manufacturers produce these products usually thinking that combined products would benefit more than a single product. Besides, the efficiencies of very few combined products given to athletes are proven scientifically (19). In the results obtained from the study, it was seen that similar results were present when the basal, after exercise and after supplement hematological values of the supplement and control groups were compared. ...
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Background: The beneficial effect of popular supplements and use of combined supplementa-tion in athletes which purpose to increase sports performance. Objective: This study aimed to review biochemical responses that the athletes gave to combined supplementation received after exercise and some changes in hematological values. Material and Method: 16 volunteers, in shape, male athletes with ages between 18-25 participated into the study. Athletes were divided into two groups as experiment (supplement) (n=8) and control (placebo) (n=8). After the exercise made until exhaustion (shuttle run test), beta-alanine/ vitargo(carbohydrate-electrolyte)/whey protein supplement was given to the experimental group while the control group received placebo (water). Blood was taken from the athletes three times as basal, post-exercise (PE) and 2 hours after ingestion supplement (PS); Urea, Creatinine, Cholesterol, Triglyceride, High Density Lipoprotein (HDL), Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL), Gamma Glutamyl Transferase (GGT) and Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) values have been analyzed. Results: Statistically significant differences in many biochemical parameters were found when comparisons of in-group basal, PE and PS time courses of supplement and control groups were reviewed (p<0.05). When inter-group comparison of triglyceride and cholesterol levels were reviewed, a significant difference was seen in basal levels (p<0.05) no difference was detected in values other than that (p>0.05). Conclusions: It is possible to say that acute combined supplementation used after exercise does not create a negative effect on biochemical parameters of athletes, on the contrary when the research result data were compared with control group, by looking at the basal, exercise and after supplemen-tation values such as creatinine, cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL and LDL, the combined supplement intake showed positive results in terms of health.
Chapter
Female athletes tend to choose their supplements for different reasons than their male counterparts. Collegiate female athletes report taking supplements “for their health,” to make up for an inadequate diet, or to have more energy. Multivitamins, herbal substances, protein supplements, amino acids, creatine, fat burners/weight-loss products, caffeine, iron, and calcium are the most frequently used products reported by female athletes. Many female athletes are unclear on when to use a protein supplement, how to use it, and different sources of protein (whey, casein, and soy). This chapter addresses essential amino acid and branched chain amino acid supplementation. Along with recommendations for protein supplementation, creatine supplementation is discussed. Not all female athletes are concerned with building muscle. Burning fat is also a major concern for the female athlete. This may result in the athlete turning to products marketed for weight control (i.e., ginseng or ephedra). A product legal for over-the-counter (OTC) sales, however, can be illegal for athletic competition (i.e., ephedra).competitive athletes should be aware of the banned substance list for their governing body and that OTC products are not currently regulated by the FDA. This lack of regulation can lead to OTC products that are contaminated with banned substances.
Chapter
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Female athletes tend to choose their supplements for different reasons than their male counterparts. Collegiate female athletes report taking supplements “for their health,” to make up for an inadequate diet, or to have more energy. Multivitamins, herbal substances, protein supplements, amino acids, creatine, fat burners/weight-loss products, caffeine, iron, and calcium are the most frequently used products reported by female athletes. Many female athletes are unclear on when to use a protein supplement, how to use it, and different sources of protein (whey, casein, and soy). This chapter addresses essential amino acid and branched chain amino acid supplementation. Along with recommendations for protein supplementation, creatine supplementation is discussed. Not all female athletes are concerned with building muscle. Burning fat is also a major concern for the female athlete. This may result in the athlete turning to products marketed for weight control (i.e., ginseng or ephedra). A product legal for over-the-counter (OTC) sales, however, can be illegal for athletic competition (i.e., ephedra). Competitive athletes should be aware of the banned substance list for their governing body and that OTC products are not currently regulated by the FDA. This lack of regulation can lead to OTC products that are contaminated with banned substances.
