SuppVersity - Nutrition and Exercise Science for Everyone

In the long run, choking the exercise-induced fire too much is going to negate all the cherishable benefits of working out. As a SuppVersity  reader, you know what hormesis is and are aware that the proinflammatory assault of exercise, is an essential stimulant to musculoskeletal adaptation - a number of human and dozens of animal experiments show: if you quell the production of pro-inflammatory reactive oxygen species with high doses of vitamin C and E the growth and health response to exercise will be impaired. And vitamin C + E are not the only radical scavengers with this side effect. In 2013, I wrote about a study  that clearly demonstrated how N-acetyl-l-cysteine aka NAC "Reduces Inflammation, Muscle Injury & Cytokine Expression, but Impairs Anabolic Signaling, Satellite Cell Activity and Recovery" ( re-read it ) - keep that in mind before getting overly excited. Read about exercise- and nutrition-related studies in the SuppVersity Classic Articles ...

What's the right strategy to boost workout recovery? A recent study suggests that it could be a mix of NSAID, antioxidants, cold water and whey. Vitamin C + E, ibuprofen, cold water immersion and whey? Two of these agents have been shown to impair the adaptational response to exercise and thus potentially compromise long-term gains (vitamin C+E and cold water immersion). The other two are either purported (ibuprofen) or proven (whey) ergogenics - ergogenics of which a recent study by scientists from the  Hashemite University  in Jordan and the University of Alabama  in the USA shows that their combination with the formerly named agents is "helpful in protecting performance" in a test during which the competitive athletes (current or former Division I college athletes / club athletes) performed two bouts of high-intensity anaerobic cycling separated by 30 minutes of rest. Learn more about hormesis and how antioxidants can also impair your gains Is Vitamin ...

Hot or not? That could be a matter of health or ah... well almost death ;-) Usually a "tea" is a hot beverage, right? No? Well, ok there's ice-tea, but even the coolest of all teas is initially brewed with hot, sometimes almost boiling water. A practice of which a recent study from the   Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná in Brazil suggests that it may actually impair some of the beneficial effects of Baldo, White, Black and Mate tea. How come? Well, in the study Vanessa de Carvalho Rodrigue, et al. conducted, it made a huge difference in terms of the total phenol and flavenoid content of the extracts (=the aformentioned teas) when the scientists used cold water instead of water that was 80°C "hot". You can learn more about tea at the SuppVersity Use Roiboos for Stress & Virus Control Tired? Theacrine Will Get You Goin' in Minutes Milk, Tea & Honey Don't Mix?! Theacrine or Caffeine for Brain Power? Aluminum, Lead...

People pay thousand of dollars for topicals to make their skin look healthier and younger. Is it possible that the same or even more can be achieved by diet and significantly cheaper supplements? Well, as a SuppVersity  reader you can hardly be surprised to hear that the way you eat and supplement affects the way you look. What may surprise you is the fact that there are actually only few studies that investigated these effects systematically. Luckily, the latest review of the few studies that exists comes right off the press and has just been published in the scientific journal Nutrition Research  (Pezdric. 2015). In their review of all currently available studies that included participants aged at least 18 years, that observed or altered dietary intake from actual food or dietary supplement use, and assessed appearance related outcomes were, researchers from the  University of Newcastle and the  University of St Andrews  compiled data from a total o...

The study at hand used plain ascorbic acid, no quack supplements with "advanced vitamin C". While people tend to believe that vitamin C is good for anything, the evidence that it actually does anything good is relatively scarce. Against that background I am happy to tell you that a group of Greek researchers from the School of Physical Education and Sport Science , the European University Cyprus and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki have now finally confirmed what many of you probably thought was a long-established fact: "[L]ow vitamin C concentration is linked with decreased physical performance and increased oxidative stress and that vitamin C supplementation decreases oxidative stress and might increase exercise performance only in those with low initial concentration of vitamin C." (Paschalis. 2014) Learn more about hormesis and potential neg. effects of antioxidants at the SuppVersity Is Vitamin E Good for the Sedentary Slob, Only? NAC...