100% Increase in Exercise-Induced Collagen Synthesis With Cheap, Yet Effective 15g Gelatin + 200mg Vitamin C Stack

If you premix it with vitamin C, I would guess that this dosage form of gelatin will work just as well as the mix the scientists used in the study at hand. And if it contains 15g + of gelatin, consuming this stuff before a workout could indeed make a significant difference for your tendon health and stability/resilience.

The deterioration of collagen is at the bottom of many musculoskeletal injuries. More than 50% of all injuries in sports can be classified as sprains, strains, ruptures, or breaks of musculoskeletal tissues. As the authors of a new paper in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition point out, there's hope that "[n]utritional and/or exercise interventions that increase collagen synthesis and strengthen these tissues could have an important effect on injury rates" (Shaw. 2016).

Gelatin has long been touted as the "protein of choice" to provide your body with the raw material for collagen resynthesis. Moreover, findings from engineered tissues show that the presence of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and the amino acid proline can increase collagen production and engineered ligament mechanics (Viera. 2015).

So, gelatin + C works for collagen... but what about these myths are they True or False?

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It is thus only logical that Shaw et al. suspected that the provision of 5 or 15 g of vitamin C–enriched gelatin would promote the already significant effect of a standardized intermittent exercise program on collagen synthesis. To test their hypothesis, the authors recruited eight healthy, recreationally active young men (mean 6 SEM: 27 +/- 6 y, 79.6 +/- 12 kg).

"Subjects were provided with 0, 5, 15 g gelatin (Ward McKenzie Pty Ltd.) in an isocaloric beverage. Maltodextrin (Polyjoule) was used to weight- and calorie-match the placebo and gelatin treatments. Subjects were provided with 9 single doses of the dry treatment ingredients sealed in separate envelopes.

Schematic timeline of the study. PINP, N-terminal peptide of pro-collagen I.

Subjects were instructed to make the treatment beverage by emptying the contents of each packet into the vitamin C con centrate (low-calorie blackcurrant cordial 80 mL; Ribena light, Lucozade Ribena Suntory Limited; 48 mg vitamin C/80 mL) mixed with 400 mL water in an opaque drink bottle that was provided. Subjects were instructed to consume the beverage as quickly as possible 1 h before exercise.

Treatments were randomly assigned to avoid an order effect and were separated by a washout period of 4 d to minimize the effect of the previous treatment. All subjects completed all treatments. Washout was successful because PINP levels were not different in the baseline samples between trials" (Shaw. 2016).

A larger blood sample was taken before and 1 h after consumption of gelatin for the treatment of engineered ligaments. One hour after the initial supplement, the subjects completed 6 min of rope-skipping to stimulate collagen synthesis. This pattern of supplementation was repeated 3 times/d with ~6 h between exercise bouts for 3 d. Blood was drawn before and 4, 24, 48, and 72 h after the first exercise bout for determination of amino-terminal propeptide of collagen I content.

Figure 1: Collagen concentration in ligaments treated with PRE or serum isolated 1 h after ingestion of 5 or 15 g vitamin C–enriched gelatin or a placebo. The (A) content of collagen and the (B) concentration of collagen were determined after 6 d of treatment with media that were supplemented with 10% of the subject-derived serum (Shaw. 2016).

As the scientists had suspected, "supplementation with increasing amounts of gelatin increased circulating glycine, proline, hydroxyproline, and hydroxylysine, peaking 1 h after the supplement was given" (Shaw. 2016).

Within the 5-15g range tested in the study at hand, the effects are dose-dependent

The scientists were also able to confirm this effect in engineered ligaments treated for 6 d with serum from samples collected before or 1 h after subjects consumed a placebo or 5 or 15 g gelatin. In this ex-vivo study, the scientists found significant increases in collagen content and improved mechanics of which the former are plotted in Figure 1. 

Figure 2: Collagen synthesis after exercise and ingestion of placebo or 5 or 15 g gelatin. (A) PINP concentration in the blood of subjects 4, 24, 48, and 72 h after the first exercise bout together with (B) the AUC for PINP concentrations from the placebo or 5- or 15-g gelatin groups (Shaw. 2016).

In that, it is remarkable that the effect was clearly dose-dependent - a fact that becomes even more evident if we take a look at the amino-terminal propeptide of collagen I in the subjects' blood (compared to placebo). Now that's only a marker of collagen synthesis, which may not translate 1:1 into an actual 100% increase collagen synthesis, but alas: it is unambiguous evidence of a significant increase in collagen synthesis.

True or False? Glycine & Proline Supplements Ramp Up Collagen Synthesis & Improve Joint Health. Plus: The Tripeptide Advantage of Collagen Hydrolysates | more

So what do I do? Easy, get some gelatin (preferably the higher dosage 15g) and a vitamin C tablet that contains ~200-300mg of ascorbic acid (that's low enough not to impair other exercise-induced adaptation processes | learn more) and consume it before your workouts.

Cool? Well, what's not so cool is that the study at hand may suggest that adding gelatin and vitamin C to an intermittent exercise program "could play a beneficial role in injury prevention and tissue repair" and does not prove that these effects will occur in the long-run. As usually, further research is thus warranted | Comment on Facebook

References:

• Shaw, Gregory, et al. "Vitamin C–enriched gelatin supplementation before intermittent activity augments collagen synthesis." The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2016): ajcn138594.
• Vieira, Cristiano Pedrozo, et al. "Glycine improves biochemical and biomechanical properties following inflammation of the Achilles' tendon." The Anatomical Record 298.3 (2015): 538-545.