Article
We hypothesized that triphasic multinutrient supplementation during acute resistance exercise would enhance muscular performance, produce a more favorable anabolic profile, and reduce biochemical markers of muscle damage in strength-trained athletes. Fifteen male strength-trained athletes completed two acute lower-body resistance exercise sessions to fatigue 7 days apart. After a 4-hour fast, participants consumed either a multinutrient supplement (Musashi 1-2-3 Step System, Notting Hill, Australia) (SUPP) or placebo (PLA) beverage preexercise (PRE), during (DUR), and immediately postexercise (IP). Session volume loads were calculated as kilograms × repetitions. Lower-body peak power was measured using unloaded repeated countermovement jumps, and blood samples were collected to assess biochemistry, serum hormones, and muscle damage markers at PRE, DUR, IP, 30 minutes postexercise (P30), and 24 hours postexercise (P24h). The SUPP demonstrated increased glucose concentrations at DUR and IP compared with at PRE (P < .01), whereas PLA demonstrated higher glucose at P30 compared with at PRE (P < .001). Session volume load was higher for SUPP compared with PLA (P < .05). Cortisol increased at DUR, IP, and P30 compared with at PRE in both treatments (P < .05); however, SUPP also displayed lower cortisol at P24h compared with at PRE and PLA (P < .01). The total testosterone response to exercise was higher for PLA compared with SUPP (P < .01); however, total creatine kinase and C-reactive protein responses to exercise were lower for SUPP compared with PLA (P < .05). These data indicate that although triphasic multinutrient supplementation did not produce a more favorable anabolic profile, it improved acute resistance exercise performance while attenuating muscle damage in strength-trained athletes.
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Gillies, Hunter, Wayne E. Derman, Timothy D. Noakes, Peter Smith, Alicia Evans, and Gary Gabriels.Pseudoephedrine is without ergogenic effects during prolonged exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 81(6): 2611–2617, 1996.—This study was designed to measure whether a single dose of 120 mg pseudoephedrine ingested 120 min before exercise influences performance during 1 h of high-intensity exercise. The effects of exercise on urinary excretion of the drug were also studied. Ten healthy male cyclists were tested on two occasions, separated by at least 7 days, by using a randomly assigned, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design. Exercise performance was tested during a 40-km trial on a laboratory cycle ergometer, and skeletal muscle function was measured during isometric contractions. On a third occasion, subjects ingested 120 mg pseudoephedrine but did not exercise [control (C)]. Pseudoephedrine did not influence either time trial performance [drug (D) vs. placebo: 58.1 ± 1.4 (SE) vs. 58.7 ± 1.5 min] or isometric muscle function. Urinary pseudoephedrine concentrations were significantly increased 1 h after exercise (D vs. C: 114.3 ± 27.2 vs. 35.4 ± 13.1 μg/ml; P < 0.05). Peak plasma pseudoephedrine concentrations ( P < 0.05) but not time taken to reach peak plasma concentrations or the area under the plasma pseudoephedrine concentration vs. time curve was significantly increased in the total group with exercise (D vs. C). In three subjects, plasma pseudoephedrine concentrations were not influenced by exercise. Only these subjects showed increased urinary pseudoephedrine excretion during exercise. We conclude that a single therapeutic dose of pseudoephedrine did not have a measurable ergogenic effect during high-intensity exercise of 1-h duration, but plasma drug concentrations and urinary excretion were altered by exercise. These findings have practical relevance to doping control regulations in international sporting competitions.
