Archive for the ‘Sports Nutrition’ Category

There is no doubt that the rising prevalence in obesity among adults and children has major implications for healthcare costs, quality of life, and lifespan. The statistics are sobering: over one-third of US adults are obese; adding overweight adults to the mix increases the figure to 68%. Making matters worse, research indicates that 16% of kids are obese, not a great way to get started in life. Regardless of how errant the BMI might be at accurately characterizing the overweight and obese, a quick trip to any shopping mall in the country confirms the obvious: too many Americans are fat.

Advertisements for antioxidant supplements make some tantalizing promises about how their products can benefit athletes. Those sales pitches often rely upon some compelling scientific truths as the basis for what often turn out to be misleading claims.

Wouldn’t it be great if certain foods relieved muscle aches and pains and simply eating could help us avoid the soreness that often follows a hard workout? Recent research touted by cherry producers suggests that cherries may have NSAID-like effects (NSAIDs are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen), dulling the pain in muscles stressed by too much exercise.

Athletes young and old are well aware of the aches, pains, sprains, and strains that often accompany training and competition, so it’s no surprise that use of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) is common among athletes. But do NSAIDs actually deliver the pain-relief that athletes seek and, if so, are those benefits worth the risk of using drugs with well-established side effects?

Confronted with a constantly changing array of sports nutrition products, the claims for which often appear to bear convincing scientific support, it is not surprising that athletes and coaches have difficulty distinguishing fact from fiction.

Muscle growth and repair are made possible when muscle protein balance is positive, a condition created in part by consuming adequate dietary protein. The type, amount, and timing of protein intake help create an intracellular environment that promotes the synthesis of new muscle protein.

Although questions about building muscles still outnumber answers, scientists are gradually learning more about how changes in muscle mass and functional capacity take place.