Tag: sport

Vitamins Prevent Sport-related Attrition

Claus Hancke

August 23, 2004

Strenuous and exhausting physical exercise is not beneficial to your health, as it may result in damage to both the DNA (hereditary material) and the cell walls through the process of oxidation.

Vigorous and exhausting physical exercise is not beneficial to your health. The oxidation that takes place during this kind of exercise both damages the DNA (our hereditary material) and destroys the cells walls.

Actually, a general attrition takes place similar to the one our body is exposed to during an operation, a heart attack, or another kind of violent strain. The proofs of the damages can be found in blood samples and urine tests.

However, a new study has shown that a lot of the damages can be prevented in athletes if they take a supplement of the vitamins E and -C before demanding performances. Both of the vitamins are antioxidants, i.e. they prevent the unintentional oxidation of the cell walls and thereby the destruction of the cellular functions.

Many athletes take supplements but proof of the supplements actually working have now been established in a thorough study of American ultramarathon runners.

The study was carried out in a scientific sports institute under Oregon State University. Starting six weeks prior to the long 50 km. (31 miles) race, 11 out of the 22 participants each took 1 g. of vitamin C and 400 I.U. of vitamin E every day while the other 11 participants were given placebo. Both before and after the race a number of tests were performed on both groups.

It turned out that the vitamins completely prevented the fats in the cell walls from going rancid (oxidation) both during and after the race. In the men who had not taken vitamins, the consequences of the exertions were measurable for at least six days while they were non-existent in the ones who had been given vitamins. Interestingly, the women got off lighter in that their tests were only elevated for a couple of hours after the race even though they had not taken any supplements.

The spokesperson for the researchers is professor Maret Traber. With a background including several honorary tasks and more than 160 scientific articles, she is considered one of the world’s leading experts on the subject of Vitamin E.

Based on the study, she declared that if you suffer from chronic health problems, you may very well benefit from larger doses of the two vitamins than what is normally recommended. In this context, she mentions diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and cardiac diseases, but also overweight and smoking. They are all conditions involving increased rancidity of the fats in the cell walls.

By: Vitality Council

Reference:
Mastaloudis A., Morrow JA, Hopkins DW, Devaraj S, Traber M. Antioxidant supplementation prevents exercise-induced lipid peroxidation, but not inflammation, in ultramarathon runners. Free Radical Biology & Medicine 2004;36(10):1329-1341.

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“Amateur-like” Statement from the Organization Anti Doping Denmark

Claus Hancke

October 27, 2003

In October 2003 one could read pretty harsh warnings against the combination of dietary supplements and sports in several Danish newspapers. The medical doctor, Rasmus Damsgaard, from Anti Doping Denmark was the originator of these judgmental statements.

Damsgaard is quoted for several categorical announcements – among others: “Dietary supplements do not work – That’s it. And he calls it downright amateurish when respected coaches like Ulrik Wilbæk use supplements for their players.

But what are the facts? Yes, if you lean on science, as Damsgaard presumably does, there is actually evidence that several supplements have a beneficial effect in connection with sports.

This includes, for example, preparations that can prevent some of the many injuries that hamper elite sports, but also preparations that provide increased endurance.

As an example, a few well-conducted scientific intervention trials with placebo control can be mentioned:

Spanish basketball players who engaged in extreme training over 35 days were randomly assigned to receive supplements of vitamin E, vitamin C, and beta-carotene or placebo.

In the vitamin group, there was a decrease of almost 30% in the harmful free radical activity compared to the placebo group. (Eur J Nutr. 2001 Aug;40(4):178-84)

The frequent immune weakening after extreme endurance sports has been studied in ultramarathon runners (>42 km).

Vitamin C supplementation resulted in significantly fewer respiratory tract infections after the run, namely 33% in the vitamin C group versus 68% in the placebo group. (Am J Clin Nutr. 1993 Feb;57(2):170-4)

There is also good documentation of the performance-enhancing effect. Finnish elite cross-country skiers were randomly assigned to receive Q10, 30 mg x 3, and this supplement significantly improved performance, oxygen uptake and recovery time in the Q10 group. (Mol Aspects Med. 1997;18 Suppl:S283-90)

Unfortunately, Rasmus Damsgaard is not the only one with a very unvarnished view of dietary supplements. Both Team Denmark and the Danish Sports Federation generalize and distance themselves from the category of dietary supplements.

The Vitality Council agrees that one should be careful when buying dietary supplements online, simply because the rules are different in other countries, and it can be difficult to check the content of the individual product.

However, dietary supplements purchased in general trade in Denmark are subject to Danish law, which includes, among other things, a requirement for a clear declaration of contents.

Elite athletes are exposed to extreme stress, and therefore they should eat an optimal diet – among other things to avoid injuries.

The Vitality Council supports this recommendation 100%. But elite athletes are no different from many other Danes, and it is often difficult to follow the official dietary recommendations. Food is rarely as healthy and varied as it should be. That is why athletes also choose to supplement with selected dietary supplements. For example, Viborg’s captain Karen Brødsgaard and Slagelse’s coach Anja Andersen have both spoken positively about the use of selected dietary supplements.

So far, only a modest amount of research has been published in relation to dietary supplements and sports – but with both positive and negative results. Damsgaard should therefore refrain from generalizing and warning against all dietary supplements.

It may be an easy and popular attitude, but it demonstrates a distinct lack of knowledge about the serious and well-documented products that exist.

And not least, it shows a lack of respect for the many professional athletes who choose one or more forms of supplementation – with good results.

By: Vitality Council

(No references)

www.doping.dk
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