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Over the past few years there has been considerable interest in both the use of creatine (Cr) supplementation by athletes and the documentation of its effects by scientists. Some believe that this nitrogen-containing compound found in meat and fish has a performance-enhancing capability as important for brief intense exercise efforts as dietary carbohydrate is for activities where glycogen supplies limit performance. The mechanisms thought to be responsible for any ergogenic effect of acute (few d) Cr supplementation include: increased stores of muscle phosphocreatine (PCr), faster regeneration of PCr during exercise recovery, enhanced adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production from glycolysis secondary to increased hydrogen ion buffering, and/or possible shortened post contraction muscle relaxation time. With chronic (wk & mo) supplementation when combined with strength training, Cr may alter muscle protein metabolism directly (via decreasing protein breakdown or increasing synthesis) and/or indirectly as a result of a greater training load made possible by its acute ergogenic effects on strength and power Cr supplementation is not banned by the International Olympic Committee and, with the exception of a small increase in body mass (similar to1 kg) over the initial 3-6 d, does not appear to have any adverse side effects, at least with short-term use. Few scientific data are available for more prolonged use (mo or y) but considering the large numbers of athletes using Cr over the past 6(+) y and the absence of reported problems, it may be that the often discussed somewhat nebulous long term adverse effects are presently being overestimated. Intakes of 285-300 mg Cr/kg body mass (.) d(-1) over 3-6 d or 30-50 mg/kg body mass (.) d(-1) over similar to4 wk are sufficient to produce benefits (muscle mass and high intensity power gains); however not all study results are consistent. The focus of this review is to outline some possible explanations for the inconsistent observations reported in the literature. Clearly, if proven to be consistent the benefits of Cr supplementation could extend far beyond the athletic arena to include individuals who experience muscle weakness for a variety of other reasons (e.g., age/disease, muscle disease, exposure to microgravity, etc).
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Caffeine is a naturally occurring substance that is widely consumed in a variety of forms. It produces multiple physiologic effects throughout the body. It is thought that this is mediated mainly through action at centrally located adenosine receptors. Caffeine has been studied for its potential use as an ergogenic aid. Several studies have demonstrated an improvement in exercise performance in submaximal endurance activities. Its potential ergogenic effect in acute, high-intensity exercise is less clear. Because of its potential use as an ergogenic aid, it use in sports is regulated by most sanctioning bodies.
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Amino acids exert modulatory effects on proteins involved in control of mRNA translation in animal cells through the target of rapamycin (TOR) signaling pathway. Here we use oocytes of Xenopus laevis to investigate mechanisms by which amino acids are "sensed" in animal cells. Small (~48%) but physiologically relevant increases in intracellular but not extracellular total amino acid concentration (or Leu or Trp but not Ala, Glu, or Gln alone) resulted in increased phosphorylation of p70S6K and its substrate ribosomal protein S6. This response was inhibited by rapamycin, demonstrating that the effects require the TOR pathway. Alcohols of active amino acids substituted for amino acids with lower efficiency. Oocytes were refractory to changes in external amino acid concentration unless surface permeability of the cell to amino acids was increased by overexpression of the System L amino acid transporter. Amino acid-induced, rapamycin-sensitive activation of p70S6K was conferred when System L-expressing oocytes were incubated in extracellular amino acids, supporting intracellular localization of the putative amino acid sensor. In contrast to lower eukaryotes such as yeast, which possess an extracellular amino acid sensor, our findings provide the first direct evidence for an intracellular location for the putative amino acid sensor in animal cells that signals increased amino acid availability to TOR/p70S6K.
