SuppVersity - Nutrition and Exercise Science for Everyone

No matter what this study says, I am pretty sure that the combination of bicarbonate + beta alanine would rule for Tour de France cyclists - at least during the dreaded time-trials. In a recent study researchers from the Victoria University and the Queensland University of Technology observed that the combination of the carnonsine pre-cursor beta alanine and sodium bicarbonate will elevate the buffering potential of skeletal muscle in eight apparently healthy, recreationally active men (26.2 ± 1.9 year; 79.8 ± 2.11 kg; 179.0 ± 2.2 cm; VO2peak 51.0 ± 2.5 ml/kg/min) by increasing muscle carnosine and blood bicarbonate levels, respectively. So much for the good news, the bad news however is that the performance increases on a repeated sprint test were non-signficant and the expected additive effects of beta alanine and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) during a 110% cycling capacity test were non-existing. You can learn more about beta alanine & bicarbonate at the SuppVersit...

It was about time for an artificial sweetener update, wasn't it? Alright, I have to admit I am not following the artificial sweetener scene closely enough to have heard about SUCRAM, an artificial sweetener that is composed of saccharin (a classic) and neohepseridin dihydrochalcone, the new kid on the blog, which is yet not officially approved by either the FDA or it European equivalent o be used in the processed junk, most people call "food", these days. If we put some faith into the latest study investigating the effects of this agent, which is apparently already heavily used in animal feeds in Europe it does yet "dramatically reduce enteric disease" and "enhance growth performance in early-weaned piglets." (Daly. 2014) Whether and to which extent these beneficial effects on gut health are mediated by changes in the gut microbiome is yet still uncertain; and since "uncertain" is a word scientists don't like, Kristian Daily and his...

Image 1: The EU-940 EMS device the scientists used in their study to activate the vastus medialis and lateralis (high- lighted in the image) of their subjects, is very different from the average EMS based "abdominal toner" advertised on TV. Even here, at the SuppVersity, news on ergogenics, i.e. things that improve (athletic) performance, are usually about a pill, a fancy plant extract or another 'superfood' . Today's news, however is about a much more "physical" means to improve anaerobic exercise performance, decrease lactate accumulation and improve regeneration: Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS). EMS? Now, many of you will probably remember those TV spots, where you were told that "Abmaster" & Co would transform your pot-belly into a "six-packed" attractant for the opposite sex , if you did not miss this "unique" opportunity and bought one of those electro-shockers no ...

While the NO-hype of the last years unquestionably is/was a scam, l-arginine, the amino acid that does not build muscle via increased NO-production, transpires to be ergogenic via very different mechanisms. Scientists from Iran ( Mozezzaneh. 2010 ) have now found that 5g of supplemental l-arginine significantly decreased the blood lactate levels of athletes (N=30) in the course of a 3 week supplementation period, but failed to induce consecutive or concurrent increases in VO2 max (a direct marker of exercise capacity): Blood lactate level was significantly decreased in the L-arginine group compared to the placebo one. There was no significant difference between the two groups in VO2max at anaerobic threshold. Only in the L-arginine group, VO2 max at anaerobic threshold was significantly increased. In addition, there was no significant difference in VO2 max at anaerobic threshold for the placebo group. If you remember the previous news on arginine , you may understand that I will r...

Only 2 days ago, you read at the SuppVersity about L-Carnitine being a costly, but ineffective ingredient in many weight loss supplements. Today's news is about a study on the effect of 14-day l-carnitine supplementation (4g/day) on muscle and blood carnitine fractions, and muscle and blood lactate concentrations, during high-intensity sprint cycling exercise. The results observed in 8 subjects were unambiguous: L-carnitine supplementation had no significant effect on muscle carnitine content and thus could not alter lactate accumulation during exercise. The increase of plasma carnitine, on the other hand, is insufficient to bring about the ergogenic effects carnitine supplements are advertised for. So if you can't get it into the cell, you could as well dump it into the toilette - or better just don't buy it ;-)