True or False: Adolescent Athletes at Risk of High Tendon Stress due to Non-Uniform Tendon/Muscle Adaptation

Not allowing young athletes to lift weights may in fact increase, not decrease, their injury risk and hamper their recovery.

I am not sure why, but people won't stop inventing new reasons why professional athleticism would be bad for adolescents. One of the more recently heard claims is that early resistance training will lead to a "non-uniform adaptation of muscle and tendon in young athletes" that may "result[] in increased tendon stress during mid-adolescence" (Mersmann. 2015).

In a recent longitudinal study Mersmann et al. investigated the development of the morphological and mechanical properties of muscle and tendon of volleyball athletes in a time period of 2 years from mid-adolescence to late adolescence and the results are quite unambiguous.

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A total of eighteen elite volleyball athletes participated in magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound-dynamometry sessions to determine quadriceps femoris muscle strength, vastus lateralis, medialis and intermedius morphology, and patellar tendon mechanical and morphological properties in mid-adolescence (16 ± 1 years) and late adolescence (18 ± 1 years).

Figure 1: Mean values ± standard deviation of the muscle volume of volleyball athletes in mid-adolescence and late adolescence; %-ages indicate relative mid-to-late differences (Mersmann. 2015).

As the data in Figures 1 and 2 indicates, the muscle strength, anatomical cross-sectional area (CSA), and volume showed significant (P < 0.05) but only moderate increases of 13%, 6%, and 6%, respectively. In contrast to the muscular development, the patellar tendon CSA (P < 0.05) which is under constant stress in (semi-)professional volleyball players showed a substantially higher degree of hypertrophy (27%) that wen in line with increased stiffness (P < 0.05; 25%) and reduced stress (P < 0.05; 9%). Accordingly, the scientists conclude that - in contrast to the commonly heard prejudice - exercise during early adolescence will lead to

"pronounced hypertrophy of the patellar tendon led to a mechanical strengthening of the tendon in relation to the functional and morphological development of the muscle - [...] adaptive processes [that] may compensate the unfavorable relation of muscle strength and tendon loading capacity in mid-adolescence and might have implications on athletic performance and tendon injury risk" (Mersmann. 2015).

You know what, I can read your minds: "What about resistance training, then?" That's the question that's preying on your mind, right now - right? Well, as one of the more recent reviews says, "there is evidence that resistance training may reduce injury in a young athlete’s chosen sport" (Myer. 2006). The authors of the review point out that ...

Heyna et al. have demonstrated as early as 1982 that young athletes who regularly perform resistance training exercises are not just less likely to be injured, they also recover faster (Hejna. 1982).

"[t]his evidence is based on the beneficial adaptations that occur in bones, ligaments, and tendons following training and is further supported by epidemiologic-based reports. Lehnhard and colleagues were able to significantly reduce injury rates with the addition of a strength training regimen to a male soccer team. [...] Hejna and coworkers reported that young athletes (13-19 years) who included resistance training as part of their exercise regimen demonstrated decreased injuries and recovered from injuries with less time spent in rehabilitation when compared with their teammates" (Myer. 2006).

Similar results have been found specifically for female athletes for whom strength training - especially when performed in theh preseason and as regular part of in-season conditioning - reduced injury risk factors and anterior cruciate ligament injuries significantly.

Figure 2: Mean values ± standard error (bars) of (a) patellar tendon cross-sectional area (CSA) as a function of tendon length (in 10% intervals from proximal to distal; n = 18), (b) tendon force-elongation relationship (obtained from ramp contractions, see 'Methods' section; n = 12), and (c) maximum tendon force and stress (calculated for iMVCs; n = 12) of volleyball athletes in mid-adolescence (white) and late adolescence (black | Mersmann. 2015)

So, what's the verdict, then? The study at hand refutes the general claim that a non-uniform adaptation of muscle and tendon in young athletes may result in increased tendon stress during mid-adolescence. Furthermore the comprehensive overview of the effects of resistance training Myer et al. present in their 2006 review shows that additional "resistance training is not only a relatively safe activity for young athletes but that it may also be useful to reduce injuries during competitive play" (Meyer. 2006). To tell your young athletes to stay away from the gym is thus tantamount to telling them not to care about injury prevention.

As the 2014 International Consensus Statement on Youth Resistance Training in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (Lloyd. 2013) points out, it is yet important that your kids and youthsare following "[a]ppropriately designed resistance training programmes" if you actually want to make sure that they reduce, not increase, sports-related injuries. As such, LLoyd et al. even say that resistance training programs "should be viewed as an essential component of preparatory training programmes for aspiring young athletes" (Llyod. 2013 | my emphasis) | Comment on Facebook!

References:

• Lloyd, Rhodri S., et al. "Position statement on youth resistance training: the 2014 International Consensus." British journal of sports medicine (2013): bjsports-2013.
• Mersmann, F., et al. "Muscle and tendon adaptation in adolescent athletes: A longitudinal study." Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports (2015).
• Myer, Gregory D., and Eric J. Wall. "Resistance training in the young athlete." Operative techniques in sports Medicine 14.3 (2006): 218-230.