Conference Paper
Resistance exercise is fundamentally anabolic and as such stimulates the process of skeletal muscle protein synthesis (MPS) in an absolute sense and relative to skeletal muscle protein breakdown (MPB). However, the net effect of resistance exercise is to shift net protein balance (NPB = MPS - MPB) to a more positive value; however, in the absence of feeding NPB remains negative. Feeding stimulates MPS to an extent where NPB becomes positive, for a transient time. When combined, resistance exercise and feeding synergistically interact to result in NPB being greater than with feeding alone. This feeding- and exercise-induced stimulation of NPB is what, albeit slowly, results in muscle hypertrophy. With this rudimentary knowledge we are now at the point where we can manipulate variables within the system to see what impact these interventions have on the processes of MPS, MPB, and NPB and ultimately and perhaps most importantly, muscle hypertrophy and strength. We used established models of skeletal muscle amino acid turnover to examine how protein source (milk versus soy) acutely affects the processes of MPS and MPB after resistance exercise. Our findings revealed that even when balanced quantities of total protein and energy are consumed that milk proteins are more effective in stimulating amino acid uptake and net protein deposition in skeletal muscle after resistance exercise than are hydrolyzed soy proteins. Importantly, the finding of increased amino acid uptake would be independent of the differences in amino acid composition of the two proteins. We propose that the improved net protein deposition with milk protein consumption is also not due to differences in amino acid composition, but is due to a different pattern of amino acid delivery associated with milk versus hydrolyzed soy proteins. If our acute findings are accurate then we hypothesized that chronically the greater net protein deposition associated with milk protein consumption post-resistance exercise would eventually lead to greater net protein accretion (i.e., muscle fiber hypertrophy), over a longer time period. In young men completing 12 weeks of resistance training (5d/wk) we observed a tendency (P = 0.11) for greater gains in whole body lean mass and whole as greater muscle fiber hypertrophy with consumption of milk. While strength gains were not different between the soy and milk-supplemented groups we would argue that the true significance of a greater increase in lean mass that we observed with milk consumption may be more important in groups of persons with lower initial lean mass and strength such as the elderly.
Article
OBJECTIVES Oral creatine is the most widely used nutritional supplement among athletes. Our purpose was to investigate whether creatine supplementation increases maximal strength and power in healthy adults. STUDY DESIGN Meta-analysis of existing literature. DATA SOURCES We searched MEDLINE (1966-2000) and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (through June 200 1) to locate relevant articles. We reviewed conference proceedings and bibliographies of identified studies. An expert in the field was contacted for sources of unpublished data. Randomized or matched placebo controlled trials comparing creatine supplementation with placebo in healthy adults were considered. OUTCOMES MEASURED Presupplementation and postsupplementation change in maximal weight lifted, cycle ergometry sprint peak power, and isokinetic dynamometer peak torque were measured. RESULTS Sixteen studies were identified for inclusion. The summary difference in maximum weight lifted was 6.85 kg (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.24-8.47) greater after creatine than placebo for bench press and 9.76 kg (95% CI, 3-37-16.15) greater for squats; there was no difference for arm curls. In 7 of 10 studies evaluating maximal weight lifted, subjects were young men (younger than 36 years) engaged in resistance training. There was no difference in cycle ergometer or isokinetic dynamometer performance. CONCLUSIONS Oral creatine supplementation combined with resistance training increases maximal weight lifted in young men. There is no evidence for improved performance in older individuals or women or for other types of strength and power exercises. Also, the safety of creatine remains unproven. Therefore, until these issues are addressed, its use cannot be universally recommenced.
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Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), previously referred to as somatomedin-C, is a single chain polypeptide composed of 67 amino acid residues, that is structurally related to insulin (Daughaday and Rotwein 1989 Humbel 1990; Rechler and Nissley 1990). IGF-I is produced in most organs (D’Ercole et al. 1984; Han et al. 1987), but the liver is the major source of the circulating peptide (McConaghey et al. 1970; Schwander et al. 1983; Miller et al. 1981). The highest concentrations of IGF-I are found in blood (Furlanetto et al. 1977). IGF-I exerts biological effects on most cell types. Together with other growth factors, IGF-I stimulates cell proliferation and promotes differentiation (Rechler et al. 1985 Van Wyk 1984). The biologic effects of IGF-I are mediated by specific high affinity receptors (type I IGF receptors) which have structural homology with the insulin receptor. The ubiquity of sites of IGF-I production or of its receptor has led to the concept that it acts by autocrine/paracrine mechanisms as well as by classical endocrine mechanism (Underwood et al. 1986 Holly et al. 1989 Salmon and Daughaday 1957).